Help, I'm Stuck on Skirt Placket

[Lady Anne Clare]

I'm making Simplicity 3782 and am on step 38 and I am so stuck on this.  I've read and re-read it 10 times and still don't know what to do.  As of right now I have it pinned to the skirt but beyond that I'm lost.  I've highlighted what confuses me.  Please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is what it says:

Press under 1/2" on one long edge of skirt placket.  Spread back opening edges of skirt apart so that they form a straight line.  With RIGHT sides together, pin placket to opening edges, matching large dots.  Stitch. Press lap out and seam towards lap.  Pin pressed edge of lap over seam, placing pins on OUTSIDE.  Stitch in the ditch of seam, catching pressed edge of lap.

[Baroness Doune]

From what I understand from reading the text above, you are trying to create a "continuous lap placket."  You are using that little strip of fabric to bind the raw edges of the skirt opening.

You may find the diagrams on this page to be helpful.
Scroll down to continuous lap placket and look at step 7 and  fig. 13.  This is where you are at right now.  Step 8 and fig. 14 covers the last sentence of your text above.

Does that make more sense?

A Google search on "continuous lap placket" may turn up other instructions that are better.  The above link was just the first one I came across.

[Lady Anne Clare]

Thank you so much    That made so much more sense and the diagrams are great.

Simplicity confuses me so much with their explanations.  Usually I scan the picture instructions and ignore the written part but I've never done a placket before and was at a loss.

[Lady Rosalind]

Plackets can be frustrating until you've done one successfully. And even then, they aren't much fun. Glad to see that there are better instructions out there! (And if you think SImplicity was bad, try McCalls... it reduced my mom to tears...)

[stimpzilla]

The directions that were provided by Baroness Dunne should do you just fine.  But an interesting thinng about Simplicity is they actually have a phone number on their web site, and you can call them with questions and they will give you answers! How amazing in this world!


I've only used Simplicty patterns once and couldn't figure out what they were talking about, which is what I get for actually reading the directions.  I called them, left a message and they called back about 15-20 mins later.  Just a great experience all the way around.

[Lady Anne Clare]

I had a bad experience with simplicity "customer service".  I had a problem with one of their patterns so I emailed them and got a snarky reply before the explanation of how to do what I was stuck on 

I much prefer asking a question here with such great people to help and, who knows, it might help someone else as well.
And again thank you Baroness Doune.  I did the placket in no time thanks to the directions you linked to