Uugggghhhh! Darts are not my friend…at all. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but still. Putting in a few darts wasn’t supposed to be so challenging, right?
I’ll be the first to admit that I am technically challenged when it comes to sewing terms and describing exactly what I’m doing. I’m more of an organic person when it comes to sewing. I like the feel and weight of fabric in all its many textures. I enjoy the art of manipulating a square piece of cloth over a dress form until my imagination is sparked. I especially enjoy taking a flat discarded piece of material and reinvigorating it. Up-cycling is cool! Basically, I just do what I do and learn as I go.
My challenge in interpreting my sketch was in figuring out how to use darts to add shape to the garment. I wanted the contour to begin right beneath the bust area and extend to just above the hips. What the sketch shows as 2 discreet darts in the front of the skirt portion of the dress, has turned into 6 very long contour darts around the entire piece. I suppose I could have figured out a way to limit the number of darts by cutting the fabric a little differently, however, flat pattern making is not a strength of mine. Instead I opted to use one continueous piece of fabric for the skirt portion. I just molded the fabric as I went along taking special care to keep the grainlines straight. (Not a lot of fun, but it’s working) Here are some pics.
