
The shirt on the left is before the darts were added and the shirt on the right is after the darts were added. Adding darts is definitely a personal preference. Some people like the looser fit or the looser fit is more flattering to their body type. I am mostly a rectangle so I need the appearance of waist definition for it to be flattering. What I love about the woven tee with a fitted back is that I get bust definition, front tummy skimming, and back waist definition.
How to sew back darts:
- Put your hand on your thinnest place. It may or may not be wear your waist is.
- Using both hands gather the excess fabric into two pinches on both sides of your back center.
- Pin the deepest part of the dart at your waist with safety pins. *Make sure you still have ease and that you can get the shirt on and off.*
- Pin where you want the top and bottom of the darts to end. This is about where the fabric smooths out. My darts ended at my armpit and 3″ from my hem.
- Take off the shirt and mark where you pinned. Take the safety pins out.
- Measure the darts and if the amounts are different then find the average.
- Measure the same distance from the side seam for each dart and mark. Draw the fisheye shape.
- Sew the darts.
Tips for sewing fisheye darts:
- Draw your darts in before sewing.
- Don’t backstitch at the end of the dart.
- Do tie knots with the thread tails at the end of a dart.
- Start in the middle of the dart and sew towards the ends.
- Press the darts towards the middle for the most flattering look.
- Use a pressing ham to press the ends of the darts.
One thing I didn’t realize that back darts would do is that it gave me more bust definition without making the top that much tighter. It made the woven tee fitted just enough to be perfect without it being restricting or too tight. It’s a great thing to add to any woven top you have like a button down shirt!
Samantha says
Thank you for providing such useful information. I’m not sure if it’s going to work on my current project but I’m saving all of it!
Christine says
Thank you for this information! I just completed the darts in my work shirt, and what a difference. I will be doing this with the other 7 shirts, it looks great and very easy!
Brenda Petersen says
Does putting back darts in an already constructed garment move the side seams so they are no longer at the sides? My daughter bought a really nice dress and wants me to take up the back a bit, and darts will work, but I’m afraid the side seams will pull towards the back and not be straight up and down?
Heather Handmade says
As long as there is extra space in the back before sewing darts the side seams won’t be pulled to the back. When you are pinning and marking the darts you can watch the side seams to make sure they don’t move. If they are getting pulled then pin a more shallow dart.
Kate says
Thankyou for providing this tutorial – it’s very clear and I love the way your T-shirt looks with the darts! Will be giving this a go.