Sombrio Polo Sew-Along: Day 2 - Front Placket & Back Yoke

Constructing a placket can often feel a little daunting. Not only does it contain buttons, it is one of the first things you notice when looking at a Polo shirt.  Don't worry though, if you approach this portion of construction slowly, read through the instructions before you begin, and mark the details on your fabric carefully, you will be surprised how quickly it comes together! I'll walk you through some tricks to get a perfectly straight, even, and professional looking placket. 

  

If you are using a lighter weight knit fabric I would highly advise using knit interfacing to reinforce your placket pieces. If you are using a more stable knit or thicker knit, like French Terry, you don't need to interface the placket pieces.

  

Transfer the rectangle sew line markings from the pattern to the wrong side of your fabric. I prefer to use chalk for this process but pencil or a fabric marking pen or even basting stitches can do the job! Include a line that goes down the center of the rectangle. Baste along the rectangle using a straight stitch. This will help keep your fabric from stretching or warping as you attach the placket pieces.

  

On the wrong side of your placket pieces, draw your 1/2" seam allowance from the top to the bottom of the placket, ending 1/2" from the bottom of the placket.

  

Flip your shirt so the fabric is right side up. Match the placket pieces to the center front, right sides together, aligning the drawn seam allowances with the edges of the basted rectangle. The bottom of the placket pieces will extend past the baste lines 1/2".

  

  

Using a regular stitch length and straight stitch, sew the placket to the front. Press the long edges of each placket piece to the wrong side at 1/2".

  

Cut along the center front line of the front from the neckline to 1/2" before the bottom of the rectangle. Clip from the center line to each corner at an angle. Make sure to clip as close as you can to the corners but be careful to not clip through!

  

  

We will finish the placket after attaching the collar in later steps.

  

Baste along the curved edge of the back facing at 5/8". Clip triangle notches into the seam allowance to the basting line. Press the seam allowance toward the wrong side.

 

  

Now would be a great time to add a decorative square or label to your shirt! You can see some great examples of how to decorate a back neckline facing in our Finlayson Sweater sew-along.

  

With wrong sides together, match the back facing to the back neckline. Edgestitch along the curved edge of the facing to attach to the shirt. Baste along the neckline and shoulders.

Are you happy with how your Polo is coming along? Come back tomorrow for the next sewing steps!