Thanks, It Has… How to Add In-Seam Pockets to a Dress
- Words by Peppermint
words and photos ROMY-KRYSTAL CUTLER
Is there anything better than receiving a compliment from a friend about a new dress and replying, “Thanks, it has pockets”? Maybe only if you’ve done your bit to help smash the patriarchy and added them yourself! So before we go down a rabbit hole into the sexist and bewildering history of why there is a lack of practical pockets for women in the first place – or even *shudder* fake pockets – we asked Romy-Krystal Cutler, from Sew Like Romy, to teach us how to add our own!
Today we’ll be tackling the conspiracy that has plagued dresses for far too long: pockets, or rather the lack thereof. There have been too many instances in my life where I’ve found the perfect dress, bought it and taken it home only to find out then and there that it has no pockets! Well, today I’m here to show how easy it is to add in-seam pockets when there are none, thus making the perfect dress into the actual perfect dress!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Dress
Scissors
Measuring tape
Scrap fabric
Pencil
Tailor’s chalk or fabric marker
Tracing paper
Ruler
Matching thread
Sewing machine
LET’S GET MAKING!
STEP ONE // Try on your dress, measure where you’d like your pockets to go and mark with tailor’s chalk. Repeat on the opposite side.
Optional: You can do this with your dress inside or right side out. Just be sure to transfer markings to the inside if you choose to do right side out.
STEP TWO // Decide on the size of your pocket and draft the pocket pattern piece directly onto your chosen material or a piece of paper. Ensure one side is straight and create the pocket shape by drawing a flared line outwards from the straight edge. If drafting is not your strong suit, don’t fret! Borrow a pocket pattern piece from another pattern or trace one from a dress you have on hand that has pockets you like. For this dress we used the pocket pattern piece from the Peppermint Bardon Dress. Download the free pattern here!
STEP THREE // Cut two pairs of your pockets.
STEP FOUR // Refer back to the marking you made with your tailor’s chalk on your dress. Place your pocket’s top edge in line with the tailor’s mark and then mark a second notch where the pocket’s bottom is. You will now need to unpick this edge just enough to insert your pocket. Think about 1.5cm above that original mark and then 1.5cm below the second mark. Repeat on the other side.
STEP FIVE // Next, grab your pockets and pin one pocket piece, right sides together, to each side of the newly open sections you unpicked. Line up the top edge of the pocket again with the first mark and the bottom of your pocket straight edge to the second mark. Sew down this edge with a 1cm seam allowance. Repeat for the remaining three pocket pieces.
STEP SIX // Once these are all sewn you can finish the raw edge with either a zigzag stitch or overlocker.
STEP SEVEN // Press the pocket pieces outward making sure the seam allowance is behind the pocket. Repeat for the three remaining pocket pieces.
Optional: You can also top stitch your pockets in place.
STEP EIGHT // Now it’s time to put these pockets together. Grab the two pocket pieces on the same side and pin together with the right sides facing. Be sure to pin above the pocket and below until you meet up to the original stitches of the garment.
STEP NINE // Sew this edge together using the seam allowance of your garment. You can find this by measuring the space between the original finished edge and the original stitching. This dress had a 0.5 inch seam allowance.
STEP TEN // Repeat steps eight and nine on the other side.
STEP ELEVEN // Once both pockets are sewn, it’s time to finish the edge. Use an overlocker or zigzag stitch on your machine. Repeat on the other side.
STEP TWELVE // Enjoy your handy work… you just put in your new pockets!
WANT MORE SEWING AND DIY CONTENT? RIGHT THIS WAY!
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Brighten up your inbox with our not-too-frequent emails featuring Peppermint-related news, events, competitions and more!
explore
More articles
Hang out with us on Instagram
On the 14th of April 2013 the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, tragically killing 1134 workers and injuring over 2,500 more.
Every year we commemorate this devastating and avoidable loss of life and advocate for better working conditions for all during Fashion Revolution Week, which runs from 22nd-28th April in 2026.
This year there are different themes for each day of the week, with the annual Mend In Public day falling right in the middle, on Saturday 25th April.
This is your cue to gather your community, settle in and commit some time, attention and creativity to mending your clothes in the pursuit of extending their life in your wardrobe. Be it patching, embroidery, sewing or stitching, there are many ways to resolve structural and aesthetic issues in your garments that will see you donning them for years to come!
If it’s a bit tricky to get mending on the day itself (it will be ANZAC Day here in Australia) then fear not. Any time is the right time for mending so if you need to take needle in hand on another day that will do just fine!
Comment below if you know of any events you`d like to share happening in your community.
Learn more and get involved:
@FashionRevolutionAustralia
@Fash_Rev
FashionRevolution.org
#FashionRevolution #WhoMadeMyClothes #MendInPublicDay
“This is just a reminder to you to go for your big dreams! They might just work out.” ❤️
And we’re so glad you did, Emma!
