This document discusses the usage of darts in patternmaking. It defines darts as triangular folds in fabric that are tapered at one or both ends to allow a garment to conform to the body's curves. Darts are represented as triangular or diamond shapes in patterns. There are different types of darts including waist, underarm, and shoulder darts. Darts are used to control fullness and fit fabric to the body's anatomy. The size of a dart is determined by its angle, while its length and width can change if the dart is moved to a new seamline. Pivoting points and folding of darts are also discussed.

1. Ms. Peace Akosua Tsekpo
Vocational and Technical Education
Home Economics Unit
(Clothing and Textiles)
THE USAGE OF DARTS IN PATTERN

2. UNIT 3
THE USAGE OF DARTS IN PATTERN

3. A dart is a folded fabric that is stitched to be wide at one end or the
middle and tapered to nothing at one or both ends.
Darts takes in fullness at a fullest part of the body and tapers to a
point at a larger area of the body to allow the garment to conform to
a curve of the body.
Darts are triangular folds in a garment to allow a fitted garment to
accommodate the bulges or curves of the body.

4. In patterns however they are triangular or long diamond shapes. There are
‘wedge’ and ‘oval’ darts but the sloper darts are basically ‘wedge darts’
which are represented in the sloper by cut out triangles.
It should however be noted that oval darts are a result of the base of two
wedge darts meeting at a common seamline with the common seamline
eliminated but the darts maintained. Darts are generally named after the
seams they emerge from. There are waistline darts, underarm darts, shoulder
darts, French dart, etc.

5. The darts described above are fitting darts that help to fit a garment around
the curve of the body. There are however other darts that do not do any
fitting but are design details which are mainly decorative as part of the
design.
 It is use to control fullness on the garment
 It is used to turn flat fabric into shapes to fit the human anatomy
Functions of Darts

6. Principles In Making Dart
 All fitting darts must extend to the bust circle.
 Both sideline of dart must be in the same circle.
 Fitting dart end on or within the bust circle.
 If one dart has a larger angle than another, the smaller one must be
extended further.

7. Dart Length, Width and Size
The basis for the use of darts in pattern adaptation lies mainly in the size of
the dart. The size of a dart cannot however be discussed without looking at
the dart length and width.
The arm of a dart determines the length of a dart whilst the distance of the
dart tip from the seam the dart emerges determines the width of a dart at
the base. The further away the tip of a particular dart is from a seamline the
longer it is and the wider the dart is at the base.

8. The size of a dart is determined by the angle at the tip of the dart. The
bigger the angle the larger the dart and the more curve it produces.
It should be noted that the size of the dart has nothing to do with the
length or width.

10. Anytime a dart is move from one seamline to another, the length
and width of the dart may change. The size should however always
remain the same. As shown in the figures below when the underarm
dart in is moved to the shoulder.

12. Pivoting Points Of Darts
Each dart has a pivot point that is the highest point of the bulge for
which the dart caters and a dart cannot be too far from this point.
The longest distance of the dart from this point creates a circle
around this point. This circle is of great importance especially for the
front bodice, where it is called bust circle (bust point). The radius of
this bust circle is about 3.8cm. The farthest a dart can go is to the
pivot point.

13. Determining the pivot point of a dart
Darts do not usually end on the pivot point. For the basic blocks the pivot
point of a dart should be determined to help in dart manipulations. The
pivot point of the front bodice is determined by bisecting the two darts and
the meeting point of the two bisecting lines becomes the pivot point of the
darts. The pivot point could also be determined by extending the outer arms
of the two darts and their meeting point becomes the pivot point. The back
darts also have their pivot point being the bisecting point of the shoulder
and waistline darts.

14. For skirts the front dart cater for the abdominal bulge and the back
darts cater for the buttocks. Since these bulges do not come to a
point but are rounded, the pivot point for each dart is located
halfway between the tips of the dart and the hip line on the bisecting
line for the dart. The common pivot point for two darts is located
midway between the two darts and midway between the tip of the
darts and the hipline. Where the two darts are not of the same length,
the longer dart is used as reference.

18. Folding Darts
Darts are either horizontal or vertical. In pattern making darts are
folded to lie in the position they will take when the garment is
constructed. The convention in folding darts is that vertical darts have
their fold towards centre front whilst horizontal darts have their folds
towards the waistline. The figures below indicates the front bodice
with a horizontal underarm dart and a vertical waistline dart have
been folded. It also shows the darts after the pattern has been cut
out.

20. Darts In The Basic Blocks

21. Design Analysis
Design analysis is the breaking down of features of style of a garment. Design
analysis consist of examining the picture or sketch to determine how fitting darts,
gathers pleat, collar and other style features were made and their performance on
the figure.
In making a pattern for an illustrated design one should be sure of what exactly one
has to do in order to come up with patterns for the design. Since most pattern
making is based on adapting the basic blocks, the ‘basic design’ is used as a basis
of breaking down an illustrated design. In design analysis one looks at how the
illustrated design differs from the basic design.

22. In design analysis each part of a garment is taken and broken down on the basis of:
 What has been done to the darts?
 Have they been maintained in their normal position?
 Have they been moved, if so to where?
 Have they been combined, if so at what point?
 Have they been changed into another design feature but still performs the function
of dart? If so that have they been converted into?

23.  Have they been released?
 Have there been added design features like collars, frills, seam-lines, yokes, etc?
 What is the type and style and style of the garment, skirt, collar sleeve, etc?
 After going through the above systematic analysis one is ready to start adapting
the pattern for a given design.

24. REFERENCE:
 Gavor et al. clothing and textiles for schools and colleges, Adwinsa
Publications (GH) Ltd (2014), pg 140-146.
 Modesta E. Gavor. Flat pattern Designing for Women, Adwinsa
Publications (GH) Ltd (2011).