How to Add a Button Placket to a Garment, by Professor Pincushion on YouTube. 11 min 37 s.
- Video length
- 11 min 37 s
- Time to do it
- 90 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Decide the finished placket length and width, then mark the opening on the centre front of the garment with a fabric marker and ruler.
Cut a fabric strip twice the finished placket width plus 2.5 cm (1 inch) for seams, and about 5 cm (2 inches) longer than the opening.
Fuse a piece of interfacing to the wrong side of the strip so the placket holds its shape, then press it flat.
Pin the strip to the garment right sides together, centred over the marked line, and pin firmly in place.
Stitch a narrow rectangle around the marked opening with a short stitch length, then clip diagonally into each corner without cutting the stitches.
Push the strip through the opening to the wrong side, ease out the corners with a point turner and press the placket flat.
Fold the free edge of the strip under, lay it over the opening to form the overlap, press it and pin.
Topstitch along both long edges of the placket, backstitching at the ends, so the back layer is caught.
Mark buttonhole positions evenly along the centre line, about 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) apart, and sew them with a buttonhole foot.
Open each buttonhole with a seam ripper and sew on buttons opposite them, checking the spacing as you go.
Tips and common mistakes
Sew one test buttonhole on a scrap of the same fabric and interfacing before you touch the garment.
Clip the corners of the opening only up to the stitching, because cutting the thread will make the corner fray.
Press after every fold, since a flat placket is much easier to topstitch evenly.
Keep your fingers clear of the needle and cut with the seam ripper away from your body.
Questions
How wide should a button placket be?
A common finished width is 2.5 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 inches), so cut the strip about twice that plus seam allowance.
Do I need interfacing for the placket?
Yes for most woven fabrics. It stops the placket stretching and keeps the buttonholes neat.
Can I add a placket to a finished top?
It is much easier before the front is sewn to the rest of the garment. On a finished top you would have to unpick the front seam first.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
