Pockets IV - Patch Pockets With Flaps

We've just finished the simple patch pocket in three different shapes: rectangular/square, curved and irregular.

Today we will add a flap and button.


Step 1
Cut out the main pocket and the flap, including seam and hem allowances. Note that if you are using print fabric, the print should match and line up, particularly if you are of perfectionistic persuasion. I cut the flap piece wider than the main pocket piece just to make sure I had enough room to twiddle with it to make the stripes match. The flap piece is twice the height of the finished flap - it will be folded later.




Step 2
Make the upper hem of the main pocket.



Step 3
Fold the flap piece in half, right sides together, and sew around its outline. Leave an opening for turning out. Note that the width of the flap should match the finished width of the main pocket.




Step 4
Notch /snip the seam allowances of the flap.





Step 5
Turn flap right side out.

Step 6

Top-stitch around the sides and bottom edge, including the opening. Leave the top edge unstitched - you'll top-stitch that directly onto the garment.

Next, sew a buttonhole.

The flap is finished!
At this point, you can serge the edges of the main pocket, fold them in and top-stitch the same way we did the classic rectangular patch pockets. Just for variation, though, we'll use a different method to attach the edges. I picked this method because it works perfectly with the double row of top-stitching that we're using.

Let's start by saying that the edges of the main pocket are left unfinished/unserged because we are going to hide them when we stitch the pocket to the garment.

Step 7

Narrowly fold in the sides of the pocket and press. Pin in place on the garment and top-stitch very close to the folded edge of the pocket. If you do this right, the unfinished edge will peek out of the seam:

See that little light blue mark? That's the position of the second line of top-stitching that will enclose the unfinished edge.

Step 8

Sew the second line of top-stitching all around the main pocket, enclosing the unfinished seam allowance between the two lines of top-stitching. Like a french seam, but fake.

Step 9

Pin the flap in place on the garment above the main pocket and top-stitch its top edge down.

Step 10

Sew a button onto the hem of the main pocket.

The only thing to note about flap pockets like these is they tend to look more harmonious (for want of a better word) when the flap matches the main pocket in

• shape
• size (width)
• stitching (both have two equally-spaced rows of top-stitching) and
• fabric print direction.

This is traditional, but you could also have them be deliberately contrasting. If you do, it is a good idea to make it look quite deliberate, rather than just an afterthought or a mistake!

Pockets III - Lined Patch Pockets

Looks like this series is shaping up to be A-Pocket-A-Day sort of thing. Hurrah for short posts that can be lined up for autoposting each day - it's the only way to get 20-something posts all out before the new year!

Fully lining a pocket is especially useful for odd-shaped patch pockets - it tucks the raw edges away forever. I hardly ever use this method for regular shapes like rectangles, because it's just extra time for something unnecessary.

But suppose you were, I dunno, feeling whimsical, and wanted to sew, say, a tulip-shaped patch pocket. It's a hard shape to fold and press the way we did with our curved pockets.


So you cut out the pocket shape (with seam allowances) and a lining piece:




And you put the outer pocket piece and the lining together, right sides together. You left the lining piece bigger because you were clever and knew it was easier to trim it to size later.



Then you sewed all around the outer pocket, leaving an opening to turn right side out. You would*, of course, leave the opening where the seam is (relatively) straightest, so not on the curved bottom or the zigzaggy pointy top edge.

*Because you were clever, which we established earlier.


Then you trimmed all corners and notched/snipped the curved seam allowance, pressed the seams open


and turned it right side out. And pressed it a bit more.


And then tucked in the seam allowance of that opening, and pinned the whole thing in place, and top-stitched around the sides and bottom, including that opening. And you remembered (clever etc. etc.) to leave the top open for inserting hands.

That would make you clever AND invincible because now you could sew patch pockets in any shape.

Hurrah for you!

