Recently one of my long time students wanted to learn how to do a traditional, classic placket on a shirt. I have not made a placket of this type in a long time. In fact, the last time I made a classic placket was in 2012!!! How do I know this? I was honored by an invitation from Threads Magazine to write an article on this subject--a "how to" to be exact. So, I went digging in my collection.
I had forgotten how much work I put into this article. I chose a pattern, bought fabric from the color palette I was given by Threads, and started making placket patterns from the notes and drawings I had made in classes over the years.
I bought different fabrics to test. I sewed pieces together and photographed the samples to see how they would look in the magazine. After several tries, I settled on the lovely lavender cotton. The hand of the fabric was perfect for the blouse and the color photographed well.
The mathematics of the placket are straight forward. The directions can be complicated. I drew several before I settled on one and then tested it like crazy. The one in the article is perfect. I then settled down and made 15 (yes, 15) lavender sleeves using orange thread as a contrast to show all of the steps of construction. I, then, constructed the blouse for the article--without orange thread!
This whole process, which took months, was really exciting for me. Take a look at the article. You can find it in the July 2012 issue of Threads Magazine archives or on Pinterest.