Adjust a Simple Neckline or Opening

What you will learn

• Judging neckline construction
• Pinning on the body
• Working around a facing

Materials and tools

• Garment
• Pins
• Chalk
• Seam ripper
• Matching thread
• Hand-sewing needle, sharps size 9
• Iron and board
• Mirror

Before you start

• Put the garment on in front of a mirror and mark the changes with pins.

1. Check what you are changing. Examine the neckline from the inside. A plain neckline finished with a narrow facing or a hem can be made to sit a little higher by taking up the shoulder seams, and a V or slit opening can be stitched partly closed. Folding the neckline edge under does not raise it. That only makes the opening bigger. A neckline with lace, ribbing, interfacing, collar or lining cannot be changed easily.
2. Put on the garment. To raise the neckline, pinch up the fabric along each shoulder seam, the same amount on both shoulders, until the neckline sits where you want, and pin. A lift of 1/4 to 1/2 in (6 to 12 mm) is realistic. To make a V or slit smaller, pin its two edges together from the bottom of the opening upward. Check that the garment still goes over your head.
3. Check the armholes while pinned. Lifting the shoulders raises the armholes too. Raise your arms and reach forward. If an armhole cuts in, pin less.
4. Take off the garment and turn it inside out. Measure the pinned depth at both shoulders. The two must match. Chalk the new seam line below the old shoulder seam. On a sleeveless garment, keep it parallel to the old seam. On a garment with sleeves, make it deepest at the neck edge and taper it to meet the old seam before it reaches the sleeve seam.

5. Do not cut or unpick. If a facing is tacked down at the shoulder, release the tack and open the facing out flat, so the new line runs straight across the garment and the facing. Baste along the chalk line with long stitches, then try on the garment. Check that the neckline lies flat and both sides match.
6. When the fit is confirmed, sew the new shoulder seams with small backstitches, 1/8 in (3 mm) long, and fasten the thread firmly at both ends. For a V or slit, join the two edges from the inside with small slip stitches that catch only the folded edges.
7. Fold the facing back into place and tack it to the shoulder seam allowance with a few small stitches.
8. Trim only if the extra fabric in the shoulder seam is bulky. Leave at least 1/2 in (12 mm) and finish the edge with overcasting.
9. Press with a pressing cloth, and check the neckline in the mirror.

Tips for a neat result

• A neckline that is too low can also be fixed with a snap, a brooch or an inserted panel, which are reversible.
• Lowering a neckline means cutting it and making a new edge finish, and the cut cannot be undone. Leave that to a professional.

Common mistakes and fixes

Check your result

• The neckline lies flat and both sides match.
• Stitches do not show and the garment sits correctly on the shoulders.

Projects that use this