Pockets! They are like my phone for me – I always need them near my hand. It is so unfair that most of the outfits available for girls in the stores do not have any pocket. Have you seen a guy’s garment without a pocket? 

There are many instances when a pocket can come in handy in your clothes; A purse is handy too but you need a pocket when you need your hands free and that is too many times to count. For this reason, I have been adding pockets to most of my clothes regularly.

I have listed here the pockets that I know of and which I think can be added to your clothes. 

Different types of pockets 

1.Slit Pocket

This is one of the most common type of pockets you see in garments. You must have seen this in the back of pants. It is named so because from the outside you only get to see the slits of the pockets. A pocket bag is attached to the slit.

2.Slash Pocket or Cross pocket ( Curved inset Pocket)

Another commonly seen pocket. You have seen it in the front of pants and on skirts. It starts from the waist and goes diagonally down to the sides. .This pocket is a kind of back facing to the front of the garment. Sometimes it is shaped as a curve or as straight but slanted. They are also called cutaway pockets 

Jeans slash pocket is shaped in a slightly different manner from trouser slash pocket which is more slanting. A scoop pocket is a slash pocket which has a curved shape

Checkout the tutorial to sew a Pajama Pants with slash pockets for instructions. You can add this to any pant or skirt pattern by following the directions. In the tutorial, the pocket bag in the back of the garment is stitched to the face of the garment whereas you can also leave the pocket bag hanging loose.

3.Patch Pocket

This pocket is as named added as patch on the garment. It is also the most common type of pockets. You must have seen patch pockets on shirt fronts. It can be of different shapes like square, rectangular, round and even triangular.

Sometimes patch pocket is stitched with a pleat in the front. The pleat is usually a box pleat or an inverted pleat. This pleat is given so that you get more space inside.They are then called the Bellows/Safari Pockets -outside pockets made with center box pleat or inverted pleat that expands when pocket is used.

Checkout the tutorial to perfectly sew a patch pocket with patch pocket templates

   Different types of patch pockets on shirts

A shirt pocket is a patch pocket with the bottom edge shaped into a triangle and the top edge sometimes having a welt effect, with the fabric turned over. This pocket is top stitched to the garment. In denim garments a patch pocket is top stitched with a double needle.The two common types of patch pockets on shirts are angular shaped pockets &  round shaped pockets .They are placed on the left side of the shirt. They are usually placed a little above the third buttonhole .

The patch pockets on shirts are usually of size 4 3/4 inch by 5 1/4 inch ; they can be slightly smaller as well for smaller shirts. The position of the shirt pockets is about 2.5 inches from the center of the shirt. Checkout this post with tutorial to sew a divided skirt to see how to make a patch pocket with facing

4.Pouch pocket

This is the type of pocket which hangs along the side of the garment connected to it only at the top.

5.Side pocket ( Side seam pocket or hidden seam pocket) 

This is an almost invisible pocket placed in the side seam and is usually seen on tunics. The slit of this pocket will be on the side seam of the garment.

6.Welt pocket ( Bound )

This is a slit pocket where the slit  is finished with a band of a separate piece of fabric or a welt.Besom Pockets are inset pockets seen on a man’s suit jacket made with a narrow welted edge above the pocket opening. It is a double-besom pocket if both edges have welts.

7. Post Box pocket

This is a combination of a welt pocket and patch pocket. The Patch is just a decorative element around the slit pocket which is bound in the opening.

8.Flap Pocket

This pocket has a flap covering the slit of the pocket. This type of pocket is usually seen in formal clothes like jackets. The pocket is usually a patch pocket or a welt pocket or a slit pocket. The flap is usually rectangular shaped but angled shaped flaps and curved flaps, angled flaps  are also popular. The flaps will sometimes have a buttonhole on them with button fastening on the pocket. Usually the flaps are interfaced for slightly thicker look.  

Double flap pockets are particularly popular in casual shirt styles. Double flap pockets are same size pockets on both sides of the chest.

9.Zippered Pocket

A zippered opening given to a slit pocket or  a patch pocket.

10. Kangaroo Pocket

This is a patch pocket which is usually seen in the front of garments used by workmen. it usually has two compartments.

11. Utility Pocket

This is a variation of Kangaroo pocket with different divisions for carrying tools and such, usually seen in the front of the garment.

12. Ticket Pocket

You must have seen this teeny tiny pocket on your jeans – earlier it was supposed to carry your railway ticket. It is usually seen inside the side inset pocket.

13. Cowl Pocket

This is a decorative patch pocket which has folds of fabric draped around the opening like a scarf.  

14. Hidden Pockets

These are secret pockets which are sewn to the inside of garments to safeguard your belongings. This is usually additionally added and is not visible from the outside. Easy to make they are a must have when travelling. Check out the tutorial to make hidden pockets. 

15 Expandable pockets 

These are pockets which have the capacity to expand if there is a need. This expandability is contained in its design like folds, pleats, tucks and gathers.

You can make a tucked pocket with a central tuck containing the extra fabric or gathered pocket which gathers to the top edge of the pocket. An Accordion pocket is the most common expandable pocket with folds in the sides allowing it to expand and enable you to fill the pocket with all your things.

The cargo pocket is an expandable pocket with a flap usually seen in pants by the name cargo pants. Check out the tutorial to make a cargo pocket

Many of the pockets given above overlap in their properties; for eg., a welt pocket is also a slit pocket; a cargo pocket is a patch pocket as well as an expandable pocket. A pouch pocket is also an expandable pocket. A pleated patch pocket is also expandable. A flap pocket is a patch pocket with a flap.  

JEANS POCKETS 

Pockets play a very important design detail in jeans. They talk volumes about the style of the person wearing the jeans. The back pockets of jeans come in many shapes – Standard, Rounded, Curved, Arch. They sometimes have different types of flaps -Standard Flaps, Rounded Flaps, Curved Flaps & Asymmetrical Flaps, Pleated Flaps

Check out this beautiful picture on the different types of pockets you find on jeans 

SOURCE : danielladeconstrt.blogspot.in 

16 Bellows  Pockets

This type of pocket has a centre box pleat or inverted pleat that expands when the pocket is used. Also called Safari pocket

17 Pork-Chop pockets

This is a kind of oversized front pocket seen on pants and jeans

18 Faux Pockets

And finally the Faux pockets, which is a closed up pocket; usually seen in jeggings 

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