A failed experiment pt. 2

Regarding yesterday’s failed experiment, it never occurred to me that the cutting of the thing would be the difference (just goes to show how well I troubleshoot). Some first thoughts, one, more heads are better than one. Danielle -a student- was the first to offer a solution. Two, it’s another reminder that it’s good to admit you goofed so other people can help you solve the problem quickly. Three, this is a perfect example of a concept I’m planning to teach at some point; that not cutting enough fabric away (those big seam allowances) causes more problems than it solves.

First to offer a remedy was Danielle in her comment. She scanned in a handout she’d gotten at school. Her illustrations suggest a rectangle is cut from the slit area. Below is an excerpt:


Beth, who was next to respond, pointed us to a very nice tutorial (very clean and clear) on her website. In her example, she’s cut it differently but hasn’t actually cut out a rectangle. Below is Beth’s example.

Here’s another example of the concurrence between Danielle and Beth below

So, of the two, which method is correct? Since I’ve already done some thinking on it, I know that they’re both correct, neither of them are wrong. I plan on testing Danielle’s process because we already have a proof that Beth’s example works. I don’t think I’ll be disproving Danielle’s tho; the only difference I expect is the position of the underlap. I expect Danielle’s will have less of an underlap than Beth’s. I can’t do it today though because my husband’s been out of town all week so I’m going to play hookey this afternoon.

The thing that’s been running through my head since Jess brought the one-piece method to my attention, is that this one piece strip method is obviously the “parent” method of the two-piece method. If it was the parent method, why was it abandoned? Why didn’t it remain the defacto standard? What were the downsides to the one-piece method that necessitated the development of -what many of us could think of as- a more problematic two-piece method? What was it about the execution of the one-piece method that could have been resolved in the second two-piece method? Since I haven’t done a sample, I don’t know the answers to these questions. Between Danielle’s and Beth’s methods though -speaking specifically about whether you cut out a rectangle or no- I’d bet money that Beth’s method is more common between the two of those. The cutting would be simpler and easier.

Rose Marie also sent in a link to placket sewing on one of my favorite vintage sewing sites.

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10 comments

  1. Jess says:

    Did you get the technical sketches I sent with all the measurements of my placket? I’m working on doing one too but I screwed up my folding jig so I didn’t finish today.

  2. Carol Kimball says:

    The biggest difference in the finished placket is the width of the underlying binding strip. Using a jig to press the single strip uniformly should prevent any peeking out, the only possible drawback. I’ve used the so-called two-piece method for years but cut it as one, the actual one-piece with wider underlay sure looks a lot quicker and easier.

    Will you move this to “Discuss Blog Topics” on the Forum, please?

  3. Carol Kimball says:

    Beth has also folded and pressed her strip with the underneath edge very slightly extending, so she can sew the strip in one pass (refer to Kathleen’s cuff tutorial a few days back). Obvious in the above photo.

    The little triangular ear here is completely enclosed rather than tucked up on the wrong side. It’s so tacky when those little suckers sneak out.

  4. Kathleen says:

    Carol, you’ve asked in two separate comments that I “move this to the forum” and I’m stymied. Do you mean delete this entry from this website and then cut and paste an entry in the forum? If so, why? What’s wrong with it being here? Is there something offensive or controversial about it that it shouldn’t be here? I don’t understand why people couldn’t discuss this independently in the forum without my having to move it there. Doing as you ask is a whole lot of work. I’d have to rebuild this entire site to remove the entry.

  5. Carol Kimball says:

    Frogs and snakes seem to be coming out of my mouth, or, rather, fingertips.

    Of course don’t physically move it. I meant, continue the discussion there where we could add graphics.

  6. Kathleen says:

    oh jeez, you mean move the _discussion_ to the forum, and you didn’t necessarily mean “me” but everybody. gotcha. sorry ’bout that…my propensity for literal thinking once again rears it’s ugly head… also, I was confused because there already *is* a topic in the forum about this.

  7. Gigi says:

    I mostly use the one-piece method. It’s fast, easy, neat and pretty much foolproof. The only drawback is that it generates a little too much bulk at the top when using heavier fabrics.

  8. Carol Kimball says:

    Ah, it’s under “Sleeve Placket Tutorial” rather than “Blog Topics”. If I’d followed Kathleen’s link instead of flailing around, it would have saved a lot of trouble.

    Sorry, folks.

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