I had previously made an inseam pockets tutorial which uses interfacing to help create sturdy pockets on clothing made with a very light fabric. However, I’ve realized that most of the other times I’ve made inseam pockets, I do it a bit differently and don’t use as much interfacing. Hence, today’s post titled Inseam Pockets Tutorial Version 2.
The skinny:
This is the most common type of pocket that I choose to add to my clothing. It can be added to a skirt (such as with my Golden Skirt Tutorial) or dress (such as with my Fancy T-Shirt Dress Tutorial or Breezy Trapeze Dress Tutorial) during the creation process or it can be a very simple fix to upgrade the comfort level of any dress or skirt (such as with the Simplicity Pattern 1360).
Materials:
- ¼ yard of fabric (one that matches your dress/skirt)
- matching thread
- seam ripper (if adding to an existing piece of clothing)
- ¼ yard of fusible knit interfacing (optional) – this helps the pockets keep their shape along the side seam on clothing made with a knit fabric.
Now onto my Inseam Pockets Tutorial V2
Instructions:
MAKING THE PATTERN
To make the pattern for your pocket, place your hand along the edge of a piece of pattern paper at a slight angle. Trace around your hand and make the pocket as roomy as you want. Cut this out.
MAKING THE POCKETS
1. Rather than supporting the whole pocket with the fusing like we did during my original Inseam Pockets Tutorial, we will just use strips. If using interfacing, cut a 2″ wide strip of interfacing the same length as the top of the pocket. You might want to trim a bit off the ends so that the interfacing is a tiny bit smaller than the pocket fabric. This will help when fusing the interfacing. Make (2) of these in one direction, and (2) the opposite direction.
2. Now we will fuse the interfacing to the pockets. For this you will need an iron, ironing board, and a damp cloth. Place your interfacing onto the pocket fabric, rough side down. Make sure that the interfacing is slightly smaller than your pockets so that the interfacing doesn’t adhere to the ironing board below while pressing. Once you have them positioned, cover them over with a damp cloth (I used a hand towel). Iron over the damp cloth until the interfacing is adhered, about 10 seconds or so over each spot. Do this for both sets of pockets. This will adhere the interfacing to your pocket fabric and help stabilize the pockets.
3. Try on your dress/skirt to determine where the top of the pocket will begin. Mark this with a pin. If adding to an existing piece of clothing, use a seam ripper to remove the seam where the pockets will go. Right sides together, pin and sew your pocket piece along the side of the dress/skirt where you marked with a pin. Be careful not to sew your pockets closed. Make sure that the pocket is pointing downwards. Do this for all (4) pockets, being careful to make sure that they will match up. I will sew mine with a ⅜” seam allowance, slightly less than the seam allowance along the side of the dress/skirt I am adding it to.
4. If you are adding the pockets to a dress/skirt while creating it, right sides together, pin and sew the side seams. For a dress, this will be from the end of your sleeve to the armpit, along the side of the dress, around the pocket, and down to the bottom of the dress. For a skirt this will be from the waist of the skirt, around the pocket, to the hem at the bottom. Do this for the other side and cut off any excess fabric.
If you are adding the pockets to an existing piece of clothing, pin your pockets together matching the right sides together. Sew from above where you opened the seam, around the pocket, to down below where you opened the seam, making sure that you’re sealing the seam back up. Do this for both sides and cut off any excess fabric.
I hope you enjoyed my new Inseam Pockets Tutorial. Now you have some new fancy pockets!