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Pattern drafting - why nine darts around the waist

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6 replies [Last post]
Wed, 07/06/2011 - 11:13
donnagees
User offline. Last seen 13 years 23 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 04/16/2011
Posts: 1

 why there is 9 darts in a full figure skirt

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Wed, 07/06/2011 - 17:59
#1
Nehzat
User offline. Last seen 1 year 12 weeks ago. Offline
Instructor
Joined: 10/27/2007
Posts: 1026
RE: Pattern drafting

Dear Donnagees,

Imagine that you have a tube like skirt that has to fit around the widest part of your body. This can be your lower hip or upper hip. Now to fit it around your waistline, you need to take in the excess fabric using darts and the centre back and side seams. To spread the difference nicely between the darts and side seams, I have found that dividing the difference between the lower/upper hip circumference and the waist circumference by 9 works best.

To find out why we divide by 9 to get the dart intakes you can watch the video: Why Do We Need Darts. All these divisions are based on the average proportions of the human body, and will give you the best results.

To understand the dart intake calculation you can watch the chapter: 5. Calculating the Intake of the Darts in the Straight and Tapered Skirt Block Pattern video lesson. Here I explain why we need to divide by nine to get the dart intake measurements.

Keep in mind that the waistline of the bodice and the skirt are the same waistline and therefore we need them to be exactly the same, matching the darts to each other.

Happy sewing!

Nehzat

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Mon, 01/14/2013 - 11:19
#2
mohe
User offline. Last seen 3 years 45 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 12/24/2012
Posts: 1
 Dear Nehzat Thank you for

 Dear Nehzat

Thank you for your satisfied ansewr 

I was had the same question and you ansewr it very well

Thank u

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Wed, 01/16/2013 - 18:26
#3
Nehzat
User offline. Last seen 1 year 12 weeks ago. Offline
Instructor
Joined: 10/27/2007
Posts: 1026
Re: Why do we need to divide by 9 for darts

 Dear mohe,

You are very welcome.

Happy sewing,

Nehzat

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Fri, 01/25/2013 - 17:08
#4
Visinec
User offline. Last seen 12 years 13 hours ago. Offline
Joined: 12/23/2012
Posts: 2
Hello,    i am trying to draw

Hello,

   i am trying to draw pattern for me (for men). Do I have to add 9 darts?

My dimensions are:

- Waist cir.: 85cm
- Lower hip: 94cm

94cm - 85cm = 9cm

May i add only 2 darts on back pattern? It wil be:

9cm : 2 = 4.5cm

Will this be correct?

Best regards,
Tomasz

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Wed, 02/06/2013 - 13:51
#5
Nehzat
User offline. Last seen 1 year 12 weeks ago. Offline
Instructor
Joined: 10/27/2007
Posts: 1026
Re: Pattern For Men

 Dear Tomasz,

The difference you get by subtracting the waist circumference from either the upper hip circumference or the lower hip circumference, can not be taken in just from the back or the front or the sides. Unless the person has a protruding tummy, in such a case you can eliminate the front waist darts, and add their intakes to the back and side darts. If some one has a protruding buttocks and a flatter tummy, we can reduce the intake of the front darts and add them to the back darts. If the back dart intakes becomes too wide, we can split each dart into two.

For pants sewn for men, you can transfer the front dart intakes into pleats. If you do not want pleats in the front, you can eliminate the front darts and add their intakes to the side and back darts.

In your case you should spread the front waist dart intakes to the side, back waist darts and the center back dart. It is not a good idea to have two large waist darts in the back, as the end of the darts will stick out away from the body. 

Hope this helps. Happy sewing,

Nehzat 

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Tue, 02/12/2013 - 09:13
#6
Visinec
User offline. Last seen 12 years 13 hours ago. Offline
Joined: 12/23/2012
Posts: 2
Dear Nehzat,    thank you for

Dear Nehzat,

   thank you for your answer. It's help me a lot.

Best regards,
Tomasz

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