Forward Head/Shoulder Adjustment

Have you ever made a garment and found that the neckline sits just a bit too high for comfort? Perhaps the back also dips a bit below where the neckline seam should naturally sit on your body? Forward head posture occurs when your head rests in a forward leaning position, away from the body. This can cause some higher necklines to sit uncomfortably against the neck.

If you’ve experienced this, you might want to try a forward head adjustment on your pattern. If you also have noticed that your shoulders naturally rest more toward the front of your body, a forward shoulder adjustment may be helpful. The forward head and forward shoulder adjustments are closely related, and are described below. With this simple alteration, you can customize your pattern and breathe easy!

You’ll need:

• Your pattern, cut out in your desired size (or trace and cut out, to keep the original in tact)
• Some extra paper
• Tape
• Ruler (I like to use a clear grid ruler)
• French curve ruler
• Pencil/pen

Before you begin, you must determine how much you want to drop the neckline in the front, and how much you want to raise it in the back. The examples below are based on a 2.5cm (1”) drop in the front, and a 2.5cm (1”) raise in the back.

Forward Head Adjustment with Forward Shoulder Adjustment

The first, and simplest alteration, will address a forward head and a forward-shoulder with one action. In this technique, we will lengthen the back of the bodice and shorten the front. If sleeves will be attached to the bodice as a separate pattern piece, the sleeve will also be adjusted so the sleeve will match the new armhole fit. I’ve demonstrated this technique below on two TAL patterns: the Cuff Top, which features a grown-on sleeve, and the Multi-Sleeve Midi Dress bodice, which features sewn-in sleeves, so that you can see how the adjustment is made on both of these styles.

This alteration ultimately moves the neck opening toward the front of the body, and also moves the entire shoulder seam line forward. If you do not need to alter the shoulder seam line (if your shoulders do not sit naturally more forward on your body), please skip to the section below, titled Forward Head Adjustment Only.

Grown-On Sleeve (Cuff Top)

Step 1. Draw a horizontal line through the front and back bodice, roughly 4-5cm (1.5-2”) from the neckline. Extend your line all the way through the sleeve.  Make sure the line is perpendicular to the Centre Front (CF) and Centre Back (CB).

Step 2. Cut the front bodice in two pieces, along the horizontal line. Since this example will be reducing the front bodice by 2.5cm (1”) in length (this will shift the neckline 2.5cm (1”) lower), I have drawn a new horizontal line 2.5cm (1”) below the cut line.

Step 3. Match the top part of the bodice to the lower part of the bodice along the horizontal line you drew in step 2. Use a ruler to true the edge of the sleeve to ensure it is a straight line, and trim any excess.

Step 4. Cut the back bodice into two pieces along the horizontal line. Tape the top part of the bodice to a new piece of paper. Position the lower part of the pattern 2.5cm (1”) below the top part, and tape it down. Ensure that the CB follows a straight line between both pieces. Use a ruler to true the edge of the sleeve.

Step 5. Use a ruler to draw a line to connect the CB between both pieces. Cut away excess paper. Please note that your neck facing and your required elastic length will not change with this alteration.

Below is the same alteration but done on a bodice with an attached sleeve.

Bodice + Sleeve (Multi Sleve Midi Dress)

Step 1. Draw a horizontal line through the front and back bodice, roughly 4-5cm (1.5-2”) from the neckline.  Make sure the line is perpendicular to the Centre Front (CF) and Centre Back (CB)

Step 2. Cut the front bodice in two pieces, along the horizontal line. Since this example will be reducing the front bodice by 2.5cm (1”) in length (this will shift the neckline 2.5cm (1”) lower), I have drawn a new horizontal line 2.5cm (1”) below the cut line.

Step 3. Match the top part of the bodice to the lower part of the bodice along the horizontal line you drew in step 2. Use a French curve ruler to blend the edge of the armhole and trim any excess.

Step 4. Cut the back bodice into two pieces along the horizontal line. Tape the top part of the bodice to a new piece of paper. Position the lower part of the pattern 2.5cm (1”) below the top part, and tape it down. Ensure that the CB follows a straight line between both pieces.

Step 5. Use a French curve ruler to blend the edge of the armhole. Use a ruler to draw a line to connect the CB between both pieces. Cut away excess paper.

Step 6. Draw a vertical line along the centre of your sleeve, from shoulder notch to hem. This is your sleeve centre line and divides the front part of the sleeve (which has a single armhole notch), from the back part of the sleeve (which has a double armhole notch).

Step 7. Mark a pivot point on the vertical line, approximately 7.5-10cm (3-4”) from the top of the sleeve. Draw lines on the front (A) and back (B) of the sleeve, starting approximately halfway between the armhole notches and the shoulder notch, connecting at the pivot point. These two lines should meet at approximately a 90-degree angle at the pivot point so that it captures a good portion of the curve at the top of the sleeve. (Be sure to mark the line at least 2.5cm (1”) above your front armhole notch, or whatever measurement you’ve used to reduce your front bodice, so that you don’t accidentally lose the notch in your adjustment)

Step 8. On the front of your sleeve (the side with a single notch), mark a partial line (C) from the edge of the sleeve, 2.5cm (1”) below the original line. Remember: the front bodice has been shortened by 2.5cm (1”) in length, this must be reflected on the sleeve. If you are using a different measurement for your own pattern, be sure that it is the same measurement on front bodice and on front sleeve.

Step 9. Cut along lines A and B toward the pivot point, but do not cut through the pivot point. This point will act as a hinge as you gently slide the top of the sleeve cap toward the front of the sleeve, until it aligns with the partial line (C) you drew in step 8.

