Faux Placket on the Melbourne Top and Dress

Who loves a cute way to incorporate scrap busting into an already beloved pattern?! *Eagerly raises hand* -Then keep reading, fellow NHD lovers! Adding a faux placket is a great way to make that happen!

Sometimes being able to squeeze a garment out of a scrappy or oddly shaped piece of fabric can be as easy as creating a seam where the pattern asks you to cut on a fold. But then what do you do to turn that seam into a design feature? Today I’ll be sharing how I added a faux button placket to a Melbourne tank!

Getting Started

Begin by cutting out the necessary pattern pieces EXCEPT the front bodice piece (that’s the one we’ll be altering). For this example I needed the back bodice piece cut on the sleeveless line, front and back skirt pieces, and the scoop and sleeveless band pieces.

Get your front bodice pattern piece ready by laying it on your fabric. IF you are doing this hack in an attempt to scrap bust, you do not need to put your pattern piece on a folded section of fabric; However you do need to ensure you have enough fabric to be able to cut 2 MIRROR images of the front bodice pattern piece.

If cutting to scrap bust- cut your first bodice piece out while making sure to add a seam allowance on the edge that you’d typically align with the fold.

Repeat with a mirror image of the bodice piece. Pay attention to directional prints/stripes etc if necessary.

If cutting on folded section of fabric- you do not need to cut twice, just add a seam allowance onto the edge of the pattern piece that would normally be aligned with the fold, and then cut around the full outline of the piece while adding your new seam allowance.

Creating the Placket Piece

Next we will create the pattern piece for the faux placket. Using a piece of paper, mark the height of the ‘fold edge’ of your front bodice pattern piece.

As you can see, my placket height will be 5.5 inches (I’m making a size 6). I decided to make the width of my placket 1.5 inches, however you can widen it if desired (to accommodate a deeper seam allowance or wider buttons).

Cut 1 placket pattern piece out of your desired fabric.

 

Construction

We will begin the garment construction by creating the front bodice piece. You will need the 2 mirror image front bodice pieces, along with the placket piece you just cut out.

Position one of your bodice pieces right side up. Then, fold your placket piece in half lengthwise with wrong sides facing. Lay the folded placket piece onto the center edge of the bodice piece (the edge that would have typically been where the fold was) with the raw edges matched up.

Lay the mirror image bodice piece on top of the first bodice piece and the placket piece, right side down, matching up the center raw edges. your placket piece should be sandwiched between the 2 mirror image bodice pieces. Pin and then stitch all 3 pieces together at the raw edge.

Open up your bodice front to reveal the right side, and you should see the placket piece facing up coming out of the center seam you just stitched.

 

Sewing the Faux Placket

Adjust the (now tube shaped) fabric of the placket so that it is spaced evenly on both sides of the center seam.

 

 

Pin the placket in place. Topstitch the long edges of the placket piece to secure it to the bodice pieces.

Carefully topstitch each long edge of the placket piece so that it is secured on both sides to the bodice fronts. Your front bodice piece is now complete and should look like this-

 

Assembling the Garment

Bodice Top

Now we will finish constructing the garment as the pattern tutorial outlines. For the sleeveless version (as shown here), match up the side edges and strap ends of the front and back bodice pieces, with right sides together, and stitch. If you are doing sleeves, please follow the tutorial on how to construct the sleeved bodice at this time.

 

Skirt

Match up the side edges of the front and back skirt pieces and stitch together as pattern tutorial outlines.

Gather the top edge of the skirt of your Melbourne as pattern outlines. As you can see, I did the straight stitch thread gathering method.

Now that your skirt and bodice are assembled and ready to go, slip the bodice into the skirt with right sides facing and with raw edges matched up. Be sure to match up the side seams of the skirt and bodice, and make sure the front of your bodice is facing the skirt front as well. Stitch the bodice to the skirt as outlined in the pattern tutorial.

 

Bands and Hemming

Look how beautiful your Melbourne is! Now, attach the neck and arm bands as the pattern tutorial outlines. Then hem the skirt of your Melbourne as well.

 

Adding Buttons

Now that your Melbourne is structurally complete, it’s time to pick out some cute buttons! I liked how 5 buttons looked on mine, but you can do however many suit your taste. Position them evenly along the center of your placket, and stitch on. I used a needle and thread for this step.

TA DA! Now- go show off your cute new Melbourne!

 

 

We love seeing all of your gorgeous creations! Make sure you share your new Melbourne Top or Dress in our Facebook group or on Instagram #newhorizonssewing

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