Plain-Cut Trousers

The rest of the watch pocket goes fairly quickly now that you’ve got the waistband and facings attached and pressed.

Cut a length of linen stay tape 4 1/2″ long and lay it on the linen stay about 1/16″ below the stitch line for the pocket bag.

Baste the linen tape to the trouser front.

Cross stitch the linen stay tape to the trouser front, being sure not to let the stitches show through to the right side.

Now fold the pocket bag over the linen tape, off-setting the seam by 1/16″ to 1/8″ behind the fold, hiding the pocket bag from outside view. Baste securely in place.

Top stitch across the pocket opening, catching the pocket bag underneath, using a machine stitch or a side stitch by hand. Keep the stitches about 1/8″ – 3/16″ away from the edge, so that they land in the middle of the stay tape that is sandwiched between the layers.

If using the side stitch, the needle enters the fabric just to the side of the previous stitch. On the underside, it is formed similar to a normal running stitch. The stitches should be 1/8″ to 1/4″ apart.

Here you can see the wrong side of the side stitches, catching the pocket bag and forming a firm opening for the watch pocket.

The outside of the watch pocket so far. I wish you could see the side stitches but they pretty much disappear into the fabric.

Take the remaining pocket bag half and press over the top edge 1/4″.

Open up the pocket and baste the pocket bag to the right side of the remaining pocket facing, 1/4″ from the edge.

Fell the pocket bag to the pocket facing. Remove the basting stitches.

With both pocket bag halves now attached, grasp both of them, being sure they are aligned properly, particularly at the pocket opening area. Baste across the top of the pocket facing through both pocket bag halves. This holds all the layers in place while we sew the pocket bag closed.

Draw out the seam lines on your pocket, 1/2″ from the edge. Be sure there is at least 1/2″ available on the underside, or you’ll end up like me with no room to turn under the raw edges. Add a couple of curves at each corner as well.

Sew the pocket bag closed, getting as close as you can to the waistband seam at the top without actually hitting it.

Trim the excess fabric from the pocket bag, leaving a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Carefully trim the pocket facing’s seam allowance to 1/4″ on each side, being sure not to cut the pocket bag below.

Fold the raw edges of the pocket bags inwards and press with your fingers as you go. The curved corners can be a little trick but you can perfect them as you overcast / fell the edges in the next step.

Fell or overcast the seam to the facings and along the pocket bag.

And with that the pocket is completed! We’ll tack down the ends of the pocket opening after the interfacing has been installed into the waistband.

One last detail, fold the side seam pocket bag back into place and baste across the top edge, just below the waistband. We’ll finish attaching this after putting in the interfacing as well.

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Your Progress

With the waistband and pocket facings all basted into position, we can begin to sew everything down permanently. Begin by sewing the pocket bag to the trouser front using a 1/4″ seam allowance, beginning and ending precisely at the pocket opening marks. Be sure to keep the side seam pocket bag out of the way by folding it back.

Sew the pocket facing to the waistband in the same manner, using a 1/4″ seam allowance, keeping between the pocket opening marks. The stitching ends should line up as close as possible to those of the pocket bag.

Remove the basting stitches from the facing and pocket bag. You should end up with something similar to this.

Now sew the waistband with a 1/4″ seam allowance from the back of the trouser, to the third mark you made earlier.

Remove (for the last time!) the basting stitches holding the pocket in place.

Fold the side seam pocket out of the way. Baste down the waistband again if necessary.

Carefully sew the waistband to the trouser front from the rear pocket opening to that third mark (it’s just an inch or so), or as close as you can to the folded back pocket edge without actually catching it in the stitches.

Just before sewing, be sure to move the seam allowances of the pocket facing and bag out of the way. We don’t want them caught in the seam at all.

Ideally, the stitches should meet at the pocket opening mark. It turns out my seam allowance was slightly off when sewing on the pocket bag, so they met about 1/8″ apart. I’ll be able to make it work, but it’s not ideal.

Finally, sew the front end of the waistband using a 1/4″ seam allowance from the front pocket opening to the front edge of the waist. Be sure to move the seam allowance of the pocket out of the way again.

The seams lined up much better this time!

Here you can see how I’ve kept the 1/2″ seam allowances of the pocket bag and facing out of the waistband stitching.

You can see how I sew the waistband straight across the button catch rather than following the slight upward angle. It seems to align with the other half of the waistband just a bit better.

Pressing

With the wrong side of the trousers facing up, lifting the pocket so that the linen is exposed, clip the seam allowance of the trouser and linen pocket stay to the end of the stitch lines.

