Lucie Robe Sew Along
3 — Pockets
08—July 2020
After sewing your front panels, continue on to sew the pockets!
Using your tailors chalk or fabric marker, mark the sewing line on the wrong side of your pocket pieces with a ruler, using the pattern piece as your guide.
Matching the notches, pin your pocket piece to your front piece with right sides together.
With the bulk of the fabric in front of your machine and starting at the left notch, back tack at the start of your seam, then sew in 1cm from the edge, following the line you have drawn. Next, with your needle down, lift your presser foot and pivot your fabric 90 degrees. The bulk of your fabric will be on your left. Lower your presser foot and sew along, 1cm from the edge, to the next notch. Stop with your needle down, pivot 90 degrees again, so the bulk of your fabric is behind your machine. Sew 1cm to the edge of your pieces. Back tack again at the end.
Now that you have boxed out your pocket opening it is time to mitre into the upper and lower corners of the box. Using a sharp pair of scissors, clip in at a 45 degree angle into each corner. Be extra careful not to snip through your stitching line!
Next, fold the pocket over so the wrong sides are together and the seam you have just sewn is between the two pieces. With your iron, press along the edge of the pocket opening ensuring that the corners are well turned out and the side seam of the pockets above and below the pocket opening match the side edge of the front.
It's now time to understitch your pocket opening. Back at your machine, have your pocket bag on the right-hand side, with the right side up. Stitching on the pocket bag, edge stitch 3mm in from the seam. Start at the top corner and sew down to the next, back tacking at the beginning and end.
Now fold the pocket bag in half, right sides together, so that the notches match the pocket opening. Sew the pocket bag closed across the straight top edge and around the lower curved edge with a 1cm seam allowance and back tacking at the beginning and end of each seam. Be careful not to catch your front piece in these seams. You can neaten the seams with an overlocker/serger or using a zig zag stitch on your sewing machine.
Next you will secure your pocket bag to the front piece. Pin your pocket bag, from the right side, to the front ensuring that it is sitting flat. Mark your top stitching line on the right side of the front with tailors chalk or a fabric marker and a ruler. Use your pattern piece as a guide. This line should run parallel to the top edge of the pocket bag, 5mm down, and run go from the side seam edge, stopping 5mm before the edge of the pocket bag. Top stitch along this line back tacking at the beginning and end.
Your completed pocket will look like this from the wrong side. Repeat for both sides.
Next, move on to sewing your belt loops!