Step 10. Use a French curve ruler to blend the pattern edge smooth, and cut away the excess. You may also redraw the top of the centre line of the sleeve if you wish. Do not re-align the shoulder notch – it will now match with the new shoulder position on the bodice.

Step 11. Once all pattern pieces are adjusted and trimmed, you are ready to cut your fabric and sew! Please note that this adjustment will not require any alteration to the neck facing, however if you make a sleeveless bodice, you will need to adjust the front and back armhole facings in the same way you adjusted the front and back bodice (in this example, we would need to remove 2.5cm (1”) from the front and add 2.5cm (1”) to the back facing pieces).

Forward Head Adjustment Only

In this second alteration technique, it is a little bit more complex, because the adjustment targets the neckline position only – it does not fully alter the shoulder seam position. If you require a forward head adjustment but do not require a forward shoulder adjustment, this might be the right choice for you.

This example uses the same measurements as the previous one above: it drops the neckline 2.5cm (1”) in the front, and raises it 2.5cm (1”) in the back. For your own alteration, use appropriate measurements on your pattern that will fit your own body.

Grown-On Sleeve (Cuff Top)

Step 1. Since we are targeting the neckline only, we will cut the neckline away from the bodice to make the adjustments. Begin by marking a point along centre front and centre back, approximately 4-5cm (1.5-2”) down from the neckline. Draw a horizontal line (perpendicular to CF and CB). Mark a second point on each pattern piece, approximately 4-5cm (1.5-2”) away from the neckline on the shoulder seam. Draw a vertical line (parallel to CF and CB) that meets the horizontal line you just drew.

Step 2. Cut along the vertical and horizontal lines you just drew to separate the neckline section of the both front and back bodice patterns. On the front bodice, draw a horizontal line 2.5cm (1”) under the cut line (use whatever measurement you’re dropping the neckline by).

Step 3. Match the horizontal line of the neckline pattern section to the horizontal line you just drew on the lower bodice pattern section. Ensure the CF line is straight and tape the top piece to the bottom piece as pictured.

Step 4. For the back bodice piece, slide the neckline pattern segment up by 2.5cm (1”). Insert a piece of paper in the gap. Ensure the CB line is straight and tape everything down securely.

Step 5. Next we will smooth the shoulder line of the front and back pattern pieces. Since the Cuff Top has a 5cm (2″) folded sleeve hem, it’s important to ensure the hem can still be folded precisely so that it fits together when sewing the hem to the sleeve. This means we cannot simply true the new shoulder line by drawing a straight line from sleeve hem to neck because it would cut away part of the sleeve and make sewing the sleeve hem a challenge with unwanted puckers. To avoid this, measure 10cm (4”) from the sleeve hem (which covers 5cm (2”) for the folded elasticized section, and 5cm (2”) where the hem will be sewn down). Make a mark on the sewing line at this point (the thin line inside the pattern – see photo). Add paper as needed to fill gaps. Use a ruler to connect this point to the neckline (be sure to connect to the sewing line, not the outer edge of the pattern).

Step 6. Draw the new seam allowance 1cm from the trued shoulder line. Connect to the seam allowance near the sleeve hem and at the neck/shoulder point.

Step 7. Ensure everything is taped down securely. Trim excess paper.

Step 8. The neckline shape has not changed, but the shoulder seam placement has (this is indicated by a dashed line on the neck facing pattern piece). You may choose to re-trace the neckline of the bodice to create a new facing – this would be the most accurate option. However, because the adjustment is small, you can do a quicker adjustment by simply angling the shoulder seam marker approximately 0.3cm (1/8”) toward the back and blend the edge of the facing smooth.

Bodice + Sleeve (Multi-Midi Dress)

Step 1. Follow steps 1-4 as described above in the Grown-On Sleeve (Cuff Top) example. When it comes to trueing the shoulder seam, you can connect a line directly between the armhole/shoulder point and the neckline/shoulder point since this part of the garment will not have any folded-back features like the Cuff Top. The sleeve does not require any adjustments.

Step 2. Depending on how much length you’ve removed (from the front) and added (in the back), your new shoulder seams may no longer be a perfect match. The back bodice shoulder seam length may be longer than the front, as pictured below.

If the difference between the back and front is 1.25cm (1/2″) or less than the front, you can simply ease the back seam into the front seam when sewing. Be sure to sew with the back piece on the bottom as it passes through your sewing machine (so the feed dogs will help ease it into shape) and pin securely to match the pieces. If you have more than 1.25cm (1/2″) difference between the pieces, you may add a back shoulder dart. To do this, first mark the halfway point on the shoulder seam. Then, draw a line perpendicular to the seam, approximately 7.5cm (3”) long. This is your centre dart line. Distribute the excess seam length on either side of the line to create the dart legs. For example, if your back shoulder is now 2cm (3/4”) longer than the front, you will add 1cm (3/8”) on either side of the centre dart line.

Step 3. Fold the dart closed and re-draw the shoulder seam with a ruler to true it (tape extra paper to the top of the shoulder if you’ve already trimmed the seam in a previous step. This is only necessary if adding a dart – if no dart is needed, no additional paper or trueing is necessary). I’ve taped my dart closed to make it easier to draw the new shoulder line and have cut it open afterward.

Step 4. Adjust the neck facing as described in step 8 above in the Grown-On Sleeve (Cuff Top) example.

As always, with any alteration you may wish to test the new fit with some inexpensive fabric, and you may want to make further adjustments as needed.

Happy sewing!

Kirsten

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