The easiest dress to sew with pockets is a fit-and-flare dress: its skirt side seams take in-seam pockets, and the flat front of a gathered or A-line skirt takes patch pockets. In-seam pockets are two bag pieces sewn into each side seam with the opening 5 to 7 cm (2 to 2 3/4 in) below the waist, invisible from the outside; patch pockets are two shaped pieces topstitched onto the skirt front, visible by design. Both go in before the skirt is joined to the bodice, and either adds about twenty minutes to a weekend project.
What do you need to sew a dress with pockets?
The pieces of a fit-and-flare dress with short sleeves and a gathered skirt:
- Bodice front, cut once on the fold, and bodice back, cut twice for the center back zip.
- Neck facings, cut once each in fabric and interfacing, or lining pieces and two straps for the strap version.
- Skirt front and back: rectangles for a gathered skirt, shaped pieces for an A-line or half circle.
- Sleeves, cut twice.
- Pocket bags, cut four, or patch pockets, cut two.
- Tie belt, optional.
Notions: a 50 cm (20 in) invisible zip, 30 cm (12 in) of lightweight fusible interfacing, narrow elastic for puff sleeve hems, 40 cm (16 in) of stay tape for the pocket openings, a hook and eye.
Fabric on 140 cm (55 in) wide fabric: 2.5 to 3 m (2 3/4 to 3 1/4 yd) for a knee-length dress with a gathered skirt, 3.5 m (3 7/8 yd) and more for a half circle or a maxi. Add 30 cm (12 in) of cotton lawn if you want lighter pocket bags. Poplin, gingham, chambray and cotton lawn give crisp gathers and take patch pockets well; viscose and crepe suit a half-circle skirt and in-seam pockets.
In-seam or patch pockets: which should you choose?
| Feature | In-seam pockets | Patch pockets |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Hidden in the side seam | A design feature on the front |
| Skirt styles | Gathered, A-line, half circle | Gathered and A-line only |
| Best fabrics | Anything; bags in lawn for light fabrics | Poplin, gingham, linen, chambray |
| Bulk at the hip | A little, on the side | None at the side |
| Difficulty | Pivoting around the bag | Even topstitching and matched placement |
| Capacity | Deep; a phone sits safely | Shallow to medium |
In-seam pockets are the default for a reason: they work on every skirt and disappear. Patch pockets are a choice you make for the look, and they need a stable fabric and a flat front, which rules out a half-circle skirt whose front is partly on the bias.
How do you sew in-seam pockets into a dress skirt?
A good bag is 16 cm (6 1/4 in) wide and 28 to 30 cm (11 to 11 3/4 in) long, with an opening of 15 cm (6 in) on the side seam edge. Place the top of the opening 5 to 7 cm below the waist seam line, so a hand goes in with a straight wrist; higher, and the pocket is in your ribs when you sit.
- Finish the edges of the four bags with a zigzag or a serger.
- Fuse or sew a strip of stay tape along the pocket opening on the skirt front, inside the seam allowance, so the opening cannot stretch.
- With right sides together, sew a bag to the skirt front at the opening, 1.2 cm (1/2 in) from the edge, a little less than the 1.5 cm (5/8 in) seam allowance, so the seam rolls toward the back when pressed. Sew the matching bag to the skirt back at 1.5 cm. Press both bags away from the skirt.
- Pin the front and back skirt right sides together along the side seam and the bag. Sew from the hem up to the bottom of the opening, pivot around the bag, pivot back and continue up to the waist, all at 1.5 cm.
- Clip the back seam allowance above and below the opening, press the side seam open and the bag toward the front, and baste the top of the bag to the waist edge if it reaches it.
On a gathered skirt, lengthen the bag so its top is caught in the waist seam: a bag anchored at the waist does not drag the gathers when you fill it. How to sew in-seam pockets shows the pivot step by step.
How do you sew patch pockets onto a dress?
A finished pocket of 15 × 17 cm (6 × 6 3/4 in) holds a phone and a hand. Cut it 18 cm wide and 21.5 cm tall (7 1/8 × 8 1/2 in): 1.5 cm on the sides and bottom and a 3 cm facing at the top. For placement, put the dress on, or hold the skirt front against you, and mark where your hand falls with a straight arm: on most adults the pocket top sits 8 to 10 cm (3 1/8 to 4 in) below the waist seam and the inner edge 8 to 10 cm from the center front.
- Fuse a strip of interfacing to the top facing, fold the facing to the right side, sew the ends at 1.5 cm, trim and turn so the facing lies on the wrong side.
- Press the side and bottom allowances in. For round corners, run a gathering stitch around the curve and draw it up over a card template before pressing.
- Pin the pocket to the skirt front, check both pockets against each other and against the center front, and edgestitch 2 mm (1/8 in) from the fold, reinforcing the top corners with a small triangle or a short bar of stitching.
Do this before the skirt side seams are sewn, while the front lies flat. How to sew patch pockets covers lined pockets and flaps.
How do you sew the dress in order?
- Staystitch the neckline and sew the bust and waist darts.
- Sew the shoulder seams; attach the facings or line the bodice and make the straps.
- Sew the pockets into the skirt side seams, or topstitch the patch pockets onto the skirt front.
- Sew the skirt side seams (if not already done with the pockets) and gather the skirt to the bodice waist, following how to gather fabric evenly.
- Join the skirt to the bodice, right sides together, matching side seams and center front, with a 1.5 cm seam. Press the allowance up and finish it.
- Insert the invisible zip in the center back through the bodice and the top of the skirt, then close the seam below it.
- Set in the sleeves, gathering the cap for a puff sleeve, and run narrow elastic through the sleeve hem.
- Let a half-circle skirt hang overnight; hem, add the hook and eye, press.
What are the most common pocket mistakes?
- Pockets too high. They sit on the ribs. Measure 5 to 7 cm below the waist seam line, not the cut edge.
- Bags too shallow. Anything under 25 cm deep lets a phone slide out when you sit.
- Heavy bags in a light dress. They show through and pull the side seam. Cut the bags in lawn or voile.
- No stay on the opening. The opening stretches and gapes on viscose. Tape it.
- Patch pockets off grain. A pocket cut on the bias sags within a day. Mark the grainline on the pocket piece.
- Pockets on a half-circle front. Patch pockets fight the bias; use in-seam there.
Can Sewly draft the dress with pockets for you?
Sewly's fit-and-flare dress pattern has in-seam pockets on by default for the gathered, A-line and half-circle skirt, with the pocket bag pieces included and placed below the waist; you can turn them off for a very light fabric. It does not draft patch pockets for the dress, so draw them yourself to the dimensions above and place them on the skirt front before the side seams. The pattern's sewing guide gives the fabric quantity for 110, 140 and 150 cm wide fabric, the zip length and the elastic for puff sleeves.