Jeans Sew-Along 4 -- Front Pockets

Readers, I know what you've been wondering all week.  Is Peter going to finish his jeans pockets with genuine rivets?
Short answer: I don't know!  I bought rivets at Sil Thread earlier in the week but I hate anything that requires hammering.  I may have to have a conference call with Taylor Shmaylor -- who just made an incredibly awesome pair of chinos, by the way, and why am I experiencing heartburn?

Our goals for today are:

1. Stitch our front pockets.

2. Overcast or serge the outside edges of our pants fronts.

It's an easy day!

1.  The front pockets on Kwik Sew 3504 are very straightforward and the directions are clear.  That said, I screwed up the first time (which is actually the fourth time since I've made nearly identical pockets before).   More about that in a bit.

First thing you want to do is prepare the coin pocket.  Has anyone actually put coins -- or anything else -- in this pocket EVER?  I'd be curious to know.

Here's a case where you must double topstitch.  It holds down the double-folded edge.



Remember, when you're attaching the coin pocket to the front pocket, that this is the RIGHT pocket we're talking about.  Next, you'll double topstitch the left edge of the coin pocket (which will be visible on the front of the pants) after folding the side in 5/8", and stitch the right and bottom edges as well.  I did these at approximately 1/4".  You want to be able to get into the pocket (not that you'll ever need to) which is why you double-topstitched the top edge before securing the coin pocket to the pocket inset.

I then finished the bottom and front edge (just like the instructions tell you to).  If you don't have a serger, you can overcast by running a zigzag stitch along the edge.



Now you're going to stitch this piece to the pocket itself along all four edges (at approx. 1/4").  Here's where I made my mistake.



The side of the pocket fabric facing you should be the side you want on the INSIDE of the pocket.  The instructions call this the WRONG side.  But I wanted the printed (RIGHT) side of my fabric on the inside of my pocket.  Do you see my dilemma?

What I should have done -- and later did -- was this:



If your pocket fabric doesn't have a right and wrong side, or you don't care which side ends up inside the pocket, it doesn't matter.  But if you do care, don't make this mistake.

Let's continue.  We're now going to attach the piece we've just stitched (with the pocket insets facing down) to the RIGHT side of each pants front at the curve, just like the instructions tell us to.  (Usually with denim there's a very clear right and wrong side; with white denim, much less so, so pay attention if it's not obvious or better yet, label the wrong side so you don't get confused.)  The seam allowance is 5/8".



We're now going to trim down the seam allowance to approximately 1/4" (I generally just halve my seam allowance).  NOTE: The pic below is the left pocket and pants front (just to keep you on your toes).  You'll need to make both pockets.



Now turn the pocket over.  The inside pocket fabric should be on top.  You're going to understitch the pocket fabric to the seam allowance.  This will keep it from creeping up over the edge of the pocket (where it will be visible).  Again, you're stitching the pocket fabric to the denim seam allowance.





Folded down along the curve, the pocket looks like this:



From the outside, like this:



You'll now double-topstitch that edge:



Now fold the pocket along the fold line (this was on the pattern piece) and match notches.  You now must stitch the bottom of the pocket closed (I stitched twice for greater strength) and overcast or serge the raw edge.





I always put a dab of Fray Check on the clipped tip of my serger tail.  Some people knot them.  To play it safe, put a bit of paper or something under the edge in case the Fray Check drips.  I didn't.



Now stitch the pocket and pocket insets to the pants front, both at the top (stitches will end up in the waistband seam allowance) and the side (stitches will end up in the side seam allowance) -- you're just holding it in place till you add the waistband, etc.  I stitched at approximately 1/4".



It's at this point you want to bartack with a zigzagger or add a rivet (no pic because I didn't do it yet; See instructions if you're not sure where to do this).  If you're using a straight stitch machine you can just run a few stitches back and forth to secure the area.  It takes a lot of stress when you put your hands in your pockets, especially if you have big hands.

2.  Now is the best time to finish the raw outside edges of our pants front.  If you're using selvage for this edge (which requires redrafting KS 3504 so that it's entirely straight) you don't need to do this.



With both sides done, you should have something that looks like this from the inside:



And this from the outside:



Friends, that's it for today.  Tomorrow we make zipper flies!

Comments/questions?  Some show-off already finished his jeans in the Flickr Group, do you believe it?  Or did he just go out and buy pants?

How's it going so far?