Pockets II - Simple Curved Patch Pockets

My favorite way to make a curved patch pocket is to serge the edge, and then fold in the edge as I top-stitch it onto the garment. The serged edge, being a little bit stiffer from all the extra loopy thread, is very easy to fold in, especially if your seam-ripper is working with you to prod it all in place.

Another method I know of but rarely use, is sewing a gathering stitch (long stitches, pulled manually after) along the curved edge and gathering the seam allowance to make a curved edge. I'll show this in a later post.

Here is a nice in-between method that's nothing new, but quite effective.

You'll need a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard the shape of your actual finished pocket (i.e. minus seam allowances). Finish the edges as you would usually do -serge, zig-zag etc.


Lay it on the wrong side of your pocket and press the seam allowance over the cardboard, pulling it taut over the edge of the cardboard.


When you flip it over, there'll be a nice crisp, smooth curved fold.


And you can just pin the whole pocket in place (finish the top edge first, of course) and top-stitch it down.

Now that's a fancier-than-usual patch pocket because it has that yoke with some white trim. We'll revisit this pocket in a later post to learn how to make that. For now, it's sufficient that we have conquered the curves.


Here are a couple of other simple curved pocket variations:

No hem allowance at the top edge - just bound it right off with bias tape. Also tucked in ric-rac around the rest of the perimeter as I top-stitched it on.

And look - you can do it in knits, too!

I didn't iron/press my pocket seam allowances because knit doesn't work so well with that method - instead I just tucked them in with my seam-ripper as I top-stitched the edges down onto the skirt - but wanted to reassure you that it is absolutely possible to do curved folds in knit.

Next up: Funny-shaped patch pockets!

What I've Been Scheming Since Spring

It isn't an exciting new project, no.

Or a blood-lettingly insane tutorial series.

It's a general sense of Hm... Something's Out of Whack Here that I needed to put into words.

I tried to in this post about Joann sneaking out Santa and candy cane fabrics in July, but it came out wrong, sorry about that.

And when I thought I'd elucidated it, I felt like a traitor to my own kind.

Before I tell you what it is, I will first tell you that, sitting in my garage, is a large cardboard box containing an unassembled wooden toy kitchen that I bought on amazon. And sitting in various closets, hiding, are sacks of dolls, entertainment media, books, kits and other toys that I bought from various stores, including Target, IKEA and Barnes & Noble. Some mine, some on behalf of grandparents and aunts/uncles overseas. And that over the next few weeks, I might buy a few more items to add to that collection. And that some might be plastic. And that some might need batteries.

Good clues, eh?

What's this all about?

Christmas, of course. You knew that.

Season of giving etc. etc.

And, in the crafting world, also known as The Busiest Time Of The Year.

No, thank you.

Earlier in the spring, I looked at the girls' plastic toy kitchen and decided it would have to go. It was too tiny for Kate, let alone all three girls to enjoy. But I wanted the kids to have something to cook at, so I decided to do what everyone else was doing: get a discarded TV cabinet and turn it into a spanking new, HUGE play kitchen. Told the husband about it and showed him pictures on other people's blogs. I was practically foaming at the mouth, I was so excited. "They're free!" I said. "Craigslist has them!" "True, we'll have to find a place in the garage to store it until I have the time to work on it. But we'll save money! It's real wood! Home Depot, here I come!"

He said, "Hm.......!" in that unfathomable, euphemistic, midwestern way that I've come to love.

Nothing at garage sales. Nothing on craigslist. Nothing anywhere.

So what.

"IKEA! I'll do an IKEA hack! Everyone does it! Where's that IKEA catalog?"

I was unstoppable.

And then life happened. Summer swept in on wings of golden sunshine. We ditched our strollers, bought a shiny red wagon and hit the parks. We went to the zoo, we had picnics, we met friends, we ate out, visited museums, fed random animals in ponds and lakes, shopped at farmers' markets, took walks, started swimming lessons and rode the train downtown to check out the skyscrapers and have tea in a cafe. On the weekends, when Daddy was home from work, we continued the merrymaking at different venues doing different stuff.

