My daughter has this adorable romper, but it has an elastic neckline and it has stretched out, so it is always falling off her shoulders and it gets in her way while she’s playing. I decided to do a nice quick fix to make the neckline a bit smaller so it will stay up on her shoulders. This was a super easy fix and it can be done on any type of shirt/dress/romper.
Materials
A thin piece of elastic (shouldn’t be any wider than the collar of the shirt)
matching thread
top with neckline that’s too loose
Fixing the elastic neckline
The first thing you need to do is decide how much you would like to take your neckline in. To do this, put your shirt on, pinch at the shoulders or the back until it is the right size and safety pin it in place. Take off your top and measure how much you need to take in the neck. Now, measure the distance from one shoulder seam to the other. Measure along the back of the top. Lastly, you will need to do a little bit of math. Subtract your first measurement from your second. This is the length of elastic you need. (i.e. if your shirt measures 11 inches and you want to take it in 2 inches, you will need 9 inches of elastic)
Now line up your elastic on the inside collar of your shirt. Line it up along the back of the shirt, and stretch your elastic across the back. Pin the elastic in place.
Put your sewing machine on a wide zig zag stitch. Make sure it is still catching the elastic, but it should be close to the edges.
Sew along your elastic, keep pulling the elastic tight, as this is what will make the neckline smaller. The elastic should be pulled tight enough the your shirt doesn’t have any wrinkles in it as you’re sewing.
That’s it! your shirt will fit much better now!
If you’re looking for another way to fix your neckline, try this!
