A welt pocket is an elegant and professional-looking feature that adds functionality and style to any garment. Often found in tailored jackets, trousers, and skirts, welt pockets consist of a narrow strip of fabric, the welt, with a pocket bag hidden behind it. When done correctly, these pockets can elevate the look and feel f your garment to a whole new level. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of sewing a welt pocket step-by-step.

Materials needed:

– Garment fabric

– Interfacing

– Pocket facing fabric

– Pocket bag fabric

– Matching thread

– Sewing machine

– Pins

– Fabric scissors

– Fabric markers or chalk

– Ruler

Step 1: Prepare the pattern and interface

First, ensure that your garment pattern includes the welt pocket placement marking. If it does not have it, decide where you would like to place the pocket on your garment and draw a rectangular box marking its location. Make sure the box size corresponds to the intended dimensions of your finished pocket.

Cut out two pieces of interfacing that are slightly larger than your marked box area. Fuse these interfacing pieces onto the wrong side of both your garment fabric and the pocket facing fabric over the marked box area.

Step 2: Cut out your welt and pocket bag pieces

For the welt strip, cut a separate piece from either your garment or facing fabric with dimensions slightly larger than your pocket opening (add approximately 1/2-inch on all sides for seam allowance). Now, cut two pieces of fabric for your pocket bag – one from facing fabric and another from lining fabric – ensuring they are large enough to form your desired pocket size.

Step 3: Mark the welt opening

On both the garment piece and the pocket facing piece’s right side interfaced areas, redraw your marked rectangular box using chalk or a fabric marker. On the welt strip piece, mark a centerline that runs parallel to the short edges of the fabric.

Step 4: Attach the welt strip

Pin your welt strip right side down onto the garment piece over the marked rectangle, aligning the centerline with the rectangle’s longer sides. Stitch around the rectangle edges, keeping a 1/8-inch seam allowance. Trim excess fabric and clip diagonally into each corner without cutting through your stitches, allowing for easier folding in later steps.

Step 5: Fold and press

Gently push the welt strip through the slit to the garment’s wrong side, forming a straight opening on the right side. Using an iron, press the folded edges flat and neat.

Step 6: Attach pocket facing

Position your pocket facing piece right-side down onto your garment piece, ensuring that it aligns perfectly with the welt strip’s already stitched section. Along with the same stitching lines as before, sew around all edges of your rectangle to secure it in place. Then, cut and fold as you did in step 4.

Step 7: Secure welt and facing edges

Fold up your pocket facing so that it lies flat against the garment’s wrong side. In this position, stitch around all four edges of your rectangular welt opening to secure both welt ends and pocket facing into place.

Step 8: Assembling pocket bag

Now it’s time to attach the pocket bag lining piece to your sewn-in pocket facing. First, pin together one long edge of both these pieces – right sides facing – before stitching them together with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Press this seam open before folding back both pieces until they are face-to-face once again. Then stitch along all three remaining open edges – enclosing them within your rectangular opening –to complete your pocket