How to Adjust the Neck Width of a Shirt

Even with beginner-level sewing skills, adjusting the neck of a shirt is simple.

A shirt that is too tight around the neck can be uncomfortable and cause a feeling of confinement. However, if you adore everything else about the shirt, there's no reason to toss it out just because the neck is too tight. With a few simple sewing tools and a few minutes of your time, you can adjust the neck width of your shirt to create a more comfortable garment.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing machine
• Sewing shears
• Thread that matches the color of the shirt
• Straight pins
• Fabric chalk

Instructions

1. Try on the shirt and decide how much wider you would like to make the neck. Use the fabric chalk to mark points on the shirt -- on each shoulder seam -- to show where you would like the neckline to fall.

2. Take off the shirt. Snip open the point on the neckline where the right shoulder seam meets it, until you reach the point of the new neckline that you marked. Do the same on the left side.

3. Start at the end of the cut on one of the shoulders, and fold the entire circumference of the neckline of the shirt under to form the new wider neckline. Pin in place.

4. Turn the shirt inside out, and sew a 1/2-inch seam around the new neckline.

5. Trim off any excess fabric, and turn the shirt to the correct side.