From @CinnamonDaisyStudio:
No biggie, I’m just in a really cool magazine 🥹
When @Laura_The_Maker reached out to me last year to ask if I’d be interested in being featured in @PeppermintMagazine I didn’t hold back. I 100% fan girled 🤣 it was obviously a yes!
Getting to talk about the positive impact sewing your own clothes has on your body image is the BEST. I started sewing my own clothes because the standard doesn’t fit me. But I wasn’t expecting to heal my body image at the same time. What a wonderful byproduct ❤️🩹
So this is just a reminder to you to go for your big dreams! They might just work out ❤️
Mother`s Day Chocolate Treats Subscription Special! 🌟
This very sweet subscription offer comes with some glorious goodies, thanks to our friends at @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo!
Our lovely community manager Em, runs us through the offer.
SUBSCRIBE FOR $79 AND RECEIVE:
🌟 1 x 12-month Peppermint Subscription!
PLUS!
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 43% cocoa, Certified-Organic Taming The Jackalope Drinking Chocolate from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 70% cocoa, Certified-Organic Ship To Wreck Chocolate Flakes from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Issue 64 (includes a free code for the #PeppermintDaisyDress digital sewing pattern!)
🌟 A5 art card of our exclusive ‘Together We Rise’ Issue 60 cover design by @LukeJohnMatthewArnold
🌟 All wrapped in fabric from @DoopsDesigns
Price includes postage! This special offer is available to Australian addresses only. Don`t miss out – there`s limited numbers!
🌟 Link in bio!
#PeppermintMagazine #MothersDay
Calling all brands who give a damn! 📣
Bookings for our wonderful Sew&Tell digital issue are now open – if you are an awesome creative brand that fits right in with Peppermint`s ethos of style, sustainability, sewing and substance, get in touch. Or if you know of one who might be keen – tag them below. We have packages for budgets both big and small, but spots are limited, so don`t wait too long to get in touch!
Drop us a line at Mandy@PeppermintMag.Com for a chat with Mandy, our lovely advertising manager – she`ll help you find the best way to share your good work with our awesome audience.
We`d sew love to work with you! ✨️🧵✨️
#PeppermintSewAndTell
💛 BFF GIVEAWAY 💛
Generous, messy, creative, spiky, warm, enigmatic… our best friends come in many flavours. But they all have one thing in common: they make the world a far better, more interesting place to be.
Inspired by Sam and Sadie’s complicated ‘forever’ bond in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by @GabrielleZevin (a firm Peppermint fave ‘friendy’ read), we’ve rounded up some iconic fictional duos from books, movies and TV - the ride-or-dies, bosom buddies, chosen family, the ‘you’re-my-person’ people.
They all remind us that the non-romantic kind of love is always worth the effort (and it’s often the kind that lasts!). Think Anne Shirley and Diana Barry, Calvin and Hobbes, Snoopy and Woodstock, Eloise and Penelope… Head to the link in bio to read the full story and meet them all!
We’ve got two copies of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow to gift to one lucky Peppermint reader and their bestie, thanks to @PenguinBooksAus.
To enter:
✨Follow us and @PenguinBooksAus
✨Tag your best friend in the comments
✨Tell them why they’re so darn great!
Because as Sadie tells Sam: true collaborators in life are rare. And very much worth celebrating.
Winner drawn Tuesday 21 April 2pm. Australian addresses only. Good luck! 📖
#BFF #BookGiveaway #TomorrowAndTomorrowAndTomorrow
Mother`s Day Chocolate Treats Subscription Special! 🌟
It`s almost time to celebrate that special person in your life who has motherly energy – mum, aunty, single parent, queer parent, grandparent, caregiver... or maybe just someone who happens to love getting chocolate treats (and hey, maybe that someone is YOU!).
This very sweet subscription offer comes with some glorious goodies, thanks to our friends at @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo!
SUBSCRIBE FOR $79 AND RECEIVE:
🌟 1 x 12-month Peppermint Subscription
PLUS!
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 43% cocoa, Certified-Organic Taming The Jackalope Drinking Chocolate from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 70% cocoa, Certified-Organic Ship To Wreck Chocolate Flakes from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Issue 64 (includes a free code for the #PeppermintDaisyDress digital sewing pattern!)
🌟 A5 art card of our exclusive ‘Together We Rise’ Issue 60 cover design by @LukeJohnMatthewArnold
🌟 All wrapped in fabric from @DoopsDesigns
Price includes postage! This special offer is available to Australian addresses only. Don`t miss out – there`s limited numbers!
🌟 Link in bio 🌟
#PeppermintMagazine #MothersDay
