A Simple Beginner's Guide to How to Make a Dart in Sewing

Tools and materials:

• Fabric
• Sewing machine
• Erasable pen or tailor’s chalk
• Ruler
• Pins

1. Where to place the dart

The pattern will usually tell you where to put the dart.

In some patterns, there is a small notch.

You’ll insert the dart on the wrong side of the fabric. Mark the area of the dart with the erasable pen or tailor’s chalk or a pin.

Put a pin in the point of where to start the dart, a pin on the fold, and another pin to secure the fold.

2. Make a guideline

Use the ruler and the pen to give yourself a stitching guideline to make it easier. When you’re using the ruler, make sure the fabric hasn’t moved.

If the pins are in the way of you drawing your guideline, pop them out to make the line and pop them right back in.

3. Sew the dart

Start at the top of the dart. Backstitch the top and begin to feed the fabric down the line, moving the pins out as you go along.

When you get to the end, leave yourself a nice bit of thread. Tie the threads together in a double knot.

This is one of the few times in sewing where you won’t backstitch at the end. This is because you want the seam to be really fine and disappear into the fabric. 

4. Iron the dart

Now it’s time for a press! Pull the garment and press towards the hem. Iron a vertical dart toward the back of the garment. Once it’s nice and flat, turn the garment over to the right side.

Be careful not to iron into the bottom portion of the dart because that will create a ridge in the garment.

Gently push the iron over the stitch line right into the point and that will give the dart a nice, crisp, and professional finish.

How to make a dart in sewing tutorial

There you have it! How to make a dart in sewing! It looks complicated but it really isn’t! Let me know in the comments if you tried it and how easy it was!