Placket Demo

In the previous post, I talked about two dresses that I made recently. On the knit dress, I wanted a front opening. Here is a series of pictures and a little description. I'd call myself an intermediate sewer...with a gigantic streak of impatience. I find myself struggling between beautifully finished and quick and dirty. This placket seems to have a little of both qualities!


Measure the length of your placket. Here, I chose 4 inches. Note that I marked a little ways beyond the 4 inch mark. This is to give you a reference mark when we get to the end.



I stitched 1/8 of an inch away from the center line. As I got closer to the point, I made my stitches closer together and I tapered their direction to the end point (like a dart). Then, you cut down the center line that you drew.



You cut a strip of fabric double the length of your placket. plus a little bit just in case. The width depends of how wide you want your placket, or how big your buttons, snaps or velcro is. Here's how you line up your next piece...



Here are the pieces pinned together, with the binding strip on the back.



Stitch close to the previous V of stitches, being sure to taper them to the end point.

Here's where you press it so the binding piece sticks out...that amount depends on how large you want it.



Then, you stitch the binding down in the ditch.

Here's what the wrong side looks like...this is a non ravel-y knit fabric, so I chose not to finish the raw edge.


Now you can see the placket you have just created! Notice the black mark on the bottom of the placket...That's where I marked too far...and you can see it on the right side of the fabric. Be careful to keep your marks where you won't see them!


I topstitched the bottom through all layers, and the side through one layer....just like a fly front in a pair of pants. Easy, no?


Right now, I'm working on a turtle shirt for Amedeo. It's giving me some problems. Is it ok if I curse a whole lot as I'm making my child's garment? I hope so....