Learn the techniques to construct the shirt back and sew the shoulder seams in this episode of The Perfect Blouse video series led by sewing instructor Sandra Miller. Her method includes an unusual set of steps for constructing the shirt back that she refers to as a burrito roll. The pattern used to demonstrate these methods is a traditional shirt-style blouse from Cutting Line Designs called The Blouse Perfected.

Sew the yoke

To assemble the lower back and the two yoke pieces, start with noting where there are markings on each shirt piece.

Pin the two pleats in the lower back piece, making sure the pleats are folded toward the outside of the lower back piece.

Sandwich the lower back between the two yoke sections and match the markings. Sandra offers several pinning tips to accurately accomplish this, and she demonstrates how to pin one yoke at a time to the lower back piece.

Next, sew the lower back-yoke seam. Then trim and grade the seam allowances. The allowance on the inside of the garment must be trimmed shorter than the outside seam allowance. This reduces bulk and prevents a ridge from forming near the seam.

Press the yokes away from the sewn seam on the right and wrong sides. Then edgestitch the seam using a 2.0 mm stitch length.

Sew the fronts to the outside yoke piece at the shoulder.

Make a burrito roll

Roll up the back and and two front sections separately until they rest on the outer yoke. Pin the inner yoke to the outer yoke at the shoulder seams, enclosing the rolled-up sections. This forms what looks somewhat like a burrito.

Stitch the inner and outer yokes together along the shoulder stitching lines made earlier.

Pull the rolled-up sections out through one armscye so that all…