Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Karin van D., Karin, Katherine, Cindy, Jessica, Sarah, Summerset, Lisa Laree, Becky, Susie, Debbie, Mamafitz, Faye, Mary, Elaina and Patsijean for talking back to my confession last week! I asked how people finish their darts - backstitching or tying off?

Generally, tying off won out over backstitching along the same seam (8 commenters to 3 commenters), but of course it turns out that there's a lot more to sewing darts than the simple choice that I offered. ;)

First off, some people backstitch for thicker fabrics (home decor, etc.) and tie off with sheer fabrics. Apparently backstitching along the same line can have a messy and/or bulky effect in thin fabrics.

Next, people recommended 2 tricks that I had never heard of. One is to reduce the stitch length near the points of the darts. Six people called this out and several of them said that it was secure enough to not need any other finish.

The second cool tip, called out by 5 people and illustrated in this video - thanks, Jessica for directing me to it! - is to back stitch, but NOT along the same stitching line, rather along the fold inside of the dart.

Finally, a few people brought up an aspect of dart sewing that I hadn't considered - the direction in which you sew it. Two people start at the widest part of the dart (one end or in the middle, depending) and sew to the tip. One person starts at the tip and sews to the wide part. And for Lisa Laree, it depends on the type of fabric - she usually starts at the wide end, unless the fabric is stretchy or unstable, and then she starts at the tip.

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to leave a comment! I can't believe how much I learn from you guys and I am really looking forward to taking my dart sewing up a notch with these cool ideas! :)

Image credit: About.com