This is the first in a series of bodice fitting tutorials. You can also read this post in French on the Deer&Doe blog here.
Dart orientation is often the telltale sign of good garment fitting. As sewists, we can tweak our patterns and ensure the location, size and length of any darts in our garments are tailored to our body proportions. When patterns are developed, the drafter ensures the dart is directed to the “average” area where the volume is required. However, human bodies being the widely varying beauties they are, often need darts to be tweaked to fit just right. In this first of a series of bodice fitting tutorials, we will discuss where bust darts should point and how to measure your body to decide if the darts in your bodice are optimally oriented to point to your bust apex.
Table of contents
What is a dart and where should it point?
Darts are one of the basic structural elements of garments used to build volume and shape a flat piece of fabric – they direct how a fabric contours and shapes. Fabric can also be sculpted with pleats, gathers, gussets, and shaped seams, but darts are a simple and elegant technique for providing volume and shaping where you need it.
The basic principle is to remove the volume and release it. Darts remove volume at the base and release it at the tip. In a fitted bodice, a dart removes volume on the periphery of the bust (or side, waist, shoulder or armhole seam) and releases it towards the fullest part of the bust. Darts point in the direction where volume is required, and they can come from pretty much any direction depending on how fitted the garment is and where we want to accentuate the shape. According to our patternmaker Celine, "if you have a looser-fitting bodice, darts are best in the side seam and shoulder. If you want to shape the waist in addition to the bust, you can move the dart to the waist, or combine it with bust darts in other locations for even more shaping."
The biggest rule to note: well-fitting darts will always point toward the fullest areas of the body. In bodices that is the bust in the front, and the shoulder blades in the back. The second biggest rule: they should always end 1-2” from the apex of your bust.
You can change the dart orientation and move them around depending on your preference, but we’ll talk more about that in an upcoming post.
Now, let’s learn what body measurements to take to pinpoint the orientation of the bust dart in a bodice. Before you start, think of the undergarments you will be wearing when you wear this garment, remember that your choice of undergarments will influence the location of your apex.
Finding your bust apex
To find your bust apex, there are two important measurements to take:
1. Apex to Apex Measurement
Here we are measuring the distance between the apex point of each breast (the highest point of the curve). It may or may not be in the nipple area. It is useful to mark the apex of each breast with a point drawn on masking tape.
2. Shoulder to Apex Measurement
This measurement is taken from the middle of the shoulder and is measured directly down to your bust apex. If you are fuller busted this measurement can change quite a bit depending on the support your bra offers so make sure you are wearing the undergarments you plan on wearing for the finished garment.
3. Bust Apex to Centre Front Waist
When working with a strapped or strapless bodice where the shoulder position is not very clear, the distance between the bust apex and the center front waist can be used to inform the position of the apex.
Finding your bust apex in a sewing pattern
Depending on the pattern company, the bust apex as drafted may be marked on the pattern (we always try to mark this on any pattern with bust darts). If you can’t see it, draw a line straight through the center of the dart, and extend it 1-2” past the tip - this is the line along which the bust apex is on the pattern.
But where is YOUR apex in relation to this? Here is what we need to find out – identifying your apex will indicate whether or not the dart needs to be manipulated or rotated in any way to fit your unique body.
There are two ways to find your bust apex and mark it on a pattern. The first works best if you are working with pattern tissue. Align the center front of the bodice with the center of your chest, and the shoulder point with your shoulder (you may need to draw in the seam allowances to do this). Next, simply mark your apex on the pattern tissue.
The second method involves a bit more work but may be more accurate. Here’s how to do it:
- From the top point of the shoulder, measure your Shoulder-to-Apex measurement, and trace an arc.
- Starting at the center front, draw a horizontal line that is half of your Apex-to-Apex measurement. This line should intersect the arc you just drew. You just found the position of your apex! Yippee!
Now that you have your bust apex located, compare it to the bust apex on the pattern. If they are more than 1/2" away from each other, it is worth manipulating or rotating the dart to position it in the ideal place for your body. In the next blog post, we’ll do just that, so stay tuned!
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