How to Make a Welt Pocket: 4 Types of Welt Pockets

A welt pocket is a sewn pocket that is topstitched in place on top of a garment. This pocket is often flat and sometimes includes a reinforced border along the edge of the fabric. Welt pockets come in different forms and styles. They can be functional or decorative, and add a fun or interesting detail to your fashion fabrics.

Welt pockets come in many different sizes and styles, including:

1. 1. Single-welt pockets. These welt pockets can come with a folded welt or a separate welt. They appear flush against the garment, with a small, usually hidden opening.
2. 2. Double-welt pockets. Similar to the single welt pocket, double welt pockets can also use a folded or separate welt. However, the main difference is that this pocket uses two welts to create an opening rather than a single fabric strip.
3. 3. Faux-welt pocket. Also called a decorative welt pocket, these pockets are purely for decoration rather than functionality. Faux welt pockets can give a plain garment of clothing more texture and detail or enhance a silhouette.
4. 4. Zippered-welt pocket. If you prefer a more secure pocket, you can include a zippered-welt pocket instead, which has zipper teeth where the plain fabric edges would be located. The zipper can be hidden or exposed, depending on the style you choose.

If you’re new to the world of sewing welt pockets, you can start simply with a single welt by following the steps below:

1. 1. Apply fusible interfacing to the fabric. On the wrong side of the garment, apply a strip of interfacing behind where the pocket will be to reinforce the structure and form of the fabric. You can use hand-basting stitches to help see your welt opening (the top of the pocket) on the right side of the garment.
2. 2. Outline your pocket placement. Draw a horizontal line on the right side of your fabric (on the opposite side of the interfacing). This line will represent the desired length and positioning of your pocket mouth.
3. 3. Make the welt. With a separate piece of fabric, measure and cut your welt piece, using a piece of interfacing around half the size of these dimensions on the wrong side of the fabric. Fold the right sides together and pin them in place at the short ends, then snip the seam allowances and turn the piece right side out so that the interfacing is inside the folded welt. Mark your seam line near the top edge.
4. 4. Align your welt with the garment. Place your welt across your garment (the seam line you drew on your welt should line up with the horizontal line you marked on the right side of your garment). Sew along the welt’s seam line to fix your pocket to your garment.
5. 5. Apply pocket lining. Place a piece of pocket lining over the garment and pin it in place. Flip your garment over to the wrong side and sew along your stitch lines. After you’ve finished, fold back the pocket lining and trim your seam allowance again to around a quarter of an inch.
6. 6. Create another stitch. On the right side of your garment, sew another stitch that sits below the first one you made (just after the seam allowance), with this particular stitch length one stitch shorter than its predecessor.
7. 7. Cut the pocket opening. Use a pair of scissors to cut between the two parallel stitch lines in your welt pocket lining. Snip diagonally toward the edges of the welt, making minor triangle cuts in the fabric. Repeat on the other side, this time cutting through the garment.
8. 8. Make your pocket bag. Once you’ve created your welt, you’re ready to form your pocket piece. Push your pocket lining through the slit you just made on the wrong side of the garment, then fold the welt up to hide the pocket opening. Flip the garment over and pull out the lining, flattening it against the fabric. Take the top half of the pocket lining and fold it down, then pin the edges of the pocket bag closed, sewing around the edges and trimming the seam allowance.
9. 9. Apply the finishing touches. On the right side of the fabric, sew along the welt edges to keep the pocket flap flat while maintaining a small opening.

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