Slow Shirt: Forward Shoulder Adjustment
The Slow Shirt has the shoulder seam location hidden in the yoke – the yoke includes part of the Front’s length. You can see the original shoulder location in the diagram below, labelled on a red line. So if you want to shift the shoulder location forward, what should you do? In the case of a small change, you might not need to do anything at all, but if you’d like to shift the yoke’s seam forward in proportion with the shoulder location, it’s a simple pattern change. Here’s how:
You’ll need the Yoke, Front, and both Sleeve pieces. You’ll also move the notch on the Collar Stand at the very end.
- Draw in the seam lines on the Front and the Yoke, on the yoke seam, and on the Oversleeve and Undersleeve on the seam with single notches (not the placket seam).
- Tape the Sleeve pieces together on the seam line – they won’t match exactly in the middle, but we’re going to just skip that part. Just match each end of the seam.
- Tape the Front and the Yoke together at the yoke seam.
- Measure and mark the distance by which you’ll move your shoulder seam. I did a very dramatic change so the difference is really obvious in the diagrams and photos. It’s more than necessary, but helpful for showing the impact of the change.
I moved the neckline end of the seam forward by 1.5” (3.8 cm) and the shoulder end of the seam forward by 1.75” (4.5 cm) - Cut apart the pattern pieces on the new seamline.
- Tape new paper in place and mark the new seam allowances: 5/8” (1.6 cm) as before, and 1/4” (6 mm) on the tiny portion of the neckline that needs it.
- On the Collar Stand, move the notch (the one that matches the yoke seam) forward by the same amount that you moved the seam at the neckline.
And there you have it! One adjustment that can make a very big difference for the fit of your Slow Shirt.
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I find this topic to be one of the great mysteries of garment sewing. This tutorial is very helpful – especially with the before and after shirts so well presented. You used a large shift for clarity, but could you say what the shift was between the two photographed shirts? I think that the reason I haven’t jumped in on this fit topic is that I can make any shirt look and feel OK standing and assessing at the mirror, thus I imagine a sea of full-shirt toiles to get it right – the toil of toiles!
I did a very dramatic change so the difference is really obvious in the diagrams and photos. It’s more than necessary, but helpful for showing the impact of the change.
I moved the neckline end of the seam forward by 1.5” (3.8 cm) and the shoulder end of the seam forward by 1.75” (4.5 cm)
One thing that helped me with the decision was knowing that shifting the seam dramatically further would work out okay as a style line. It echoes the back yoke, and the weight feels totally fine! So I didn’t feel the need to micro-manage the change in the seam like I might on a “regular” woven top. Hopefully that helps you feel confident, Barb!