How to Make a Sewing Pattern Neckline Template

My kiddo is large- adult medium sized, as far as clothing is concerned, but she is also still a kid shaped kid, so finding clothing that will fit her shape and size has been a challenge. Thankfully, she is into fashion and likes choosing patterns and having me sew for her. It is easy enough to grade a pattern by choosing the size she is at bust, waist and hip and connecting the dots, but necklines are tricky. This is a way to create a template for a neckline based on a favorite shirt. This technique will also work to make any neckline more modest, although it may not work as is for someone who is particularly busty.

For supplies, you will need a shirt that fits your subject well, a sewing pin, a pencil, a sheet of paper and scissors.

Although I did use marker for better visibility, don't. Crayola washes out well, but don't risk a favorite shirt!

Fold your shirt in half and place it on your paper, lining the fold up to one edge. Trace the back neck line, the collar seam, and the full shoulder as shown. I like to also trace the side seam if I have to move the shirt to mark the collar.

At this point, you will need to cut your template out. You should cut along the back neckline (not the back collar line!) and cut straight down at the shoulder seam as marked on the previous step.

Then, you will need to cut the shoulder seam, along the slanted line. (Sorry I didn't catch this step in the photo, but you can see that the finished template has the shoulder cut.)

Put this template inside the shirt, snugged up and even to the shoulder seam and pin it in place. Then, fold the shirt in half.

Trace your neckline. Don't worry if its a little wiggly, or if you need to go again because fabric moves. Just make sure that the line you want is darkest. At this point I roll back the crew collar and add dots to indicate the collar line.

Kiddo mentioned she is ok with necklines at this point (white pin) so if that is a thing you feel you need, stab it so! Once you take the template out of the shirt, you can mark it.

As this image shows, I have extended the collar line with dashes, and I have colored in the difference between the back collar and the front neckline for clarity. I also marked the lowest ok line horizontally across the center front.

There are two things you can do at this point: trace the whole thing to use as the back, and cut out the front, or you can leave it like this and trim along the front neckline when it comes time to cut out the pattern. I do this most often but I am prone to losing the second part either way so do what works!

This is the template on a pattern for a woman's tank top, but since it's not my pattern I turned it into a diagram. The purple is what I would cut for my kiddo- the original neckline is marked in green.

To use, line the shoulder seams and the center line, and cut out your preferred neckline.

Hope this helps!