how to draft trouser pockets

Camelia joins us today from the Advisors Circle. Some of her previous contributions have been her Terrace Dresses, Neighborhood Sweatshirts and Afternoon Tea Blouse.

Did you enjoy our Hollywood Trousers Sew-Along? Would you like to add slant pockets to your future pair of trousers? If so, then you are in luck today because Camelia is here with a tutorial for how to draft slant pockets for trousers.

I loved the new Hollywood Trousers from the first moment I saw the pattern, but because my daily life does not really call for fancy trousers, I thought making the pattern in denim would fit my style better. Also, I thought slant pockets would go better with the denim version. So here is how I adjusted the pattern and sewed the pockets.

All the changes are only on the front leg pattern piece. I recommend making all the fit adjustments you need and after that to go draft your pockets. I want to mention that these measurements are working for me. You should feel free to adjust the size of your pockets based on your own measurement/hand size.

I marked the seam allowance to have a more accurate sense of the size of my pocket.

The first step was to measure 3″ from the side in (red arrows) and 6 1/4″ from the waist edge down on the side edge (purple edge) This is going to be the pocket opening.

Connect the two points. This is going to be the pocket opening.

Next, measure 4″ down on the side (purple arrows ); this will be how deep your pocket will be and further 2″ on the waist edge (red arrows) to have as an anchor for the pocket (it gets sewn in the waist to keep it in place when worn).

To form the pocket bag square a line from the 4″ point measured on the side seam and a line from the 2″ point measured on the waist, in the picture below the red lines. I wanted my pockets with plenty of room for my hands so I went approximately 1″ more to the left and blended back to that point on the waist (blue lines).

I like to make the pocket bag corner a bit curved, like in the picture below. Also at this moment you can add the seam allowances. To avoid confusion I added the same as the rest of the pattern, in this case, 1/2″.

The next step is to trace the new pocket pieces. All these pieces are on the same grain as the rest of the pant leg, the pocket facing (pink paper) which you can cut out of lining and the pocket bag (yellow paper) which can be cut completely out of the main fabric or, in my denim pants I chose to make a small facing for this pocket bag out of the main fabric and the rest out of lining, you will see that in the next steps.

The last step to have your pocket ready to sew is to trim the new pocket opening on your front leg pattern piece like so, keeping the seam allowance.

If you are working with a thicker fabric and you don’t want your whole pocket bag made out of the fashion fabric, you can make a small facing for the pocket bag to cover only the pocket opening. You only need to be sure that it will get covered by the pocket and that your lining will not peak out. I added here an extra 3/8″ to be sure that the facing is big enough!

Now we are ready to sew the pockets! Here are my pieces all cut. )I am using a small piece of the front leg for demonstration and also contrasting thread so you can see better.) I want to mention that I decided that I want the right side of my lining fabric to show so that the wrong side will be the inside of the pocket. So pay attention to that if you want it the other way.

The first step is to finish that long edge of the pocket bag facing (I serged it) and sew that on the top of the pocket bag.

And this is how it will look from the other side.

Next, sew the pocket facing to the front leg piece with a 1/2″ seam allowance and then trim the seam allowance to 1/8″. In my case I sewed the wrong side of the pocket to the right side of my pants, to have the polka dots side visible on the inside of my pants when the pockets are completed.

Press the pocket facing to the back and give it a nice press taking care to favor the seam to the inside to avoid showing any lining from the outside and if desired, topstitch.

If you want to be fast, you can finish your pocket in the next step by placing the pocket bag over the piece you’ve just finished and sewing along the pocket edge, finishing the edge as desired (with the serger, zig-zag or bias binding).

But if you want even a nicer finish you can do a french seam to your pocket edge.

After topstitching the pocket facing open it again to the side like in the picture below.

Place the pocket bag on top of the pocket facing and stitch with 1/4″ seam allowance. Trim the seam to 1/8″.

Turn the pocket bag, and give it a nice press. Because you trimmed the seam you don’t need to give any snips in the curved part of the pocket. Stitch again around, 3/8″ from the edge. To keep the pocket in place during construction of the pants, baste it at the waist and side seam (red arrows).

Your pockets are done now!

I hope you will give this a try. It’s an easy way to give another look to your Hollywood Trousers.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like to see our Eleven Tutorials for Pockets.