How to Sew Darts Smoothly: 5 Easy Tips

Sewing darts is a fundamental garment construction skill that every sewist should master. Whether you’ve never made one before, or have stitched hundreds, it’s always good to brush up on your technique.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to sew darts smoothly, avoid pointy dart tips, and get a professional-looking finish every time. Whether you're sewing a dress, blouse or skirt, these dart sewing tips will help you create beautiful shaping in your handmade clothes.

We've also included a video tutorial below so you can see the techniques in action.

What Is a Dart?

A dart is a fold of fabric stitched together and pressed to one side, magically transforming a flat piece of fabric into a three-dimensional shape.

They are commonly used to add shaping around the bust, waist, shoulders and hips. You'll find them on all sorts of garments, from fitted dresses and blouses to skirts and trousers.

The most common type is the single dart, which looks like a triangular wedge. This is used on patterns including the Nell blouse + dress, Ramona skirt, and Thea trousers. You might also come across:

• Curved darts – these create a more closely contoured shape, such as on the Orla top.
• Double-ended darts – these create shaping at the bust and waist at the same time, such as on the Olive pinafore.
• French darts – also shaping both bust and waist, these run from the lower side seam towards the bust. Find them on the Francoise shift dress.

Before you start stitching, make sure you've transferred the dart markings accurately onto the wrong side of your fabric.

Watch the Video Tutorial

1) Pin carefully

To give yourself the best chance of getting a smoothly sewn dart, make sure you pin it accurately and neatly.

Fold the dart along the centre, right sides together, bringing the dart legs (lines) on top of each other. Insert the pins exactly along the legs, checking the markings line up accurately on both sides of the fabric.

I always flip the fabric over a few times while pinning to make sure everything is aligned correctly. Taking an extra minute here can make a huge difference to the finished result.

If you're sewing with a drapey fabric such as viscose, I'd recommend using a few extra pins to keep everything stable. Fabrics like cotton and linen tend to behave themselves much more willingly.

2) Pin strategically

When inserting your pins, point them away from the dart tip, towards the widest part. This is usually the raw edge of the fabric, or the centre of the dart on double-ended darts. Because you'll sew from the widest part of the dart towards the tip, this makes it much easier to remove the pins as you stitch.

For larger pieces, position the fabric so the bulk of the garment sits to the left of the needle. That way the project can stay on the open side of the machine.

If you're sewing a double-ended dart, start at the centre and pin one half of the dart, then flip the fabric over vertically and repeat on the other half of the dart on the other side of the fabric.

A handy extra tip is to place a pin horizontally across the dart tip. It gives you a clear visual target as you sew and makes it easier to stitch accurately right to the point.

3) Don't back tack at the dart tip

Back tacking at the tip of a dart can create a little bump - best avoided when you want to create a smooth shape.

Instead, when you're approximately 5mm (1/4in) away from the dart point, reduce your stitch length to around 1 for the final few stitches. The small stitches are very unlikely to unravel, so there’s no need to back tack.

You should still back tack at the start of a single dart – at the widest end. For a double-ended dart, begin at the centre and sew towards one tip. Return to the centre, overlap a few stitches, then sew towards the second tip.

4) Create a softly shaped tip

Once you've shortened the stitch length, gently pivot your stitching onto the folded edge of the dart and sew right along the fold for the final few stitches. Sew off the edge of the fabric at the dart point.

This helps create a more softly rounded shape, particularly appreciated for bust darts.

This avoids the pointy Madonna cone bra vibe!

5) Press well

Once you've sewn the dart, give it a good steamy press to smooth out the shape.

If the dart is at the bust or other curve, pressing it over a tailor's ham will help give it a three-dimensional, curved shape, rather than pressing it flat. If you don't have a tailor's ham, a rolled towel is a great substitute.

Once you've mastered these simple techniques, you'll be sewing smooth, professional-looking darts without even thinking about it.

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