This adjustment is intended for those with particularly narrow shoulders, who find that necklines tend to slide around or sit closer to the shoulder than the intended style. You might also notice that the neckline gapes at the front or the back rather than sitting smoothly against the body.
Note that this adjustment is different from a narrow shoulder adjustment and it is possible you may need to do both. First, use the narrow shoulder adjustment to ensure that the shoulder seam sits at the right place, then adjust the width of the neckline to further refine the fit.
Materials
Gather some basic materials to adjust the pattern pieces:-
Back & Front pattern pieces
- Scrap paper
- Tape
- Pen/pencil
- Optional: French curve or flexible ruler
Measure
To determine your ideal neckline width, measure the shoulder width on the back pattern piece and apply it to your body.
Measure the width of the back pattern piece at the top of the armhole from the fold line to the armhole.
Subtract 3/8" (1cm) from the measurement, then double the measurement to determine the shoulder seam to shoulder seam measurement.
Mark the measurement on your body - marking the point using pins on a tight fitting t-shirt works well. Measure from the pin to the point where you would like the neck opening to sit on your side neck. This gives you the finished length of your shoulder seam, which will be applied to the pattern piece below.
Adjust pattern piece
1. Draw a line below the neck opening across the pattern so that it is wider than the neck width. Then, draw another line down from the shoulder seam to join the first line at a 90 degree angle. Cut along both lines.
2. Place the pattern onto a larger piece of paper and tape it in place. Then, draw on the paper to extend the centre back fold line and the shoulder.
3. Mark the 3/8" (1cm) stitching line onto the shoulder armhole point (on the main pattern piece) and the shoulder neck point (on the cutout piece). These are marked with a dotted line in the diagram below.
Slide the neck piece along the extended shoulder seam until the distance between the points equals the finished length of your adjusted shoulder seam (determined in the "Measure" section above). Ensure that the fold line of the neck pieces remains parallel to the extended fold line of the back pattern piece.
4. Tape the cut out piece in position and repeat for the front pattern piece. The gap between the body piece and the neck piece should be the same on both front and back to keep the shoulder seams the same length.
Before trimming off the fold line of the neck piece, which extends beyond the body, it is very important to double check that the new neckline will fit over your head! If it is too small, you may need to widen it a bit more, scoop the front neck lower, or create a back neck opening.
An average adult head circumference is 23-24" (58-60cm), but it's always a good idea to measure your own head.
To check the size of the neck opening, mark the stitching line of the front and back necklines. Use a tape measure to carefully measure around the curved line on your pattern pieces. This measurement will give you the half neck circumference, so double the measurement to get the full circumference. For example, if your half neck measurement is 12" (30cm) then the full circumference is 24" (60cm), so you will be able to JUST get your top over your head.
5. If the neck opening will fit over your head, then you can trim off the neck piece, tape everything together, and proceed with using your custom fit pattern piece.
As usual when making custom pattern fitting adjustments, we advise making a toile (muslin) first to refine the fit before cutting into your good fabric.
Read more Twig + Tale pattern fitting tutorials here:
