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Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What does boatneck mean? #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary

An illustration featuring the definition of a boatneck surrounded by images: a gondolier’s black and white striped tee shirt with a boatneck; a canoe boat; an outline of a sewing pattern for a boatneck shirt showing a long neckline with short shoulder seams; an almond shape symbolizing a regular boatneck; a Barbie doll in a long-sleeved shirt with a regular boatneck, viewed from above to show the neckline and exposed area between neck and shoulders; a sleeveless boatneck evening gown on a mannequin; an almond shape with wavy edges indicating an elasticized boatneck; a Barbie doll in an elasticized boatneck shirt with three-quarter sleeves, viewed from above to reveal the neckline and exposed neck area; a blue dress with an A-line skirt and T-shirt sleeves featuring a boatneck. The Chelly Wood dot com logo is at the bottom of the image. The definition within this illustration reads as follows: The neck opening of a shirt or dress which is shaped like a canoe, with pointed tips at the shoulders.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

DEFINITION: 

This is my own definition. Of course you can google this term to find other definitions as well.

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A beautiful Barbie with black hair, hazel eyes, and deep, dark chocolate skin tone models a handmade shirt with a boatneck collar and long sleeves. The shirt's collar has been cut too long (shoulder to shoulder), and in response, the seamstress making the shirt has gathered elastic at the edge of the collar, along the front. We see the collar as an almond-shaped opening, from above the doll's head. The doll wears silver hoop earrings and pink lipstick.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

An elasticized boatneck is also sometimes called a “elastic boatneck” or a “relaxed boatneck.” Often this type of neckline can be worn below the collarbone, fully exposing the shoulders, like Esmeralda’s top in Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. When worn this way, the shirt is sometimes called a “peasant’s blouse.”

It should also be noted that American dictionaries spell boatneck as one word, while English sources spell it as two words: boat neck.

I’ve written a couple articles on boatnecks in the past. For further explanations of boatnecks and how to sew them (and problems that can come up when sewing them), you might visit these older articles:

Two doll clothes sewing patterns that offer boatneck shirts are McCall’s 5462 and Advance 2896. There’s also Advance 2899 for Ken, which offers a boatneck tee shirt for male fashion dolls.

With a tiny quilt framing it, we see an image of the McCall's 5462 doll clothes pattern on the right and an image of a Barbie doll modeling the shirt from view B in the McCall's Barbie clothes pattern on the left. An arrow points from the pattern to the doll's shirt.
Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: 

Have you ever made a boatneck shirt or dress? And if so, did you run across any difficulties? What tips or tricks can you offer my readers?

For people who are new to sewing, and you’re looking for answers to questions you have about boatneck shirts or dresses, feel free to leave a question in the comments section. I check my website for comments fairly regularly, so come back later to see if I could help you answer your question or questions.

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Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.

Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.

2 thoughts on “Glossary of Sewing Terms with Pictures: What does boatneck mean? #SewingChat #SewingVocabulary”

  1. Dear Chelly, I’ve never made a top or dress with a boat neck for Barbie but I will learn how to do it someday.
    Trisha

    Reply

    1. I’ve made a few boatneck shirts for Barbie, and I think they’re relatively easy. The only thing that can be tricky is when you cut them too big. So if you’re careful when cutting them, it’s pretty easy to sew them.

      Reply

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