I hardly touched my sewing machine, or my glue gun. Sometimes I got to make something, but it usually made me feel as if I was missing out on something better, while I was sitting there stitching away summer shorts or whatever. It could have something to do with us having about 3 months of summer and 6 months of winter in these parts, I'll concede. And today with melting snow outside at a balmy 37 degrees, I look back over the summer and think we did good to pack it all in.

Nothing like a meager 24 hours in a day to remind me of how little I actually get done, and how everything is undone and repeated the next day, and how everything is often at the expense of something else. I sigh and laugh about it a lot, because that's life.

But it's also why I buy 90% of my kids' clothes, even though I can sew kids' clothes.

And why I buy 99% of my own clothes (some of which drive me nuts with their fit) even though I can sew my own clothes.

And why I buy toys for my kids, even though I can make kids' toys.

And it isn't about starting in July to be ready for December. I can't do all these things and still be with my kids. Some of you can, and do, and that's wonderful! I am not good at being multiple people at once - Tailor, Toymaker, Teacher, Cook, Mother, Bookreader, Baker, Blogger, Floormopper, Driver, DanceRecitalAudience, PrincessShoeMender. I'm always needing to remove one role or another, just to give the others their turn.

So here comes Christmas, and ooooh! I have notebooks full of toys and clothes that I have sketched out for the kids, for the shop, for patterns. Which to do first? Their kitchen? Gotta start on it now, to be finished in time for Christmas (or when Kate is in 6th grade, at the rate at which I'm honing my woodwork skills). That other farm toy I'd been desperate to start on since last year?

And then, suddenly, I know what I need to do.

I get online, do some research, watch price fluctuations, and click to buy. I buy.

I buy my kids their wooden play kitchen. It isn't top-of-the-line Pottery Barn (who can afford that?). It isn't even vintage-looking. But I am delirious - I have bought myself about 3 weeks of time to be with the kids - to bake cookies, pull the sled around the block, visit the children's museum, read books, watch movies. That farm toy that is destined to be a hit with kids of all ages? I mentally give myself another year to think about it, and I've bought myself a fortnight of evenings to sit with my husband.

While I was trying to find what worked for me, I considered taking my own anti-handmade pledge for Christmas. Like some folks who pledge to sew a dress a week, or rid their closet of anything from the 1980's. Then I realized I'd be so stressed from boycotting my poor sewing machine and gluegun that I'd die, lonely, miserable, claw-fisted and prematurely-aged. And what if I had a perfectly delicious idea that I HAD to flesh out in fabric and that took only 4 hours to make? I'd have to wait till after Christmas to try it out. Daft!

So no pledges. No anti-anythings. Just opportunity cost: how many hours will I get back if I don't make this for so-and-so by Christmas?

So that's where I am this holiday season. I'm buying gifts. I'm making some, if I feel like making. Some stuff are already half-made from the summer and I might finish them up just for closure. If the kids can work with me to make stuff, that's a bonus. There are a couple things that I do want to sew up for them, but if it feels deadline-ish, I'll save it till February or their birthdays or next Christmas, or never. I don't have a To-Make list (apart from chocolate chip cookies and krumkake to stock our cookie jar). I don't even have a To-Give list of people I can't afford to miss out. If I feel guilty closer to Christmas, they get krumkake. Or a box of chocolates from Costco. I've never been so disorganized and goal-less in my life. It's a good feeling!

Of course now that I've gone and said all this, it is entirely possible that nobody will ever buy any more of my patterns to make anything for anyone ever again because now everyone is shopping at amazon or Target (drats). And I know that there are budget issues, too, for a lot of us - handmade saves money, which is why it's so great. And some of us have Great Aunt Felicitys to whom we MUST send a gift that looks expensive/shows evidence of environmental consciousness/needs to be handmade or risk offending forever. Everyone's Reality is different.

