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Practical Dress Design
Fig. 29. Changing waist dart to underarm location.
5. Arrange on a fresh piece of paper to copy. To convert the new basic dart into a becoming dressmaker's dart shorten it-about 2" if slanting, or until 2Y2" long if horizontal, D. The slanting dart is slightly decorative, but the horizontal is merely functional and should be concealed under the arm. 6. Temporarily fold and pin in the new dart before cutting underarm seam-with or without seam allowances according to later use, as in C, Figure 27. On the wrong side vertical darts fold toward the center, horizontal darts fold down.
seams, hem, or overlap according to later use. You now have three basic slopers, Figure 29, A and C; Figure 27, B. It is more practical to begin working with one in which the dar~ does not conflict with new details, but any one can be used. The waist dart is, perhaps, the most frequently used because it opens into a seam which will not need to be closed very soon and it adds a more slenderizing line. Principle Applies to Other Basic Darts
The front of the blouse, because it is nearer the face, is the favored area for pattern design, but variations are desirable in skirts, sleeves, and backs as well as fronts. Figure 31 shows application of the standard method of rotating a dart in other positions around the point of each major bulge, but details and variations will be shown in later chapters. Relocating a Dart by Redrawing
The above techniques show that a basic dart can be swung or pivoted around the point of the bulge on any radius. You can relocate the dart at any angle becoming to you, or to harmonize with a design in the fabric or another style line in the dress design (Fig. 30).
In order to suit another style line or to make proportions more pleasing, one may decide that the dart should be moved slightly. As a rule it is safe to move the point of a dart 1" to 1Y2" away from its original position, but more than this amount may create unsightly diagonal wrinkles. The technique is simple but should be accurately executed (Fig. 32).
I. Copy pattern with basic dart. 2. Fold in basic dart to make a bulge. 3. Draw in line for new dart location, as I, 2, 3, or 4. 4. Slash on this line to point of bulge. Let pattern flatten out leaving a gap which is the new dart. 5. Copy on fresh paper. Fold in the new dart before cutting around edges, with or without
I. Make a paper copy of the dart and erase the original lines. (This pie-shaped piece or dart can be saved and used over and over, if the point always ends on or near the original point of the bulge.) 2. Use the paper copy as a pattern to trace around-moved into a better position. 3. F old in the new dart and recut the seam at the wide end of the dart.
Changing Basic Dart in Any Direction
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Fig. 30. The ba5ic d art may be radiated in any direction around the point of the dart or bulge. These four are often used, thou9h not as commonly as waist, shoulder, and underarm darts.