Category Archives: Tutorial

So, recently I’ve been on a bit of a pocket binge.  You see, one has a phone which has rapidly become the ruler of one’s Life, and one has decided that this little autocrat needs to be on one’s person at all times.  So if something doesn’t have a pocket?  BAM! it’s getting one, like it or not!  Take that you pocketless fiends you!  Picture, if you will; pockets raining down upon Le Wardrobe, with lightning bolts and attendant thunderous cracks and booms as they attach themselves fiercely and fearlessly to the offending garments cowering on their hangers… ahem, my apologies.  Maybe I’ve been isolating too long.

Anyway, meet the victims:

please note; The Eye…

Firstly, my plaid Delice dress

I’d already promised to myself that I would add pockets once I got around to it… it’s a loose-fitting little thing, and while the attempted side-seam pockets did not work I knew welt pockets would be fine.  I just needed to get onto it!  and finally, voila. I still had the pocket bags, and I cut welts on grain from the very tiny amount of fabric I had leftover.  Both welts and the opening area of the pocket were interfaced with iron-on interfacing for stability – this fabric is basically a brushed cotton flannelette and so it has pretty poor stability actually,  A pocket bag on a welt sans interfacing stood a good chance of becoming a gaping, saggy mess, so I used nice firm stiff stuff, and the pockets turned out a charm.  No I didn’t take any progress pictures.  Bad me.

Secondly, my rusty coloured Sabrina skirt…

this has always been a little on the baggy side for a pencil skirt, I think I might have selected the incorrect size in the first place because I’m slightly terrified of making a thing too small or too tight; a problem which is practically unfixable, and the fabric was kinda precious to me.  I mean, if you make something slightly too big, that is a problem that is eminently fixable down the track.  Except that “down the track” never seems to come… anyway, flash forward to a few days ago when I realised that same slight bagginess could easily accommodate some inseam pockets.  So I went for it!  I did remember to take some pictures of this one for posterity…

Firstly cut out the pockets lining at the size of pocket you want.  Stitch to the skirt front seam allowance at the place where you want your pocket to be in a skinny seam allowance, and press towards the skirt front.

Cut the pocket itself from the self-fabric, with an opening extension that covers the width of your side seam allowance once it’s laid over the pocket lining.  My side seam allowances for this skirt are actually quite huge, showing that I really truly overestimated how much wriggle room I needed; but since that mistake resulted in such a good prognosis for future pocket insertion, I forgive past-me.  Trim to fit, and finish the raw edge.  Stitch to the back seam allowance, right sides together in a skinny seam allowance, and leave it laying towards the front.  Check the pocket piece and pocket lining piece are aligned perfectly.

Now open the two pocket pieces apart and gently rip open the skirt side seam.  Leave at least 1cm closed at both top and bottom edge of the pocket pieces, and then reinforce the side-seam stitching at these points both top and bottom with some quick forward/backward stitching so the seam doesn’t open any further.

Now; open out the back skirt side seam allowance and as far as possible, stitch the skirt back and the pocket piece together, using the previous pressed seamline on the skirt back as a stitching guide.  Be sure to keep the skirt front free from this stitching!!

Lay the pocket pieces over each other again, and stitch them together around the curved edge, commencing and finished the seam at the skirt side seam, taking care to not go over it and into the skirt itself.  Finish the raw edges as far as possible on the overlocker.

Now open out the side seam allowances away from the skirt front and back, and at the top and bottom edges of the pocket, perpendicular to the side seam: stitch the pocket to the front skirt seam allowance up to the side seam line, and the pocket piece ONLY to the back skirt seam allowance up to the same seam line.  These short seams are indicated in white on the previous picture.

Ta da!

And, while I still had the machine threaded with chocolate brown thread… victim number three.  This is a great little corduroy skirt, very simple and plain and useful.  Except that it had no pockets!  Problem solved!  For this one, simple patch pockets were the go; but slanted at what I find to a optimal angle for my hands.  I used some of the leftover corduroy from which I made my wide-leg Sashas, and even though it doesn’t look like it I spent ages and aaaaaages aligning them to be perfectly symmetrical.  Yes they probably look a bit weird but I have pockets so I care not.

That’s it for now, until next time!