Types of Plackets in garment making

Factors that matter while making plackets

Plackets are openings in woman’s garment such as a skirt or blouse, either where it fastens or in a pocket. These are typically found in women’s garments to make it look exact. It helps in providing an excellent fitting to the garment and also helps in easing the wearing and taking-off of a fitted garment.

Plackets can also be made on a seam it makes it stronger and gives a better look. Some of the important factors to remember while making plackets are

• A good placket should be modest and as flat as possible. IT should not be bulky or stretched. Fastening should hold it tightly and no gaps should seem between the edges.
• while choosing a particular placket for a particular garment special care has to be taken as to the type of the garment and its placement depending upon the age and sex of the wearer, the type of fabric etc.
• Special care should be taken to strengthen the opening of the plackets (especially at the closed ends, lower end or neck and skirt openings, the upper end of wrist openings etc) as it may be strained while repeated wearing or removing.
• placket opening must be placed properly so that it is very easily accessible and conveniently operated.

One piece placket or continuous bound placket

These packets can be made on a seam or a slash. It is usually used in children’s garments aucasinosonline undergarments like sari petticoat and sleeve openings for a cuff or band. These packets are nor suitable for bulky fabrics or curved seams.

Making a one-piece placket in a slash: Cut a strip of fabric in the lengthwise grain which is 1¼” to1½” wide and one inch longer than twice the length of the opening. Keep the centre of a long edge of the strip to the end of the slash, with right sides of garment and strip facing each other. Pull back the tip of the slash about ¼” from the edge of the placket strip and pin. Spread the placket edges apart almost into a straight line and attach to the strip by a line of tacking worked ¼” from the edge of the strip from the garment side, machine over the tacking line from one end up to its midpoint. Stop the machine at this point with the needle in the fabric, raise the pressure foot and move the fullness backward out of the way to prevent catching a pleat. Make sure that the garment edge is caught in the seam. Lower the presser foot and stitch to the opposite end of the opening

Press the seam edges towards the placket strip and fold under the free edge of the strip ¼” and crease. Then fold the strip over the seam edge and hem it along the stitching line. Fold the strip under on the overlap section and tack it at the seam. Tacking can be removed after the fasteners are fixed.

Zipper placket

Zipper placket usually comes in different sizes and is normally. It makes it easier to wear the garment. Appearance wise too zippers give a style to the garment.

Making of Zipper placket: Cut the opening in the garment fabric and select the zipper according to the opening size. Toward the end of the cut make a short slit ¼” wide diagonally on both the sides. Turn all the three raw edges to the wrong side and do a row of tacking. Take a square piece of Tape & Stitch its raw edge. Attach this to the end of the placket opening with the hemming. Over this, place the Zipper & stitch through the edges holding the fabric edge. Then take another square piece of Tape and stitch its edge and place it covering zipper edge & finish it with hemming.

Zipper must be carefully opened and closed because if the pull tab slips away from the teeth or rail, it will be difficult for the wearer to operate it. This can be used in a skirt, frock, shirt, handbags, jeans, pants decorative purses and other garments.

Miter placket

Also termed as tailored placket is generally used for strengthening and beautifying the garment. These packets are specially used in men’s wear like men’s shirts, sleeve opening, neck opening etc. and in children’s wears. Sometimes to give more decorative effect the strips used can be in contrast colours or material and are used for children and women’s wear.

Making of Milter Placket: The tailored or mitre placket is particularly attractive on shirts and tailored suit blouses made of lightweight fabric. The opening is finished with a wide band of overlap called the gauntlet by custom shirt makers and a narrow binding on the underlap. The band on the overlap duplicated the grain on the sleeves and is generally finished around 1″ wide and 3 1/2″ to 4 1/2″ long. The binding on the underlap is the bias-cut strip usually finished by the 1/2 ” wide and 1″ shorter than the band on the overlap strip. The end of the packet can be finished off by a point or squared-off and usually extends 1″ beyond the end of the opening. Unlike other plackets, the tailored placket is finished by hand without topstitching. Keep the right sides of the strip facing the wrong side of the garment and tack the short side of the strip to the free side of the placket opening on the seam line. Machine stitch and bring its overlap strip over to the right side of the garment. Turn under the seam allowance and adjust the position of the strip so that it will overlap the underlap binding. Tack in position. Top stitch the strip to the garment upward, then around the point and downward till sleeve opening. Now stitch across the overlap
twice to hold the underlap in position.

Faced placket open

Making faced open placket: Cut out the sleeve and facing pieces and mark the location of the placket as well as the centre of the placket; slash to the point of the “V”. Spread the pieces apart and pin the facing along the edge of the placket, and curve the facing around the “V”. Sew the facing to placket using 1/4″ seam allowance. When you reach the “V” at the top of the placket lift the presser foot and turn the fabric, then continue down. This is hard to do perfectly and edges may not stay lined up exactly, so try and move the fabric around to avoid it bunching up and getting caught in the needle. Now facing is attached, iron the seam allowance towards the facing, then fold and press the facing in towards the seam allowance. Fold the facing again, so it lays just over the stitching and press. With the right side of the sleeve facing up topstitch along the inside edge of the facing to attach it to the other side. Turn the sleeve inside out and fold the placket so the right sides of the fabric are facing each
other. Stitch diagonally across the top of the binding (at the “V”) creating a small triangle. Turn the sleeve right side out and fold the facing right sides together one on top of the other and press.

Two-piece placket on a seam or bound and faced placket

Two-piece plackets are usually seen in the back seat of the dresses and left seam of skirts and petticoats. finishing is done by binding and overlapping with a face is done on the underlap side of this placket, iron the seam allowance towards the facing, then fold and press the facing in towards the seam allowance. fold the facing again, so it lays just over the stitching and press. with the right side of your sleeve facing up topstitch along the inside edge of the facing to attach it to the other side. turn your sleeve inside out and fold the placket so the right sides of the fabric are facing each other. stitch diagonally across the top of the binding (at the “v”) creating a small triangle.

For making Two piece placket Take two separate strips of fabric one having 1 1/2″ of the overlap and a wider one for the underlap is required but both the strip should be 1″ longer than the placket opening. Now stitch the narrow strip to the overlap side (front part of the skirt) and the wide strip to the underlap side of the garment (back part of the skirt) consecutively, right sides facing and seam lines matching.

The seam allowance used for attaching the strips should be the same as that of the seam on which the packet is to be fixed (about ½”). This is to ensure that the stitching line on the strip comes online with the stitching line of the seam. The one-inch extra length of the strips should extend below the placket opening. To finish underlap, crease the strip back over the seam, bring its free edge to the wrong side of the garment, and turn under ¼” at the free edge and hem the fold to the stitching line. This forms the bound side of the placket and should be ½” to ¾” wide. For finishing overlap section of the placket, make a ¼” or wider fold to the wrong side of its free edge so that distance from the stitching line to the fold line is the same as the width of the binding on the underlap. Now turn the strip over completely to the wrong side of the garment (as for a facing) and hem or slip stitch the fold to the garment. Work a line of stitches at the base of placket catching the underlap and overlap together. This can be done by hand from the wrong side in such a way that no stitches are visible on the right side.