I made this Harry Potter themed skirt as a Christmas gift for my sister in law Marg. And because it was a gift, I wanted to make it extra special and finish it beautifully. I know Marg loves pockets in a skirt, so it had to have pockets. My overlocker was in the naughty corner and if I’m not overlocking, my go to it French seams. They are just so neat and wear really well over time. It was time to learn how to do a French seamed pocket!
I decided on a full circle skirt from some cool Harry Potter fabric I found at Spotlight with my usual black satin bias hem. I really wanted a really cool and interesting fabric for the pocket. I couldn’t find anything that appealed in Spotlight, so I turned to the op shop. I found a ladies overshirt in an amazing shiny, oil slick fabric and knew it would make magical pockets. I took it home and gave it a wash and then I could cut out my pockets. I used this pocket pattern because it was to hand.
My super sweet sister in law Marg, showing of the skirt!
I looked up how to do this fancy French seam pocket but I just couldn’t get a grip on how it worked until I realised that first you French seam the individual pocket bag pieces to the skirt panel they belong to first, then you French seam the whole side seam. This works best with a half inch or more seam allowance, mine were smaller but I made it work. I will refer to my seams as though they were ½”or 1.25cm just to make explaining easier.
Once you have cut out all the skirt pieces and four pocket pieces, you are ready to French seam! Start by pinning the pocket pieces the skirt pieces wrong sides together. Match up any notches if using a pattern or if the skirt is self-drafted, make sure the pocket pieces will line up when the side seam is sewn. Sew the pocket pieces to the skirt with a ¼”or 6mm seam allowance (I just stitched as close as I could). Repeat for the 3 remaining pocket pieces.
Trim the seam down to 1/8” or 3mm, trimming only along where you attached the pocket. Clip into the seam allowance, just up to the stitch line (see the white arrow) either side of the pocket piece. Then press the pocket piece toward the skirt panel, right sides together. Sew along just the pocket piece with a ¼” seam allowance. Repeat for the 3 remaining pocket pieces.
Now you have French seamed all the pocket pieces to their corresponding skirt panels YAY! Now you can move on to constructing the side seams and actual pocket. Place the skirt panels wrong side together and pin down the side seam, around the pocket bag and down the rest of the side seam. Sew the skirt panels together with a ¼” seam allowance, following your pinned line around the pocket. Trim the seam allowance down to 1/8”. Repeat for other side seam.
Turn the skirt and pocket so that they are right sides together and press the seam. Sew the whole seam again at ¼” enclosing all the raw edges. Pivot at the beginning and end of the pocket bag. And that’s a French seam pocket all done!
With my feline supervior keeping an eye on things from the scraps pile, I finshed up the rest of the skirt in my usual manner. I was super happy with how it came out and how neat the seams and pockets were. Luckily, it fit Marg perfectly and she loved it! The pockets do take a minute but once you’ve got your head around it they are actually super easy to do. It really doesn’t take much more effort than normal French seams. And now I am armed with a new technique! If you give this a try, I’d love too hear your thoughts xxx
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2 Comments
Great tutorial,thank you. It never occurred to me to French seam pockets and you explained it really well. Your sister-in-law looks adorable, I love the way she styled the outfit.
Glad you liked the tutorial, I love to share what I learn. And Marg is the cutest! She’s always stylish.
Happy sewing!