When we designed the Auburn Blazer sewing pattern, our focus was on getting a great fit for curves. If you find that you need to make a shoulder adjustment to get your ideal fit, we’re here to help!

If you have a full bust, you may have felt like achieving a great fit in a blazer was beyond reach. Well, not anymore! The Auburn Blazer pattern is a great foundation if you have a full bust, but you may find that you need to make a tweak or two to get the perfect fit for you body.

Today, we’re talking all about shoulders. Be sure to check out our Auburn Blazer fit guide for other fitting tips and tutorials! (Want even more fitting help? Check out our popular Fitting for Curves online workshop.)

The first step to getting a great fit is to make a muslin, so let’s chat about that next.

Make a Muslin

Sewing up a quick muslin, toile, or test garment can clue you in to how the Auburn will fit much better than looking at a flat pattern. When sewing your muslin, you can use a less expensive (but similar weight/stretch) fabric and you can take some shortcuts, like skipping the lining and not finishing seams or hems. View B makes for a great muslin, especially if you’re primarily concerned with shoulder fit.

Before starting your muslin, make sure you’re making the right size(s) for your body—our easy-to-use size calculator can help with this.

You can also choose your size by consulting the body measurements and finished garment measurements charts for the Auburn:

Once you’ve made your muslin, try it on. Remember to pop your shoulder pads in place! You can attach them temporarily with safety pins if you’d like. Without the shoulder pads, you won’t get a true sense of how your blazer muslin fits.

Stand in the mirror and assess the shoulder fit. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the shoulder seam sitting at the top of my shoulders?
• Is the end of the shoulder (where it meets the sleeve) extending just slightly past my natural shoulder?

If you answered yes to these questions, you’re good to go! If not, continue reading.

Adjustment: Shoulder Seam is Too Far Forward/Back

If the shoulder seam of your Auburn muslin is sitting in front of or behind the top of your shoulders, you may need to make a forward shoulder or back shoulder adjustment. These adjustments bring the shoulder seam forward or background to better align with your shoulders.

Cashmerette patterns are designed for curves, and curvy folks often have a slight forward shoulder, so we’ve built in a small forward shoulder adjustment into our patterns. If you find that you need a more pronounced forward shoulder adjustment, here is a tutorial for how to do that.

If you need to move the shoulder seam back, you’ll need to do a back shoulder adjustment. This is a less common adjustment, but is essentially the reverse of a forward shoulder adjustment. Here is a tutorial for how to do that (scroll down to “posterior arm joint adjustment”).

Adjustment: Shoulders Are Too Wide/Narrow

With many tailored blazers, the shoulders are meant to extend just past your natural shoulder, and the same is true for the Auburn. But if the shoulders of your Auburn muslin are extending too far beyond your shoulder, or not enough, you may need to do a broad or narrow shoulder adjustment.

First, double check that your shoulder pads are sitting in the right place. Then measure how how much you want to extend or bring in the shoulder. If you need to bring in your blazer’s shoulder, you’ll want to do a narrow shoulder adjustment—here is a tutorial for how to do that. If you want to extend your blazer’s shoulder, you’ll want to do a broad shoulder adjustment—here is a tutorial for how to do that.

With any shoulder adjustment that you make, you’ll want to check the fit on a muslin again before cutting into your final fabric.

We hope this tutorial helps you find your ideal shoulder fit! If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below or reach out to us directly at hello@cashmerette.com