My faux fur jacket needed some pockets. After all, who wears a coat without any pockets? I didn’t want to include all this detailed information in my post about the finished jacket, and thought this was worth a tutorial-type post instead. I didn’t think to take photos of all my steps at the time, but did some diagrams instead. The reinforcement steps (8 – 10) were adapted from the seventies (of course!) dressmaking book, The Complete Dressmaker by Peggy Hayden.
The Complete Dressmaker by Peggy Hayden
Materials used:
1 metre x cotton tape (3 cm wide)
Medium-weight, or relatively stiff woven iron-on interfacing
Instructions
Carry out steps 1-4 before the side seams are sewn in the jacket.
1. Create a pattern piece for the in-seam pockets
Make a pattern piece the size of youir hand.
2. Cut out left and right pockets in lining and in faux fur fabric
Cut out 4 pockets – 2 in the lining fabric and 2 in the jacket fabric
3. Mark the proposed position of the pockets on the jacket. I positioned mine at about hip height.
4. Sew the faux-fur pocket pieces to the back of the jacket, with right-sides together using a 1 cm seam allowance. Sew the lining pocket pieces to the front of the jacket using a 1cm seam allowance. A smaller seam allowance is used here instead of the usual 1.5 cm so that when the side seams are sewn, the pockets will sit slightly inside, for a more discreet finish.
5. Pin the side seams of the jacket and around the pockets, pinning the front of the pocket (lining fabric) to the back of the pocket (faux fur fabric).
6. Sew the side seams with a 1.5 cm seam allowance. When you get to the top of the pocket, pivot and stitch the two pocket pieces together following the curve of the pockets.
With right sides together stitch along seam line following the curve of the pockets
7. Clip the back seam allowance below and above the pocket.
Clip across the back pocket seam allowance almost to the stitching lineabove and below the pocket.
The following steps reinforce the pocket seam and prevent it from sagging under its own weight and also to help it to lie flatter within the jacket.
8. Iron the interfacing onto the cotton tape. This will make the cotton tape much stiffer. I used cotton tape as I knew my iron-on interfacing wouldn’t stick to my fluffy fabric!
9. Pin the interfaced cotton tape to the back seam of the in-seam pocket. I needed about 40 cm for each pocket.
Place reinforcemnt strip on top of seam and slip stich the strip to the seam allowance / jacket.
10. Slip-stitch the cotton tape to the seam allowance, the pocket or the jacket.
Steely Seamstress 
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February 28, 2019 at 6:10 pm
Excellent- the reinforcement tape is new to me, so will use that in future.
February 28, 2019 at 6:26 pm
It’s certainly doing the trick. The pockets are maintaining their shape well!