How to Sew Patch Pockets

Use this DIY tutorial to add back pockets to any garment

Hey y’all, today I’m going to be showing you how to sew patch pockets, which is a super easy way to add pockets to any piece of clothing because these are literally patches of fabric topstitched on. You can make pockets like this in any size or shape, and I’ll even share a video showing the whole process.

I’m showing how to sew patch pockets on the shorts from my Spearmint Set pattern, which was recently updated to include the back pockets. You can see patch pockets on my Clean Slate Shorts in this post to check out a different shaped pocket piece, but the principles are still the same. You can also find a written tutorial with pictures of the steps to sew a pocket in that post.

To see how I made this, you can watch the video below or on YouTube here.

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Tools I used in the video:

• Clear ruler (affiliate link)
• Point turner (affiliate link)

Steps to Sew Patch Pockets

1. Fuse interfacing to the wrong side of the top hem area
2. Fold the hem right sides together and press, then press the raw edge wrong sides together at 1/4″
3. Stitch the sides of the hem between the folds on the seam allowance
4. Turn the hem right side out.
5. Press side and bottom seam allowances to the wrong side
6. Stitch hem, making sure bobbin thread coordinates
7. Tip: baste pants or shorts together and pin pockets on while wearing the pants/shorts to check ideal placement on yourself.
8. Topstitch pockets onto garment, reinforcing the upper corners

Remember that patch pockets don’t have to go in the back only, you can also add them to the front of a garment. I like to do this with skirts and dresses, like the example below. For those pockets, I cut two for each pocket and stitched them right sides together, leaving a gap to turn, then folded back one corner and topstitched them on. You can see the full skirt tutorial here.