Q&A
PLUS-SIZE SEWING
By Barbara Deckert
My plus-size tops slide backward at the neckline and I have to keep yanking them back down in front. What causes this and how can I fix it?
Eileen R.,
Seattle, WA
Most ready-to-wear and commercial patterns for plus-size tops feature loose and open necklines in the front and back that will naturally shift. Even more-fitted shirts with higher necklines may not include neck or shoulder darts that snug a neckline around the curves of the upper torso and keep the neckline in place. There are several ways to avoid and solve this issue.
Select shirt styles with elastic or a drawstring around the neckline, such as peasant tops and some surplice necklines. Or select styles in knit fabrics that stretch to fit and therefore stay in place as you move.
For fitted styles, such as shirts and blouses with collars, jewel or V-necklines, look for neckline and/or shoulder darts. Adjust the darts for common plus-size figure variations, such as a rounded upper back, rounded shoulders, or forward pitched shoulders or neck. Alternately, you can draft in neckline darts for patterns that don't include them to help fit your rounded upper back and shoulder area.
First, compare the difference between your back waist length (from the most prominent bone at the base of the neck to the back waistline) to the same length on your pattern. For most rounded upper backs, there may be a 1" to 2" difference.
Place a small piece of tape at the back shoulder seam for reinforcement. Slash the pattern horizontally from the center back to the shoulder tip up to, but not through, the cutting line. Draw a straight line to the horizontal slash, beginning on the neckline about halfway between the center-back and the shoulder seam (A).
Spread the horizontal slash the necessary amount. As you do so, the new neck dart will open up. Tape the pattern to tissue or pattern-tracing cloth to secure (B).
True the new neckline dart by folding it toward the center back as if it were stitched, and then trim the tissue along the neck cutting line. Baste the darts in place before attaching the collar or facing, and then adjust for length and position if needed to fit your upper back.
A quick fix for ready-to-wear garments is to insert a thin molded shoulder pad. The pad may help the garment sit on your shoulders and stay in place. Or try double-sided tape, such as Res-Q Tape from Clotilde or Vabon Topstick toupee tape.
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