The step by step tutorial for the simple placket can be downloaded as a PDF  HERE.

WHAT IS A PLACKET?

A placket is a finished opening in a garment that allows the garment to be put on and taken off easily. Before zippers were available to the home sewer, plackets were the default construction. 

In skirts - a placket is most often found at the center back or side.  Depending on the historical era  -  occasionally the front of a skirt.  The inside of the placket is furnished with buttons, hooks/eyes, snaps, or a combination of the three.

A placket is reinforced through the addition of ribbon or twill tape, facings or folded fabric extensions that provide strength and stability while maintaining a clean edge.

Beyond function, plackets also play a role in the skirt’s appearance and historical character. In many vintage and tailored skirts, the placket is carefully shaped and sometimes subtly decorative, reflecting period construction methods and the balance between practicality and refinement.

For women's garments plackets are typically placed in the left side seam of the skirt, with the back edge lapping over the front.  However, in Edwardian and Victorian era skirts it is also found at the center back where the back skirt is cut in two seperate pieces, rather than on the fold of the fabric. 

The constrution of this placket has been complied from several sewing manuals dated 1900 - 1930 and is appropriate for reproducing shitoric details in garments of those periods.  Even when a garment was machine stitched, these finishing details were often done by hand.  I have updated the instructions to take advantage of using a machine and some hand basting -- the best of both worlds!