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LACKETS SUCH AS ARE MADE FOR UNLINED DRESSES are shown in Illustrations 191 and 192. This placket is used on skirts of unlined dresses when the outside sewing would be an objection; also on dresses that have to visit the laundry. Use a strip twice the length of the opening and three and three-quarter inches wide.

Lay the lap along the edge of the opening with the right side of the lap and skirt together and baste them in a narrow seam. (Ill. 191.) Run it almost to a point at the lower end of the opening. Turn the free edge under and hem it close to the sewing. (Ill. 191.) When this strip or lap is applied above the back seam of a skirt, it is set back an eighth of an inch from the stitching of the seam. One side is extended out to form the underlap, and the other side is turned under on an even line with the stitching of the seam. When the placket is closed, the entire lap is hidden. (Ill. 192.)

In transparent fabrics such as chiffon, etc., which are not sent to the laundry, the skirt placket should be made as inconspicuous as possible. Don't face the placket edges as the seams would show. Turn a hem and overcast the loose edges finely to show as little as possible. These materials as a rule are made in soft styles where there is no strain on the placket edges. Patent fasteners can be used for the closing, as few of them and as small as will hold the placket. (Chapter 24, page 116.) Use no other sewing on the placket other than the sewing for the fasteners.

THE PLACKETS FOR CLOTH SKIRTS require neat and tailor-like workmanship. Great care must be taken in handling the edges of the opening. They are generally bias, and stretch easily. If the upper edge becomes stretched, it will bulge when the skirt is on the figure—a defect you probably have often noticed on other women. Hooks and eyes or patent fasteners (page 116) should be placed sufficiently close together to prevent the skirt from gaping. Any stitching that shows through on the outside should be