So this is my plan for Christmas 2010. There probably won't be a lot of projects appearing on this blog between now and January. Or maybe there might be. It depends on what I feel like doing when I wake up each morning! You do what feels right for you, and don't forget to take time off, is all I'm saying. Sounds funny coming from me just after launching my 20-something-chapter Pockets Tutorial Series! But even that was started back in June, forgotten all about taken my own sweet time with, photos shot and rotting in the computer, posts half-written. Now I'm finishing them, lining them up to auto-post and I'm finally getting some closure, 5 months later! Good thing nobody's running races here, huh?

Have a lovely Thanksgiving, everyone, and a restful Advent!

Pockets I - Classic Patch Pockets

Welcome to the first installment of the Pockets Series!

Patch pockets are the most visible of all pockets because they are entirely on the outside of a garment. They can be made of the same fabric as the garment, and artfully camouflaged or out of a contrasting fabric so they stand out and make a statement. They are probably also the most adaptable kind of pocket, which makes them fun for children's clothes.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother made some of my dresses. On these, she'd embroider an entire scene on the skirt portion, in which she'd hide a patch pocket. Sometimes it would be a beehive, or a cottage, and it was so cleverly integrated into the embroidery that I'd have to search to find it. What fun it was to finally tuck my hand into the pocket when I found it!

Patch pockets are, by definition, any pocket made by taking a piece of fabric and sewing it onto the outside of a garment. Most of the perimeter of this piece is sewn closed, leaving a small portion (usually the top edge) open for inserting a hand. Patch pockets can be rectangular, square, circular or have an unusual shape. They can be unlined, lined, have flaps, gussets, zippers, buttons, velcro, snaps. They can have yokes, into which are tucked gathers, pleats or smocked fabric. They can be plain, appliqued, embroidered, painted. There are very few rules for patch pockets, and can be sewn precisely or imprecisely. While they are not the simplest kind of pocket (the in-seam ones are!) they are perfect for beginning seamstresses because of how literal their construction is.

In this post, we'll be making the classic patch pocket, which is a rectangle with a simple opening at the top. This one has no lining - so those of you folks who MUST line your pockets will have to wait two more posts.



Step 1
Decide on the size of your pocket. I often use the wearer's hand as a gauge.

Add seam allowances - usually about 1/4" to 1/2" - on the sides and bottom.
Add a hem allowance for the top edge - usually about 1"- 1.5" - so it can be folded in, tucked under and sewn down.


Step 2
Serge (or otherwise finish) the edges.





Step 3
Fold the hem allowance down to the wrong side of the pocket.
Here is the wrong side of my pocket, showing the serged edges, and the top edge folded down. This pocket has a wide hem - about 1" wide. Scroll down to a later part of this post to see a narrower hem on a different pocket.


Step 4
I usually tuck in the top serged edge under the hem to hide it, but you could also leave it out if you are feeling especially casual.


Step 5
Sew down the lower folded edge to secure the hem.
Here is the right side of the pocket showing that stitching line.

Here I will show you the more elegant way to fold in the sides and corners of a rectangular pocket. Those of you who make quilts probably already have this written into your sewing DNA. I don't always do my corners this way. Sometimes I am too lazy to get the ironing board out, in which case I might just fold the corners square, smash them flat with my seam-ripper-tucked-under-the-presser-foot, and floor the pedal. Inelegant, but also effective.



Step 6
Fold in the corner to the wrong side of the pocket.


Step 7
Fold in one of the sides.

Step 8
Fold in the other side.
Press (with iron) everything down.


Step 9
Repeat for the other corner.

Flip the pocket over to the right side, pin it in place on the garment, and top-stitch all around the sides and bottom edge to secure it.

I like to make little triangles with my stitching at the top corners of the pocket to reinforce those points against wear and tear.


And that is how I make a no-frills rectangular (or square) patch pocket.


