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The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment – AKA the Burrito Method

April 22, 2016/6 Comments/in News, Sewing Tutorials /by Melissa Prendergast

This is one of my favorite techniques for sewing a lined, sleeveless garment. I joke that it’s a magic technique because it sure feels like it.  The burrito method eliminates the need for tedious hand stitching and is perfect for garments that have a zipper or other seam that needs to be sewn before the armholes are completed. I’ve used this method in several of my patterns like the Piper Peplum Top or the soon to be released Paradise Island Shift Dress which is shown below.

The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment - AKA the Burrito Method - Such a great tutorial! Must repin for later!

How to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment with No Hand Sewing (The Burrito Method)

At this point, I am assuming that you have already sewn your main and lining bodices at the shoulder seams, and then sewn them both together at the neckline. Ready to figure out an easy way to sew those armholes without ANY hand sewing? Read on!


The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment - AKA the Burrito Method - Such a great tutorial! Must repin for later!

Step One

With the dress laying flat and the right sides out, start at one side of the dress and tightly roll both the main and lining together towards the opposite shoulder as shown in the animation above. This step seems a little strange, but hang with me.

The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment - AKA the Burrito Method - Such a great tutorial! Must repin for later!

Step Two

Flip the lining fabric on the unrolled side under the folded fabric. You will notice that your rolled fabric is in the middle.

The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment - AKA the Burrito Method - Such a great tutorial! Must repin for later!

Fold the main fabric on the unrolled side over the folded fabric and align the raw edges with the lining fabric. The main and the lining fabric should be right sides together. The rolled fabric of the bodice should now be between these two layers. Sew the armscye closed making sure to not catch the rolled fabric in the seam allowance. Make sure to clip your curves so your fabric will lay nice when you turn the bodice right side out.  Be careful not to clip through your stitching by accident!

The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment - AKA the Burrito Method - Such a great tutorial! Must repin for later!

Step Three

Now here is where the magic comes in. Pull the rolled fabric through the bottom of the bodice. The bodice should now be right sides out with one armscye complete. You did it!  Now repeat the above steps with the opposite side and you will have completed arms on the bodice!

The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment - AKA the Burrito Method - Such a great tutorial! Must repin for later!

You are now so close to having a completed bodice.  All you have to do is sew up the side seams.  Find the underarm seam of both the front and the back on the same side of the bodice.  I like to start pinning at the underarm and then continue pinning down each side of the garment.  Then, sew your seam starting at the main and continuing on to the lining.  And hopefully, you will actually align your fabric edges better than I did in the above picture.  😉

The Magic Way to Sew a Lined Sleeveless Garment - AKA the Burrito Method - Such a great tutorial! Must repin for later!

Tadah!!

Now finish your garment by adding a skirt or hem.  Don’t forget to topstitch (or understitch) your neckline and armholes!  Great job!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Are there any other cool sewing tricks you’d like to see on the blog? Let me know in the comments below!

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6 replies
  1. Mgeni
    Mgeni says:
    April 22, 2016 at 10:51 am

    My favourite method too. Love this and how cool is that video <3

    Reply
  2. Linda
    Linda says:
    April 30, 2016 at 3:06 am

    I knew there must be a way!! Thank you for sharing. I’ll definitely be doing it this way from now on.

    Reply
  3. Sue
    Sue says:
    February 12, 2018 at 10:15 pm

    Awesome! It worked! Thank you

    Reply
  4. Jess
    Jess says:
    September 9, 2018 at 6:54 pm

    Thank you for this tutorial! I’m struggling with a pinafore dress, where the bodice is made out of double pieces which I sew together and turn around with the burrito method. So far it’s all good. It makes a very neat inside. But then I need to sandwich the bodice between the two waistbands and a skirt. I’m confused on when and how to sew the concealed zipper to the side seam, to get in in between the upper bodice two layers and the two waistbands. Skirt is unlined so no problems there. Any tips?

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Sahara Sew Along Days 5 and 6 - Bella Sunshine Designs says:
    June 3, 2017 at 11:28 am

    […] Burrito Method: If you’re opting for a sleeveless dress, Melissa has written an AMAZING tutorial for you all that includes a animated gif showing you how to execute this wonderful method of finishing a lined sleeveless garment! Check it out here. […]

    Reply
  2. Sweet Lilly Sew-A-Long: Day 2 - Bodice Construction - Bella Sunshine Designs says:
    May 18, 2016 at 7:01 am

    […] For this version don’t sew the side seams yet in step 13! We will follow this Burrito method to sew the sleeveless version. After sewing the sleeves using the burrito method you can […]

    Reply

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