Press open the pocket bag seam as shown.

Now flip the pocket down into position, and press open the pocket facing seam.

Flip to the outside and press the inner pocket facing seam from the right side. It’s not really worth pressing the outside seam yet as the exact crease line has yet to be determined accurately.

Finally, press the remaining parts of the waistband seam up towards the waist as you did for the other waistband. This will enclose all the raw edges and make the seam stronger.

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Your Progress

Adding a watch pocket to a waistband (usually on the right side) is not too difficult, but is somewhat involved with a lot of steps, so I will break the watch pocket into three sections. This first section will go over basting the pocket facings and waistband into place.

Besides the waistband, you’ll need the following pieces to construct a watch pocket. I like to make mine 3 1/2″ wide when finished, so all pieces should be cut 1″ wider, to give a 1/2″ seam allowance on either side. So for the pieces:

• 1 pocket facing 4 1/2″ x 1 1/4″
• 1 linen stay, 4 1/2″ x 1″
• 2 pocket bags, polished cotton 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″
• 1 length of 1/4″ stay tape (not pictured) 4 1/2″
• Waistband

The pocket placement must first be marked – there are three marks total. The first two indicate the position of the pocket and are spaced 3 1/2″ apart (indicated by the two marks coming from the left). I like to place my pocket just in front of the hip bone so there is no interference. To the right (or towards the side seam, in other words), make a third mark an inch or two away from the pocket. You’ll be basting and sewing to this third mark, so it is fairly important.

Flipping to the wrong side, remove the basting stitches holding the pocket in place from the mark to the inside folded edge. Reinforce the basting at the mark with a couple of stitches in place if necessary.

Baste the linen pocket stay in place on the wrong side along the waist seam, flipping the pocket out of the way. Be sure to align it properly with 1/2″ allowance on either side of the pocket opening marks.

Baste the pocket back in place from the third mark to the edge of the pocket, keeping the stitches at least 1/2″ from the edge to give you some room to work with.

Baste the waistband into position in the same manner as the pocketless waistband, again keeping the stitches about 1/2″ from the edge. However, stop your stitching at the third mark, make a couple of stitches in place, and start a new thread to continue the rest of the basting.

I’m pointing here to the position of the third chalk mark, where I’ve started and stopped my basting stitches. This is so we can move and manipulate the pocket bag underneath without the entire waistband falling off.

If you made the side seam pockets earlier, this method will look very similar. Open up the waistband seam, exposing the right sides in between the layers. Transfer and mark the pocket openings on all pieces if you haven’t already.

With right sides together, place the pocket facing into position on the waistband. Be sure that 1/2″ allowance extends beyond the pocket opening marks on both sides.

Baste the pocket facing into position with a straight basting stitch, keeping the stitching out of where the seam will be sewn (1/4″ from the edge).

So far, you have the pocket facing basted right sides together to the waistband.

Now fold the pocket facing and waistband out of the way, exposing the right side of the trouser front underneath.

Place the pocket bag into position, right sides together with the trouser front, aligning it as you did the facing.

Holding the pocket bag half in position, fold the top of the side seam pocket that’s underneath out of the way.

Baste the pocket bag half to the trouser front, being sure not to catch the pocket that’s underneath. Mark the pocket openings.

This completes the basting process for the waistband and pocket facings. If you open yours up it should hopefully look similar to mine!

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Your Progress

Finally, it’s time to attach the waistbands, which close up the top of the pockets, in a sense completing them. If you are planning to insert a watch pocket on one side, please see the next section on attaching the waistband with a watch pocket.

Lay the waistband, wide end at the front of the trousers, right sides together. There should be two or three inches of extra fabric at either end to turn back later on. Baste securely.

As you get to the center of the waistband at the side seam, you’ll have to full in a little excess of the waistband fabric to help it get around the curved seam.

As you baste, check to make sure that the stripes are aligned between the waistband and the front of the trousers. As you get to the back of the trousers, it becomes impossible to match the stripes due to the angle of the cut.

From the underside, make sure the basting stitches catch the pockets and all layers, and that everything lays flat.

Sew the waistband seam through all layers with a 1/4″ seam allowance from end to end of the trousers.

Now, when you get to the end of the waistband at the button catch side, I like to go straight across with my stitching rather than following the slight upward angle of the button catch. It seems to give a better fit with the left side of the trousers.

Press the waistband up. The seam itself is not opened, rather the seam allowance and the waistband should both be pressed towards the top of the trousers.

