How to Do a Forward Shoulder Adjustment

Is your shoulder seam sitting too far back, or your neckline creeping up? Learn how to do a forward shoulder adjustment with this simple pattern fix.

If you spend your days hunched over a sewing machine, working at a desk, or just existing in the modern world, there’s a good chance you have forward shoulders. It’s incredibly common! Forward shoulders simply means your shoulders roll slightly forward rather than sitting perfectly upright—and many patterns aren’t drafted for this posture.

The good news? This adjustment just shifts fabric from the front pattern piece to the back, repositioning the shoulder seam so it sits right on top of your shoulder where it belongs.

How to Tell If You Need a Forward Shoulder Adjustment

• The shoulder seam is sitting too far back—toward your shoulder blades rather than on top of your shoulder
• Your garment keeps slipping backward as you wear it, with the neckline riding up
• You might also notice gaping at the back of the neck

Measuring How Much to Adjust By

On your muslin, mark where the shoulder seam should sit to be perfectly on top of your shoulder. You’ll likely notice one of two things: either the entire seam needs to move forward, or just one end is off (usually the shoulder end) while the other is fine. Note which situation you have and measure how far the seam needs to shift—this amount will be taken away from the front piece and added to the back piece.

How to Do a Forward Shoulder Adjustment

Step 1: On your front pattern piece, mark the stitching (seam) line at the shoulder. Then, mark the distance the shoulder seam needs to move down (toward the armhole), marking a new stitching line.

Step 2: Draw in your new seam allowance above this new seam line, parallel to the original.

Step 3: Trim away the excess paper above the seam allowance.

Step 4: Tape some extra paper behind your back pattern piece. Mark the distance the shoulder seam needs to move up (the same amount you removed from the front).

Step 5: Draw in the new seam allowance.

Step 6: Trim away the excess paper, and the back piece is done.

Step 7: Lay your front and back pieces on top of each other, as if the pieces have been sewn and opened up, overlapping them at the new stitching (seam) lines that you created. Check that the sew lines are exactly the same length: if they are not, adjust one or both pieces until they are. You can also “true” the seam allowances to make sure they will be caught in the stitching: again, make sure that the front and back seam allowances are reaching the edges of the pieces, and if not, extend (using extra paper) if needed.

If your garment is sleeveless, you are done!

If your garment has sleeves, it is very likely that you also need the sleeve rotated along with the shoulder seam moving forward (your shoulder being “forward” is almost always linked to your arm being “forward” in the shoulder socket). If this is the case, then you simply insert the same sleeve as before, matching the notch at the top of the sleeve cap to the new forward shoulder seam. However, the seam on the sleeve will no longer match the underarm notch/side seam of the bodice. You can leave it like this (it’s very unlikely anyone will ever notice!), or you can move the seam on the sleeve over in the direction that is needed. If you are a beginner, or newer to adjustments, we recommend not making any changes and simply inserting the sleeve as before! 

If you do NOT believe you need the sleeve rotated, you will need to move the notch on the sleeve cap forwards, so that the sleeve ends up oriented as it was before you made the forward shoulder adjustment.

You Did It!

No more shoulder seams creeping backward or necklines riding up! This adjustment is one of those subtle changes that makes a surprisingly big difference to how polished your garments look and feel.

Want to dive deeper into fitting? This adjustment and many more are covered in detail in “Ahead of the Curve,” our best-selling book on fitting for curves. And if you’d like in-depth video tutorials that go much deeper, check out Cashmerette Club‘s library of fitting masterclasses.