Welt Pockets - Like a Boss, Peeps!

Sorry the color is so off. It's really cobalt.

I'm trying to be all smug and cool about my awesome welt pocket. But, really, I'm all happy dance, happy dance, happy dance!!  (Note to self: Add "get's giddy over a perfect welt pocket" to the you-might-be-a-sewing-geek-if list.)

If you're thinking that one welt pocket is a small accomplishment and could have come out nicely just by fluke chance, just check out my other two, which are vertical.

These need a little pressing.

Three nearly perfect welt pockets!

Understand that sewing a double welt pocket is, to date, the only sewing task or technique that I've found to be exactly as scary and challenging as I thought it would be. More, actually. So how'd I do it without having either magic or the force at my disposal?  My secret weapon: Kenneth King and his Designing Details: Pockets Craftsy class.

Designing Details: Pockets

I know I sounds like a broken record, but I can really wrap my brain around the way he teaches and his techniques. I find his methods to be precise, clear and understandable. What's more is that it actually is a bit different from any other method I've seen or tried, and I've tried several. The class goes through drafting and installing patch pockets, single welts, shaped single welts, double welts and double welts with a zipper inside. I'm tempted to find a jacket pattern with welt pockets just so I can do a zippered welt.

Again, this pocked did not come together by magic. I actually spent two afternoons watching and rewatching and sewing muslin pockets. Not all were successful. Here's a smattering of the fails for your amusement:

The one where the welts overlapped

The one where the welts didn't meet and all the corners puckered

The one where my tiny stitches perforated the muslin and it ripped. And the welts overlapped.

 And my personal favorite fail:

The one where I sewed the pocket bag in upside down so my pocket defied gravity

 But then...

Almost there!

...things started getting better. And after several good pockets in a row, each better than the last and some sewn vertically, I was ready to go.

Like a boss

 
Of course, the lesson is that practicing technique is important.  I made pockets until I could do it without fuss and without having to go thru the instructions step-by-step. So, expect my trousers and a full viewing of the top in the near future.