Lap Shoulder
Construction — one of 70 in the glossary
A neckline on infant and toddler garments where the front and back panels overlap at the shoulders instead of meeting in a seam, so the opening stretches wide enough to pass over a baby's head. The overlap is sewn only at the armhole ends, leaving the centre free to spread — which is why it is sometimes called an envelope neck.
An opening that does not need fastening
A baby's head is large relative to its body, and a neckline that fits the neck will not pass over the head. Something has to give.
A lap shoulder solves it without hardware: the front and back panels overlap, stitched only at the outer ends, so the neck opening can spread wide and then close again.
It is also why these garments can be taken off downwards as well as upwards, which any parent dealing with a nappy accident will appreciate.
Against the alternatives
Snap plackets at the shoulder or the crotch do the same job with hardware. They open wider but add metal, cost and something that can fail.
An envelope or lap neck has nothing to break and nothing to press against a child's skin, which is why it dominates on infant bodysuits and tees.
The trade-off is that it is only as wide as the overlap allows, so on larger toddler sizes a placket is often used instead.
For a decorator
The overlap is a double thickness across the upper chest and shoulders, so a design placed high will sit partly on two layers and partly on one.
A heat press bears unevenly across that step, and a screen print's deposit changes across it.
Place chest designs below the overlap, and check where it falls on the smallest size in the run rather than the largest.
Common questions
- What is a lap shoulder on a baby shirt?
- A neckline where the front and back panels overlap at the shoulders rather than meeting in a seam, so the opening spreads wide enough to pass over a baby's head.
- Why do baby clothes have envelope necks?
- Because a baby's head is large relative to its body, so a neckline that fits the neck will not pass over the head. The overlap lets the opening spread and then close again.
- Where should a print go on a lap-shoulder tee?
- Below the overlap. The overlapped area is a double thickness, so a press bears unevenly and the ink deposit changes across the step.
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