Truing a dart is an important step when drafting or altering a sewing pattern. It ensures that the dart legs match correctly and that the edge of the pattern forms the correct shape once the dart has been sewn and pressed.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to true a dart accurately, including how to fold the dart in the correct direction and shape the pattern edge around it.
When you draft a dart or change its position, the two dart legs need to be the correct length and the surrounding pattern edge needs to remain smooth once the dart is sewn.
To check this, the dart is folded as it will sit in the finished garment and the pattern edge is corrected, or “trued”, while the dart is folded. This creates the small amount of additional shaping required at the dart so that the finished edge sits correctly rather than pulling, dipping or creating an uneven edge.
You should true your darts whenever you draft a pattern from scratch or make alterations that affect an existing dart. This is particularly important after moving, rotating, shortening, lengthening or changing the width of a dart.
It is a small step in the pattern drafting process, but one that helps produce a much more accurate and professional result when the garment is sewn.
Want to learn more about pattern drafting? Explore my Pattern Drafting classes.
