The "Magic Yoke" Tutorial

Thank you all for your condolences regarding Max. I know many of you love your pets dearly, too and understand how hard it is to lose such a close companion.

Here's how I make the yokes for for men's style shirts so that the inside is completely finished without having to hand stitch. This method is not new and I know Threads published an article on it in the past. I tried finding the article today and couldn't find it.

Here's my version:

Step 1: Stitch the back yoke to the shirt back and then stitch the shirt fronts to the back yoke at the shoulders. Do not stitch the side seams. Lightly press seams toward the yoke. Lay the shirt out flat as seen below, right side up with the fronts at the top.

Step 2: Roll the fabric of both fronts and the back into cylinders towards the yoke so that the seams can be seen. In the first photo you can see one of the fronts all rolled up and in the second photo all the three pieces have been rolled up. The bigger the shirt, the bulkier this becomes!

Step 3: Pin the second yoke piece (you did cut two yokes when you cut out the shirt, right? If not, go cut one out!) on top of the rolled up pieces, right side facing down, and aligning the edges of the yokes together.

Step 4: Stitch the yokes together, being careful not to catch in the fronts or backs, along all three yokes seams: the back and the two fronts. I prefer to stitch right on top of the first seam line. If you flip the piece over, you'll see the first seam line that attaches the yokes to the front and back. Do not stitch the yokes together at the sides - only along the original seam lines.

Step 5: Now for the magic! Pull the fronts and the back out through the side openings of the yoke. It is like a tube at this point, just turn it right side out. The picture below shows the yokes at the left, like a tube and the front being pulled out of the side.

Step 6: Press the yoke seams. You should have an inside and outside that look identical - both finished and ready for top stitching if you'd like. The first photo below shows both sides of the yoke, the second one is the right side and the third photo is the wrong side.

That's it! No hand stitching required. Both sides are finished neatly and ready for top stitching or for further construction.

Parting Shot: Piano Recital. My son's turn at the piano at the recital on Saturday night. He has completed two years of piano lessons. I didn't get a good picture of my daughter who also played, but she has completed 4 years of lessons.