Sew Along: Track Jacket - Sewing a Welt Pocket

Progress on my track jacket has been going really well. I'm thinking this project could take an afternoon to whip up, but because I'm sewing for an hour here, an hour there, it's taking a little longer. I was interested in seeing how the pockets on this jacket were sewn. This is the first time I've done a welt pocket, so I thought I would share it with you.

The pattern piece that you are going to sew the pocket to is the front piece. It looks like this:

Taking the welt pattern piece, fold the welt in half lengthwise, zig-zag along raw edge. I found that the fleece knit stretch pretty good when doing this. I would recommend to not stretch it so that it does not pull at the front piece after sewing.

Stay-stitch around the pocket opening. Pin the welt to the pocket opening, right sides together. Sew along the long edge, making sure to sew next to your zig-zag stitch. You don't want the zig zag to show on your finished pocket!

Pin ends of the welt to the short sides of the opening. I had to think about this one for a minute, but once you play around with the fabric, the light bulb will go off!

This is what the pocket looks like after the welt is stitched in. (Without top-stitching.)

Top-stitch around the pocket. (This picture actually shows after the front has been sewn to the side front piece. This step will come later.)

Now that the pocket welt is complete, it's time to sew the pocket lining on. The pattern suggests that you cut the lining out of the same fabric as the rest of the pattern. I was afraid it would create too much bulk in the front, so I selected a rayon knit for the lining. (After selecting it, I think I would have gone with something a little heavier, like a ponte knit. The rayon knit stretches a lot and seems like it might stretch out if I put too much stuff in the pockets.) Pin the right side of the pocket lining to the wrong side of the front piece. Stitch around the entire pocket, keeping the welt section open.

The welt section is on the left of this picture.

Finally, you can pin the side front to the front, making sure to catch only the pocket lining at the welt. There you have it---a completed welt pocket!

After you sew the side front, top stitch along the seam. Almost every single seam in this pattern gets top-stitched! (I love ready-to-wear touches!) I'm hoping I can finish the jacket tonight! Wish me luck!

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