Kurta plackets and buttons: fastenings that look finished

Placket styles

Placket length is a balance. A longer opening goes over the head more easily and gives more room at the throat, but it sits lower on the chest and needs more buttons to stay neatly closed. Most everyday kurtas have a placket that ends somewhere on the upper chest; tell us if you want yours shorter or longer.

• Half placket: from the neck to the chest, the classic kurta opening, and enough to slip it on easily.
• Full-length or button-through: opens all the way down like a shirt. Practical for dressing and for nursing.
• Concealed placket: the buttons sit under a fold of fabric, so the front looks clean. Smart with busy prints.
• Visible placket: a band with the buttons on show, often in a contrast fabric or edged with piping.
• Side or off-centre placket: the opening sits to one side, often with a band collar.
• Keyhole with a loop: a small opening at the front or back neck, closed with a single button and loop.

Buttons and other fastenings

Buttonholes and loops each have their own look. Machine buttonholes are neat and flat, and suit shirt-style kurtas; loops give a softer, more traditional finish and are kinder to delicate fabrics that might fray round a cut buttonhole.

• Potli buttons: small round fabric buttons, plain or embellished, a traditional kurta finish usually closed with loops.
• Fabric-covered buttons: covered in the kameez fabric or a contrast, so they blend in or pick out a colour.
• Shell-effect, wooden or metal buttons: simple and hard-wearing for everyday cotton and linen.
• Loops: thin fabric tubes that replace buttonholes, pretty with potli buttons and gentle on fine fabric.
• Hooks or press studs: hidden closures behind decorative buttons, useful when the buttons are just for show.
• Zips: an invisible zip at the side or back for fitted styles with a narrow neckline.

Practical choices

Plackets are usually backed with a light interfacing so they stay flat, which matters most on soft lawn and voile; without it they can pucker round the buttonholes. Match the buttons to the fabric weight too: large, heavy buttons pull fine lawn out of shape, while tiny ones disappear on thick khaddar.

Think about how you will wear the kurta. Under a hijab, a half placket with small, flat buttons sits neatly. For work, a concealed placket looks tidy under a blazer. For travel, a full placket makes changing easier. Embellished buttons can catch on a dupatta, and some metal finishes dull in the wash, so for everyday wear ask whether decorative buttons can be made removable, or choose simpler ones.

The size of the opening matters too. A small neckline with no placket may not go over your head, which is why a back zip or keyhole is sometimes needed.

What to tell us

Add these to the design notes on the stitching quote form. Adding a placket or swapping buttons on a kurta you already own is a job for a local tailor, as alterations to existing garments are not one of our services.

• Placket type: half, full, concealed, visible, side or keyhole.
• Length: in centimetres from the neckline, if you have a preference.
• Fastening: buttons, potli buttons with loops, hooks or a zip.
• Your own buttons: if you have some you love, mention them and ask whether they can be used.
• A photo: a close-up of a placket you like helps most.