Glossary
Placket
Definition
A placket is a finished opening in a garment, such as a shirt front, polo neck or sleeve cuff, that lets it go on and close neatly.
A placket gives an opening two finished, overlapping edges that carry the closures: usually buttons and buttonholes, snaps or a zip. It is made of extra layers of fabric, nearly always interfaced, because it bears the strain of opening and closing.
Common types:
- Button-front placket: a band down the front of a shirt or blouse, either a separate strip sewn on or a cut-on facing folded back. Typical widths are 2.5 to 3.5 cm (1 to 1 3/8 in) finished.
- Polo or half placket: a short opening at the front neck, with an overlapping band on each side and a neat box at its base.
- Sleeve placket: the opening above a shirt cuff. The tower placket of men's shirts has a pointed top; the continuous bound placket, a strip of fabric binding a slit, is easier to sew.
- Hidden placket: an extra fold that covers the buttons for a clean front.
Women's garments traditionally lap right over left, men's left over right. Accurate marking, careful pressing and edgestitching are what make a placket look crisp.
Shirts with collar stands are not in Sewly's library yet; the closest garment is the button-front version of the woven top.