Pockets

Pockets

Several people have remarked of late that they wish they had pockets in their robes. Pockets are an easy thing to add to robes – so here’s my guide to adding pockets, especially for people who don’t often sew.

  1. The easiest pocket

Cut a square of fabric (or a rectangle, depending on what size/shape pocket you want)

square of fabric

Fold over the edges and iron them down

ironing an edge

a square of fabric with the edges ironed down

When all the edges are ironed place it against the inside of your robe, wherever you’d like it to be, nice side out. (A good place for a pocket is on the lining beside the zipper where there are two layers of fabric. This means you won’t see any of your stitches from the outside of your robe.)

ironed square, right side up

Pin it in place, and sew the pocket to the lining. You can use a simple running stitch for this.  Be sure to leave the top seam unstitched! And voila, you have a pocket.

  1. A simple pocket if you have pocket holes

Some robes have openings in the seams that allow you to reach into the pocket of your pants. But not everyone wears pants with their robes, so if you’d like to make a pocket for these robes, you can do so like this:

rectangle of fabric with edges ironed down

Cut a piece of fabric that’s the width of the pocket opening, and twice as long. Flip over the ends and iron them flat.  Fold the piece of fabric in half.

rectangle folded in half

One side of the fabric will be a fold that doesn’t need stitching. The side opposite that will be your ironed edge. Ignore both those edges and sew the other two edges together with a running stitch. So in this photo, that’s the top and bottom of my square.

a pocket pouch

Pin the pocket you’ve made to the inside of the opening in your robes, like a little pouch. With a running stitch or over stitch, sew the ironed ends of the pocket to the pocket-hole of your robes. Voila, you have a pocket!

There are obviously much more advanced ways to do this – you can rip the seams on your robes and insert pockets; you can make pockets using a sewing machine; you can make differently sized and shaped pockets. But if you just need a little something to stow your keys and a granola bar, and your sewing skills are next to none, this is one you can go!

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