Learn how to install the sleeve plackets on a traditional men’s style shirt, in this episode of The Perfect Blouse, hosted by Sandra Miller. She shares some valuable tips for getting professional results as she demonstrates the installation, with The Blouse Perfected, a shirt pattern from Cutting Line Designs. 

Interface and mark the fabric

Apply fusible interfacing to a piece of fabric that is large enough to accommodate the sleeve placket pattern piece. Cut out the placket piece and trace the markings onto the fabric. Staystitch on the foldlines. Press under 3/8 inch on the foldlines. Be sure the staystitching is pressed under.

 

Apply the plackets

To place the placket correctly on each sleeve, start by determining and marking the sleeve’s wrong side. Sandra simply uses a pin. She then shows two more ways to help guarantee that the placket is placed in the correct spot on the sleeve.

Once the placket is in place, use a short stitch length to sew the placket to the sleeve, following the earlier traced box line. Cut the stitched box open, clipping all the way to the stitching at the corners.

Press the seams on the right side and bring the placket pieces through to the sleeve’s right side. Beginning with the placket’s narrow side, fold  the previously pressed edge just over the stitched line. Repeat for the other side.

Check that the placket peak is symmetrical.

Use paper-backed fusible web tape to hold the narrow side of the placket in place. Then apply it to the other, wider side of the placket.

 

Finish the sleeve plackets

Edgestitch the placket’s inner, or narrow, side. Then edgestitch the wider side. Sandra recommends the blind-hem foot to complete the stitching. She reviews the path the stitching should take in order…