Around the side seam area I like to use a tailor’s ham since there is usually a bit of excess fabric here.

A final view of the underside showing the seam allowance pressed towards the waistband. This gives the strongest possible seam to the waistband.

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Your Progress

It’s now time to attach the trouser fronts to the backs. Lay out the front on the table, and lay the back over the top, right sides together.

Now pin the very top of the side seam at the waist, ensuring that when we baste the side seam, the tops will be aligned properly.

Now, starting from the bottom hem, baste to the position of the knee (you can be precise about this and lay it out on the pattern, or just estimate).

Be sure to match the plaids as you’re going, if necessary.

Now baste from the knee to the waist, positioning the trousers so that the back piece is underneath and in an orientation that is most comfortable for your you.

As you’re basting, you’ll notice that the underside has a bit more fabric than the top side. This needs to be distributed evenly, moreso around the pocket opening, with the remaining excess distributed just below the pocket and tapering off to an even tension by the time you get to the knee.

When you get to the pocket, baste through all layers, ensuring the pocket notch is properly aligned 1/4″ from the edge.

It’s a good time to check how the plaids are aligned, and if necessary, redo them. Really depends upon how fussy you want to get. Also check that the pocket is properly aligned.

When you’re happy with how everything looks, sew the side seam using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Take care near the pocket area, as the presser foot has a tendency to skew off course due to all of the layers.

Remove the basting stitches, open the seam up, and press.

My plaids got slightly out of alignment here, alas. Hopefully yours turn out better!

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Your Progress

With the pocket bags assembled, we can now install them into the trousers. First, we need to trim the trouser fronts to match the shape of our pocket facing pattern, which can be a little intimidating!

Place the trouser pattern on the trouser front, aligning the pocket opening marks, and trace the pocket opening shape.

Carefully trim away the excess.

The next steps of adding linen and stay tape for support are optional, and depends on the originals you are copying, if they used them or not, as well as the thickness and durability of your fabric. For thinner fabrics I’d use the linen and stay tape, but for thicker fabrics it may add too much bulk.

Begin by cutting a piece of linen on the grain about 3″ wide by several inches longer than the distance between the pocket opening marks on your pocket. You want the linen to cover the entire distance between the two points as well as an inch or so beyond on each side.

The linen helps to stabilize the pocket opening.

Baste the linen in place on the wrong side of the trouser front.

Trim the linen flush with the trouser edges.

Mark the seam allowance plus a little extra (I used 5/16″) to account for turning the fabric over later on.

Trim the linen layer to the seam line.

Now add a length of stay tape along the edge of the linen, the outer edge of the tape extending beyond the linen by ‘a smidge’. The stay tape should extend beyond the pocket opening marks by about 1/2″ or so. Baste securely in place.

Not pictured or on video unfortunately, but you should hold the stay tape slightly tighter than the fabric underneath as you baste. This will pull the fabric towards the camera, or in other words, towards the body when the trousers are worn, helping to keep the pocket flap in place.

Cross stitch the stay tape to the trouser front, catching only the linen on the inner edge, and catching the trouser fabric on the outer edge, being careful that the stitches don’t show through to the right side.

Installing the Pocket Bags

Align the appropriate pocket bag on the trouser front, right sides together. Baste carefully through all layers, ensuring the pocket opening marks are aligned as closely as possible.

Machine sew or back stitch between the pocket opening marks using a 1/4″ seam allowance. You should actually sew this with the pocket bag underneath, so that you can ensure you are the correct distance from the edge of the stay tape. I was distracted by the photography and neglected to do so, as you’ll see in a minute.

You can see where my stitching is not parallel to the stay tape and at the right end, actually goes on to the stay tape! I made it work out but definitely something to avoid.

Now clip the seam allowance at the end of the stitching at each of the pocket opening marks. The clip should get as close as you can to the stitches without actually cutting the thread.

Turn the pocket right facing right side out, and baste securely closed, holding the facing so that the seam is about 1/16″ beyond the pocket edge. Press as necessary.

Depending on your fabric and pocket shape, you may need to trim the seam allowance down to about 1/8″ before turning. It wasn’t necessary in my case.

Continue the basting down to the bottom of the facings to keep the edges aligned properly.

Top stitch the pocket opening using either a machine stitch or a side stitch by hand, 1/4″ from the edge, between the pocket opening marks.

