Butterick 5748 part 3 - Darts

We're going to start sewing tonight but we're keeping it simple.  Darts and fitting.

I'm starting with my main bodice fabric so it's easier to show you the correct side to mark and sew.  You should probably start with your lining because you will have to rip a few seams if you're going to make adjustments.

You marked your darts already (make sure your pins are on the wrong side of your fabric) when you cut so this will be a quick step.  Start with your bodice back sections.  With right sides together, line up your marks, making your pins kiss and having your single mark, the point of the triangle right on the crease.

It's not the greatest picture, sorry! 

Sew along the line. Back stitch at the start.  When you get close to the end point, sew the last few stitches along the crease.  DO NOT BACKSTITCH.  Leave the threads long so you can hand tie them, either now or after you've sewn all the darts.  Do the other back piece.

Now do the front pieces.  The bottom dart is simple, slightly bigger but the same as the back piece.

The top dart gave me a smidge of trouble because I cut two different sizes.  So my dart points didn't line up perfectly.  I made sure my middle darts and end point did and then let first ones fall where they wanted.

You can see the white pin and black pin on the end - how far apart they are :)

To get my starting point since my official one was so wrong, I made a straight line that intersected the other two points.

Normally a dart doesn't end up looking like this.  If you only cut a single size you won't have to worry about this!  Darn my boobs being so small.

 Now, do the other side.  If you haven't already, tie off all of your darts.  I tend to double knot them just to be safe.  Trim threads.

Now we're going to fit it.  Make sure you use basting stitches.  I set my length at 4.  I back stitched to make sure my seams didn't fall apart while I was fitting it.

Start with the shoulder seams with a 5/8" seam allowance.  Backstitch at the start and finish from here on out.

Then line up the front and back pieces.  Pin and baste the side seams.  Again, my side seams don't look normal :).

Now, try it on, see how it feels.  Mine felt perfect at the bust (thank goodness!) but too small at the waist.  I'm going to try it again with a 3/8" seam on the waist graduating up to the 5/8" at the bust.  Now, rip your side seams.  Leave the shoulders if the shoulder drop felt fine.  Stitch over them at the regular stitch length.

Now do the darts for your bodice fabric and stitch the shoulders.  You're done with this step!  Next time we'll assemble the bodice.