What No One Tells You About Attaching Patch Pockets

Sewing Tips - Patch Pockets

Sewing Friends:

For some reason, no one ever seems to tell you the whole story about attaching patch pockets. So many times, patch pockets are a dead give away that a garment is "homemade". Why? Because the pockets look "pinched", "pulled' or "puckered" on the garment. You know the look. Well now, I am going to tell you "the rest of the story!"

Most of you carefully mark the pocket placement and dutifully follow the sewing guidelines. However, there is something else that you should know before you sew on your pockets. It is a simple tip. It just makes sense!

Here is the scenario:

• When you lay out your flat garment sewing pattern and lay your pocket pattern over it, everything lines up and matches perfectly.
• You cut out your garment and pocket and mark everything just like the pattern.
• Then you sew the flat pocket on the flat garment according to your markings.
• Now, you put on the garment and the pocket looks "pulled".
  
  What happened?

The Problem

Your body is round, not flat! You aren't a flat table!

The Solution

Here is the sewing tip that will help you avoid "pinched looking" or "puckered" patch pockets.

• Pin the pocket at the pocket placement mark closest to the center of the garment.
• Do not pin the other end yet.
• Either put the garment on your body or over a pressing ham or cushion to simulate a body curve.
• While laying over this curve, pin the other end of the pocket in place. It most likely will fall short of the original mark that you made for the pocket placement. That's because the pocket is going over a curve.
• Pin securely around the pocket to hold it to the garment while it is over the curve.
• Take the garment to your sewing machine and stitch the pocket as pinned.
• Now, when you wear the garment, the pocket is relaxed and no longer looks "pulled" or "pinched" or "homemade".

Keep this sewing tip in mind any time you are attaching a layer on top of another in a garment that is worn on a curved body. Think about this! The top layer gets shorter when it goes over a curve. It just makes sense!

How To Sew A Self-Lined Patch Pocket

Find detailed instructions on how to sew a self-lined patch pocket on my Sewing Project Tips Sewing Blog. Go to: How to sew self-lined patch pockets

Now you know how to sew a lined patch pocket and "the rest of the story" on how to attach a pocket to a garment to create perfect pockets. Enjoy!

To Your Sewing Success,

Marian

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Sewing Tips - Patch Pockets

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