Depending on your pocket style, you may wish to add some decorative top stitching to the pocket opening. I made my pattern by finding the midpoint of the construction line and drawing two (somewhat) equal curves on each side as shown. By drawing the pattern on the facing itself, you can ensure that the top stitching will fall only on the facing itself when sewing.

Cut out the top stitching pattern as shown.

Place the top stitching pattern on the trouser front, aligning the pocket opening marks. Trace the pattern.

Top stitch along the line with a machine stitch or side stitch as desired. You can stitch all the way to the edge if you want, or stop 1/4″ from the edge, as the area will be tacked later on after the trousers are completely assembled.

This next part is confusing and almost impossible to photograph well. You need to fold the pocket bag itself in half, right sides together. Arrange the trousers and pocket bag however necessary to make this happen!

Pin or baste the facings only together. You can baste the rest of the pocket bag closed as well if you wish. I didn’t only because I’ve done it so many times I find it unnecessary now.

Stitch the pocket bag closed from the bottom of the facing, around the bottom, and tapering into the folded edge.

Very important! The stitching must stop just before the bottom of the facing, maybe 1/8″ away. I stitched about an inch of the facing as well and it caused some major issues regarding pocket strength later on, and so had to redo everything.

Trim the seam allowance down to about 1/8″ around the curved areas to help turning the pockets easier.

Clip the seam allowance at the top of the stitching, just below the pocket facing.

Turn the pocket bag right side out and carefully press the edges (like I should have done before taking the photo!). You can see how there’s a sort of ‘step’ where we clipped the seam allowance at the bottom of the facing.

Top stitch the pocket back from the clipped seam allowance, around the bottom, and along the folded edge to the top of the pocket at the waist.

Complete the pocket by basting the remaining part of the facing to the trouser front. Do the same thing for the top edge of the pocket bag, securing it for attaching the waistband later.

And that concludes the construction of the open top pockets themselves. There’s still a little work to do as we sew the side seams and add the waistbands.

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Your Progress

To begin construction of the pocket bags and facings, first transfer any stripes or plaids to the rear facing pattern.

Cut out two of each type of facing and two pocket bags, on the fold.

Here’s how the facing matched up after cutting it out.

Transfer the pocket open marks from the draft to each piece of the pocket and facings. I marked both sides of the fabric just to make things a little easier.

Align the facings to the pocket bags, right sides of each facing upward. Baste the facings in place along the outer edge, making sure the marks line up with each other.

Note that in the photo, the left curved facing I left with seam allowances along the inside edges for demonstration purposes, while the facing on the right I will be leaving the edges raw with no seam allowance.

Now baste along the inside edges of the facings. If you’ll be folding under the seam allowance, keep back a little over 1″ from the edge, otherwise you can baste closer to the edge.

Repeat the process with the other pocket half, being sure to baste the facings in the opposite order.

If you left a seam allowance on the facings, turn it under 1/2″ and baste securely closed.

Fell the folded edge of the facings down by hand. You can also just fell the raw edges if you prefer and your fabric doesn’t fray very badly.

Alternatively, you could sew the facing down along the edges by machine, about 1/8″ from the edge.

Here is the completed pocket bag. Repeat for the other pocket.

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Your Progress

While the basic draft and construction of open-top style pockets remains the same, there are some variations in style you can consider for your trousers. I’ll be going with a basic curved opening to my pocket, as you’ll see on the next page.

The most basic is a squared off pocket, which follows the same pattern as the trouser itself.

To make the other styles, I like to mark midway along the construction line first (more details in the next section). Then the various curves and points can be based off of that.

Here’s more of a ‘pointed style’.

And a curved style, which is what I’ll be making.

Here’s a curved style with a tighter radius and a ‘heart’ top stitching pattern.

Here the top stitching has been inverted from the previous example.

And finally, here’s a curved pocket style with more of an ‘S’ pattern of top stitching.

Buttonholes could also be added to most of these styles to keep the pocket closed. Choose a style you like and then it’s time to begin drafting!

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Your Progress

Drafting an open-top pocket is slightly more involved than the side-seam pocket, due to the special facings and shapes involved, but after a couple of tries you’ll get the process down.

Begin by tracing top section of the trouser front pattern on a fresh piece of paper. Add the 1/4″ seam allowances. You really only need the waist seam and a bit of the side seam.

Next, draw the pocket opening marks. These are the most critical part of the pocket, and should be transferred to each piece as you go. I made mine 4 1/2″ from the top of the side seam in each direction, but you could go a little longer or shorter depending on your hand and trouser size.

