Tag Archives: darts

Baste the Waves

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I finished my drafting experiment in curved darts. But only after letting my mind marinate on the construction steps for several nights.

Muslin mockup of asymmetrical curved darts mini skirt

The aha! moment was TINY SEAM ALLOWANCES. To sew the curves accurately, I couldn’t treat them like typical waist or bodice darts by folding in the intake. I had to treat them like seams.

And since there wouldn’t be enough room for my usual 1-inch (2.5 cm) seam allowance, I marked the allowance that fit each dart – in some places it was as small as 1 cm.

Muslin mockup of asymmetrical curved darts mini skirt

In my original draft, I slashed and spread the skirt back so it could be gathered into an elastic waistband. When I got ready to cut it out of muslin, there was too much volume in the pattern piece. I realized I meant to add the volume to a full front piece, so I re-drafted the back and cut it out.

To complete my basted fitting sans waistband (which will be straight and cut-on, with interfacing in the front and elastic in the back), I gathered the back with 3 rows of stitches in the seam allowance that met in the center.

Muslin mockup of asymmetrical curved darts mini skirt

I tried on the skirt mockup in a hurry before work. I put it on backwards, pulling the six bobbin threads to cinch in the gathers, then turned the skirt around properly to check the fit at the side seams and evaluate the short hemline.

All were just right.

Muslin mockup of asymmetrical curved darts mini skirt

To contain my excitement for the success of this drafting experiment, I have decided to procrastinate on fabric selection. I think this skirt is asking for a solid woven with some body, but nothing too drapey. In my collection are a few solid linens, a black silk dupioni, a couple of gabardines, and a silk/cotton blend.

I will try to choose one of those to start, but I’d love to get recommendations from you.

 

Pattern Play: Asymmetrical Darts

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I drafted a pattern during my lunch break. No food. No phone. Just my supplies and the sketch of a mini skirt that my mind wouldn’t shetup about until my hands got to work.

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The skirt I wanna-be-sewing has four, topstitched darts that radiate from the waist toward the side seam. To get there, a little slashing, a little spreading, and maybe later….a muslin mockup of the final pattern to play with dart length and spacing.

I started with with my skirt block. This version is only 3 months old and already full of pin holes.

A custom drafted skirt block used to draft a sewing pattern. In the article, "Pattern Play: Asymmetrical Darts,” on the Wanna Be Sewing Something blog, Najah shares the slash and spread pattern drafting techniques she used to create a custom skirt design from her skirt block.

I traced a full copy of the front and drew in the new hemline. I got cold feet about the mid-thigh length and found myself hesitating to cut off the excess right away.

The back will have a dirndl look with elastic inserted into the back waistband to make it a pull-on skirt. To create this, I evenly spaced and cut four vertical lines, numbering the remaining pieces to keep track of them before spreading them apart to 1.5 times the width of the original hemline.

A custom drafted sewing pattern for a mini sirt with asymmetrical, topstitched darts. In the article, "Pattern Play: Asymmetrical Darts” on the Wanna Be Sewing Something blog, Najah shares the slash and spread pattern drafting techniques she used to create a custom skirt design from her skirt block.

Using a bendable ruler and french curve, I plotted four, parallel curves across the skirt front. Then, I held my breath…and slashed through each line.

Washi tape holds the closed darts together.

A custom drafted sewing pattern for a mini sirt with asymmetrical, topstitched darts. In the article, "Pattern Play: Asymmetrical Darts” on the Wanna Be Sewing Something blog, Najah shares the slash and spread pattern drafting techniques she used to create a custom skirt design from her skirt block.

After drawing in the curves for the darts, I realized they could easily be sewn as pleats. Which means I could have TWO styles for this pattern if I squared off the dart legs. I did this and they became match points for four asymmetrical pleats.

A custom drafted sewing pattern for a mini sirt with asymmetrical, topstitched darts. In the article, "Pattern Play: Asymmetrical Darts” on the Wanna Be Sewing Something blog, Najah shares the slash and spread pattern drafting techniques she used to create a custom skirt design from her skirt block.

During my next pattern playdate, I will finish labeling all of the pattern pieces. Then, I’ll trace a copy of the pleat-ready front pattern, draw in the stitchlines of the four darts I originally planned, and cut out the dart intake.

In my Skirt Skills class (aka couture for beginners), I learned to sew from stitchlines vs. cutlines. So my pattern will remain seam allowance-free, allowing me to mark the stitchlines directly onto the fabric.

A custom drafted sewing pattern for a mini sirt with asymmetrical, topstitched darts. In the article, "Pattern Play: Asymmetrical Darts” on the Wanna Be Sewing Something blog, Najah shares the slash and spread pattern drafting techniques she used to create a custom skirt design from her skirt block.

A straight front waistband (that will double as a separate facing) was drafted to accompany the elasticated back waistband.

Before I test out the pleated and darted versions of this pattern in fabric, let me know what you think. Have you ever sewn or designed a garment with asymmetric seams? This will be my first!