A patch pocket stays square when its edges are pressed around a cardboard template before you sew it on, its top hem is faced and edgestitched first, and it is attached with one row of stitching 2 mm (1/16 in) from the fold, starting and finishing with a small triangle at each top corner. Give the pocket a 1 cm (3/8 in) seam allowance on its sides and bottom and a 2.5 cm (1 in) hem at the top. The whole thing takes fifteen minutes per pocket, most of it at the ironing board.

What makes a patch pocket go wobbly?

A patch pocket is the most visible pocket there is: a piece of fabric sewn on the outside of the garment, with nothing to hide behind. Three things make it look home-made. The corners are not true right angles or the two pockets on a garment are not the same shape. The side edges bow because they were turned under by eye. And the stitching wanders because the pocket was pinned flat while the garment underneath was not.

Each has a fix: a template for the shape, a pressed and basted edge for the sides, and a sewing order that keeps the garment flat.

What do you need to sew a patch pocket?

  • The pocket piece, cut from the garment fabric with 1 cm (3/8 in) allowance on the sides and bottom and 2.5 cm (1 in) at the top. If the pattern has no pocket, a good shirt pocket is 11 × 13 cm (4 3/8 × 5 1/8 in) finished; a trouser back pocket 14 × 15 cm (5 1/2 × 6 in); an apron pocket 18 × 20 cm (7 × 8 in).
  • A template of the finished pocket in thin card (a cereal box is fine).
  • A strip of lightweight fusible interfacing for the hem, 2.5 cm wide, on fabrics that do not hold a press.
  • Thread to match or to contrast, a size 80/12 universal needle (90/14 on denim or canvas), a 2.5–3 mm stitch length.
  • A point turner, an iron, pins or glue stick, and chalk to mark the pocket position.

Cut the pocket so its grain matches the garment. A pocket cut slightly off grain always looks crooked, however carefully you sew it, and stripes or checks must line up with the body.

How do you sew a patch pocket, step by step?

  1. Finish the top edge. Overlock, zigzag or turn under 6 mm (1/4 in) and press. Fuse the strip of interfacing to the hem allowance if you are using one.
  2. Sew the hem facing. Fold the top 2.5 cm to the right side of the pocket, right sides together, and sew down each side at the 1 cm seam allowance, from the fold to the finished edge. Trim the corners diagonally and turn the hem to the inside; push the corners out with the point turner. The side allowances below the hem are still unfolded.
  3. Press around the template. Lay the card template on the wrong side of the pocket, inside the hem, and press the side and bottom allowances over its edges. For square corners, fold the bottom first, then the sides, so the bulk sits at the sides; or miter the corners by folding the point in diagonally first, as in how to sew a mitered corner. For a rounded pocket, run a row of long stitches 7 mm from the edge around the curve and draw them up until the allowance cups the template, then press.
  4. Edgestitch the hem. Remove the template and topstitch along the lower edge of the hem from the right side, 2 mm from the finished edge. This is easier now than once the pocket is on the garment.
  5. Mark the position on the garment with chalk: the two top corners and the center of the bottom edge. Both pockets of a pair are marked from the same pattern piece, measured from the center front and the shoulder seam, not by eye.
  6. Attach the pocket. Pin through the pocket and garment at the four corners only, or hold it with a glue stick, with the garment flat on the table. Starting at the top left corner, sew a small triangle: 1 cm down the side, diagonally back up to the top edge 7 mm in, then along the top edge to the corner. Continue down the side 2 mm from the fold, around the bottom, and up the other side, finishing with a mirror triangle. Pivot with the needle down at every corner.
  7. Press from the right side with a pressing cloth, then from the wrong side.
Tip: On a bulky fabric, sew a second row 6 mm (1/4 in) inside the first. It keeps the pocket flat in the wash and is the classic look on denim and canvas.

How do you reinforce the top corners?

The top corners take the load every time a hand goes in. The triangle in step 6 spreads that load over three lines of stitching. A bar tack, a dense zigzag 5 mm (3/16 in) long at the corner, is the industrial alternative; a 1 cm line of backstitching is the minimum. On a trouser back pocket, add a small square of interfacing to the garment behind each corner before sewing the pocket on.

Common mistakes with patch pockets

  • Pressing the sides before the hem. The hem facing then cannot be turned without the side folds unfolding. Hem first, template second.
  • Turning the allowances under by eye. One side ends up 9 mm, the other 12 mm, and the pocket leans. The template fixes this; so does a seam gauge on each side.
  • Stretching the top edge. It is cut on the cross grain and grows when handled. Staystitch it at 5 mm (3/16 in) before the hem if the fabric is loose, or let the interfacing hold it.
  • Pinning the pocket while the garment is in your lap. The garment pulls, the pocket does not, and the pocket puckers once the garment is flat. Pin everything on the table.
  • Sewing from the bottom up. Fabric feeds a little faster on top than underneath, so start at the top corners where accuracy shows, and let any creep end at the bottom.
  • Pockets placed too high or too low. Pin the pocket on, put the garment on and slide your hand in. On a shirt, the top edge sits at the chest, about 20 cm (8 in) below the shoulder seam; on trousers, the back pocket starts 5–6 cm (2–2 3/8 in) below the waistband seam.

When should you use a patch pocket instead of an in-seam or welt pocket?

A patch pocket is the right choice when the pocket is part of the look: shirts, utility jackets, aprons, tote bags, casual trousers, children's clothes. It is the only pocket that needs no seam to hide in, so it can go anywhere, which is why how to add pockets to any pattern reaches for it first.

An in-seam pocket disappears into a side seam and suits dresses and skirts where you want the pocket but not the shape of one. A welt pocket is the tailored option, a slit with a lip or flap on trousers and jackets, and takes more precision. Sewly's apron pattern has an optional front patch pocket, given as cutting dimensions in the pieces list with its own step in the sewing guide, and you can ask that guide how to place a pocket on any garment you draft there.

For a lined patch pocket, cut a lining the same size minus the hem, sew it to the hem edge right sides together leaving a 4 cm (1 5/8 in) gap, sew around the outer edge, turn through the gap and press. The lining pulls the edges inward and gives perfect curves without a gathering thread.