Here is a familiar variation on that rectangular/square pocket - still all-straight edges:


Step 1
Add embellishment (top-stitching in this case) on the right side:


Step 2
Fold hem and top-stitch the hem down. This is a narrower hem than the first pocket we did in this post.


Step 3
Fold in the sides and bottom, press, pin in place, and sew down.

Here are photos of some other straight-edge pockets I've put on stuff I've sewn:

Like pointy jeans pockets but with vertical sides:

Apron pockets - no hem allowance on the upper edge;
just bound it right off with bias tape:

Same, with applique and embroidery:

More applique+embroidery:

With one line of ric-rac sewn over the top hem's stitching line:

With cotton trim over the top hem:

With a buttonhole and button in the top hem:

With a contrasting hem-facing on the top edge:

Cut on the bias for contrast pattern:
So lots of ways to jazz up even a straight-edged patch pocket.

Next up: some curves!

Pockets!!

Now that we've finished our drafting series, I am excited to introduce another series - Pockets!

One of the recurring questions I've been asked is how to sew certain types of pockets. I've sewn a lot of pockets in my sewing lifetime, but I don't always know their names. Or else I'd always called them something completely different from their official names. Particularly for children's clothes, pockets are one of the easiest -and most practical - embellishments. I thought you might enjoy learning about the different kinds of pockets and how to make them. And be liberated to take any plain old garment and make it your own.

We'll start in this post with some foundational stuff. Then we'll make some of the simpler pockets and move on to the more exciting pockets. All in, we'll be doing about 26 pockets, with photos and links to more for adaptation and inspiration. Sound fun?


Let's start with the basics. Here are some common questions I've been asked (and that I've sometimes asked myself in my head when I'm making pockets):

Q: What kind of fabric is best for pockets?

A: Whatever kind the garment is made of. Pockets are add-ons, but they will go in the wash along with the rest of the garment, so it's best to have them in the same or similar kind of material as the garment. So stretchy for stretchy, woven for woven etc. If the pocket has a lining, that can be made of a thinner fabric than the main fabric, especially if the main fabric is bulky. So, for instance, if you are making cut-in pockets for a corduroy skirt, you might want to use regular cotton for the lining. Sometimes a funky print for the lining can also liven up an otherwise plain garment.

Q: Do I need an interfacing?

A: It depends. Interfacing the opening of a pocket (to keep its crisp corners and lines) means you need to line the garment to hide it. I have used a very light interfacing for the folded yokes of pockets that have pleats, gathers or smocking. Example: the gingham sundress pockets. I have also used them for welt pockets and zippered welt pockets. I don't use interfacing for inset pockets or in-seam pockets.

Q: Where on the garment (like a skirt or a dress) should you position pockets?

A: The opening of the pocket varies in position/location, depending on personal preference, type of pocket, style of garment, whatever. But most often it is somewhere between waist and hip-height. Obviously if it's a set-in pocket that has one edge at the waistband, then that's where the opening is. Also if it's a breast pocket, then that's where it is. And chest pockets for things like aprons.

Q: How big should pockets be?

A: Big enough to fit the hand of the user/wearer. I often use the user's hand itself as a gauge of pocket size and shape. You could trace around the hand to get the shape of the pocket pouch!

Q: Do you need a serger to make pockets?

A: No. There are many ways to deal with raw edges in pockets. You could

• use a zigzag stitch in place of an overlock stitch.
• fully face/line the pocket so it is double-layered with all the raw edges tucked inside it.
• do two lines of of top-stitching to enclose the raw edges between them, like a fake french seam.

We'll cover all these in the coming tutorials.

There are millions of pockets out there, but I'll group them into four categories for convenience:

1 Patch pockets - literally a patch of fabric sewn onto the outside of a garment.

2 Welt pockets - a slit that opens into an internal pouch.

3 Inset/ Set-in/ Cut-in pockets

4 In-seam pockets

In the next few posts, we will learn how to make each kind of pocket, where to put it, and some of its different variations. Enjoy!