It’s time for our first bit of sewing on our Banksia top! We’re just going to ease into it, and not do too much today. And i want to have a little chat about dart finishings.
Ok, ready to go??
I know sometimes transferring a dart from the pattern to the fabric can be a pain. I’m sure there are lots of great methods – but here is my favourite.
I start with my awl, cutting mat, and the pattern – and i make a nice big hole in the tip of the dart
Then I lay the pattern over the cut fabric, and pop a pin through the hole i just made, and more marker pins at the end of the dart legs. I then used my straight ruler and tailors chalk to draw the dart legs, but if you’re comfortable working with just the pins for placement, you can skip that part.
~ Another method i used to use was to cut along the dart legs (on the paper pattern only!) and then draw them on the fabric with tailors chalk through the pattern. Anyone have an alternate method? I’d love to hear it!
Fold the dart in half along the fold line, match up the dart legs, and repin. Then sew!
Now when you get to that dart apex – this is the point at which there can sometimes be some controversy. A lot of sewers are quite adamant about only knotting the ends of thread at the dart apex, rather than backstitching. The theory behind this is that it avoids pulling, and puckering etc at the apex. To be honest, I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill. I’ve sewn hundreds of darts, and i promise i’ve never had an issue with backstitching. My stance is, it doesn’t matter either way.
Once you’re done sewing, press those darts down towards the hem.
Note for later: If you’ve never done a placket before, and you’re feeling really stressed about lining it all up properly, you can just leave the darts for after the placket.
Now it’s also time to sew up those shoulder seams, and press them flat. You could sew up the side seams now too – but i’m going to leave that for later, as i’ll be showing a different sleeve insertion than what is in the instruction booklet, that involves the side seams.
