U-handblog: Tutorial - Easy Peasy Bag Pocket

January 12, 2008

Tutorial - Easy Peasy Bag Pocket

Aw man! I was in foodie heaven last night. It was a Friday night, we had a couple episodes of Dexter lined up to watch on the telly, and Al made us lobster in Thai red curry - what a great night in! He followed a recipe in the Gordon Ramsay book that I mentioned in this post. He likes that book because the instructions are very to the point and there are never many steps to follow. You know what blokes are usually like with instructions; the fewer the better :)
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It was a lovely surprise; I went to make dinner as usual, but Al was already in the kitchen performing the finishing touches. He must have sold his body to pay for the lobster (so I thought it best not to ask questions...). Mmmmm! We both thought it was lip-smackingly delicious and Al was very proud of himself. If any blokes are reading; this is a great way to bag yourself some BIG brownie points from your lady :)

Drool lobsterrrr.... ahem... right, onto the pocket. You asked for some help on pockets so here is an easy no brainer pocket with a central divider. This pocket will be as wide as your bag and is nearly as fast to make as a nice bacon and avocado sandwich. This pocket is best for bags with a gusset or bags which are completely flat (i.e. bags that don't have a flat bottom or sides - with the exception of gusset bags).

This particular bag has a gusset. You can't see it very clearly, but the pocket runs from one side seam to the other. The central divider (you can have more than 1 divider if you want) makes one large pocket into 2 pockets and it prevents the pocket from gaping open.

1. Decide how tall you want your pocket to be - this pocket will be as wide as your bag . Lay two layers of your chosen pocket fabric onto one of your bag lining pieces. Ensure you have laid the fabric on straight and I would suggest that you lay the fabric at least 5 - 6cm (2 - 2 3/8") down from the top edge, this will give you enough clearance for the top edge seam (for when you come to sew your lining bag to the bag exterior) and a magnetic snap (if using).

I want my pocket to be 15cm tall (6") so I have cut the pocket fabric 17cm tall (to allow for my preferred 1cm seam allowance). I have folded my pocket fabric in half (so I will end up with 2 pieces) and I've laid it 7cm down (2 3/4") from the top edge of one of my bag lining pieces.

2. Cut pocket fabric and stitch together - cut along the sides of the pocket fabric matching up the pocket sides with the side of your bag lining piece. Bring pocket fabric pieces wrong sides together and stitch along the top and bottom edges, this will make a tube. Turn the pocket tube right side out and press.

The sides of my bag lining are straight so I can just use a ruler and trim off the excess pocket fabric - simple is, as simple does.

3. Place pocket into position and stitch onto bag lining piece - place the pocket at least 5 - 6cm down from the top edge of the lining carefully matching up the side edges of the pocket and the lining. Make sure everything is straight and pin at both pocket sides. Stitch pocket onto lining at bottom edge of pocket 2mm from the edge. Stitch a central divider (or if desired more than 1 divider) onto the pocket. There you go; one easy peasy bag pocket (actually, that was probably faster than making a bacon & avocado sandwich).

Stitch the bag pocket onto lining; first along the bottom edge and then stitch as many dividers as desired into the pocket. You can now treat the pocket and the lining as one layer so when you come to sew on the gusset lining (or the other bag lining piece) the raw side edges of the pocket will be trapped inside the side seams thus sealing everything up nicely thanks very much.