I finally figured out how to make a pocket look good on a dress after a total fail at a wedding

I was at a friend's outdoor wedding in Savannah last spring, and I saw a woman wearing a beautiful linen dress. She went to put her phone in the side seam pocket and the whole thing pulled and wrinkled the fabric in a really ugly way. It made me realize that a pocket's placement and size can ruin the line of a garment. I went home and spent a week testing different pocket shapes on muslin. The key was making the pocket bag itself about an inch smaller than the opening, so the weight of an item doesn't drag the dress out of shape. Has anyone else found a good trick for adding functional pockets without messing up the drape?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileyjones19d ago

Oh man, that pocket fail is so real! I once made a skirt with pockets so big my phone swung around and hit my knee with every step. Your muslin testing is smart, way more patient than me. I've found using a really light lining fabric for the pocket bag itself helps a ton with the drag issue. It keeps the shape without adding extra weight that pulls on the main fabric.

the_jana19d ago

Honestly, that lining trick is a game changer. Tbh I switched to a lighter pocket fabric too and it fixed so many fit issues.

cooper.viola2d ago

@rileyjones what lining fabric weight worked best?