Draw a construction line between each pocket opening mark, from the seam allowance.

Draw the shape of the pocket, from mark to mark, as desired.

Add a 1/4″ seam allowance to the pocket opening. Adding the seam allowance separately allows you to have more exact control over the position and shape of the pocket.

Draw the front edge of the pocket bag. This should be about 1″ or so from the pocket opening mark on the waist seam, and taper towards the trouser front to help the pocket to drape more naturally.

Draw a construction line at the bottom of the pocket bag, perpendicular to the side seam. I generally make these pockets about 1″ longer than my hands reach.

Draw the pocket curve. I like to deepen the curve near the front so that loose items will better stay in place. I include the seam allowance when drawing these curves, tapering it into the side seam as shown.

Draw the bottom of the pocket facing about 2″ below and parallel to the construction line you drew earlier.

Draw lines completing the pocket facings. At the top, draw a line perpendicular to the waist seam, about 1/4″ – 1/2″ from the front edge of the pocket and at least 1/2″ from the pocket mark. At the bottom of the facing, do the same, about 1 1/2″ below the pocket mark.

Here are all of the pieces traced and cut out for the open top pocket. The pocket bag should be cut on the fold as shown. The rear and front facings can have a seam allowance of 1/4″ to 1/2″ added along the front edges if you have a fabric that frays easily. Be sure to carefully mark the pocket openings on each piece.

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Your Progress

Lay the trousers wrong side up, pulling back the pocket bag to expose the rear pocket facing.

Fold over the seam allowance on the remaining long edge of the facing and baste. You can leave this edge raw if you prefer and if the fabric does not fray.

Cut a piece of linen the length of the facing and about 1 1/2″ wide, or just slightly narrower than the facing. To prevent fraying of this linen stay, I like to cut these pieces on the selvage.

This is an optional step, but I find it greatly lengthens the life of the trousers, helping to prevent the seam below the pocket from splitting open.

Baste the linen stay to the seam allowance of the facing and side seam, keeping your hand in the pocket opening so that the stitches do not catch the front of the trousers. The selvage should be aligned with the edge of the side seam, or a little bit further towards the rear of the trousers as desired.

Now fold the remaining half of the pocket bag in place, aligning the folded edge with the side / facing seam underneath. You’ll have to do this mainly by feel with your hands, as both halves of the seam are hidden during this step. Again, baste only through the pocketing, stay, and facing layers.

Stitch the pocket bag to the facing using a back stitch or half back stitch about 1/8 from the edge, being sure not to let the stitching show through to the right side of the facing. The stitches here are going through the pocket bag, the linen stay, and the seam of the facing underneath. Stitch from the waist down to the bottom of the pocket opening (1/2″ from the end of the facing).

This next step can get a little tricky, as the facing has the tendency to move out of place as you’re working, and you can’t really see what you’re doing. Baste the pocket facing to the bag from the outside, using your other hand to adjust the facing so that it lays smoothly. It can take a couple of tries if you’re not used to it!

With the facing basted securely in place, we need to determine the outline of the facing and make it apparent on the pocket bag for stitching. To do this, the easiest way is to fold the pocket bag around the facing, making sure there is no excess, and creasing the fold with your finger nail.

Dont’ forget to mark the short lower end of the facing as well.

Stitch the pocket bag to the facing by hand using a back stitch or a half back stitch, from the bottom edge of the facing to the waist seam. I prefer the half back stitch as the stitches are tinier and a little neater looking. Keep your other hand underneath to help hold the facing in place and guide your stitches.

There’s just one small opening left to close on the pocket bag, the area below the facing. You can baste it closed first if you have a larger opening, but I had just an inch and a half or so. Stitch the bag closed with a back stitch or half back stitch. When you get to the lowest 1/2″ of the facing, stitch through all layers – the lower facing and seam allowance, four layers of the pocket bag, and the upper facing and seam allowance, for the strongest finish. You may have to use a prick stitch – pulling the needle all the way through for each individual stitch – if the layers are thick here.

Finally, position the pocket bag in place along the front of the trousers, and baste across the top of the pocket through all layers.

To tie everything together and strengthen the pockets considerably, tack the pockets through all layers by machine or by hand using a side stitch, at the top and bottom of the opening. I start with making a horizontal stitch line across the pocket, about 1/4″ from the seam on either side.

I’ll often make two or three passes for extra strength.

You can continue the tacking by adding decorative stitching below the tacks in a triangular or half moon shape.

This completes the side seam pockets!

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Your Progress