Pockets are an essential feature of nearly all garments, regardless of age group. Some garments have specific spots for various pockets. There are different types of pockets sewn into clothes, and many garments are designed with pockets.
The types of pockets on a suit or sport coat are one of those essential but often overlooked practical details that a gentleman learns to appreciate for the first time while dressing in tailored clothing.
Pocket styles are a convenient addition to many articles of clothing, including pants, jackets, backpacks, long sleeve shirts, and graphic t-shirt. Pockets are sewn compartments in clothing and other items for the storage of small items. Tailors and designers can use templates, pocket patterns, and sewing patterns to make pockets that stand out or merge into a garment or bag.
Significance Of Pockets
Pockets have multiple purposes, exist in a wide variety of styles, and can even be used as an ornament. You may put down that bulky purse and enjoy your freedom of hands-free movement throughout town thanks to these.
There are a number of important reasons why pockets are so helpful, and they include the following:
- Partially decorative accessory, primarily functional; used to keep bills and coins safe.
- Needed in normal attire.
- Rather than being a mere accessory, they enhance the garment.
- Component of high fashion and everyday clothes that is purely decorative.
- A substitute for a traditional wallet or purse. Fortunately, the development of coin pockets and concealed interior pockets have made it possible to keep your money safe.
- Instead of dragging around a bulky purse or backpack, you can use this space to keep smaller things like your keys, wallet, handkerchief, etc.
- Everything from pants to handbags to coats to dresses was included.
- There are a wide variety of pocket sizes available, from large, exterior pockets too small, internal, hidden, and coin pockets.
Types Of Pockets
Suit jackets and sports coats, with their seemingly endless options for pockets types, tend to be the focus of conversations about pockets. You may find wide types of pockets on pants, shirts, and coats. Let’s break these down, one by one.
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Piped Pockets
These pocket types are made the same way as piped buttonholes, except that the material for the piping is cut to be twice as long as the finished pocket plus 1 1/2 to 2 inches in both length and width. Mark the line for the pocket on the clothing. Place the piping strip over the mark on the right sides together, leaving 1 or 2 inches of fabric above the mark.
Or, you can make a crease in the middle of the piping strip and lay that crease on the pocket marking.
Stitch a rectangle around the mark for the pocket. The stitching can be anywhere from 1/8″ to 1/4″ away from the mark for the pocket. Count the stitches to keep the width of the ends the same. The opening for the pocket was cut the same way as the buttonhole.
Pull the piping to the wrong side, sew the ends together, and turn the fabric to make a pocket. Stitch around the edges of the pocket with a sewing machine. On the right side, there are no stitches visible. Trim, press, and fold over the edges of the pockets,
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Welt Pockets
These simplified kinds of pockets can be made using the same method. For this pocket, the welt is made by extending the piping from the bottom edge to the top of the pocket opening. For a piped pocket, the opening is cut and the piping is turned to the wrong side. After the welt has been formed, the piping or welt is stitched.
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Patch Pockets
These are usually square or rectangular pieces of fabric that are sewn on top of another part of a garment. The patch pocket can be a simple square or rectangle, and it can be lined, decorated with embroidery or surface designs, or pieced together from different shapes of fabric. Most of the time, backstitching, metal rivets, bar tacks, and other things are used to reinforce the upper corners of the pocket opening.
Without a cardboard template to shape the pocket first, it’s hard to sew the bottom corners. After the fabric pattern is cut out, a template for the final size of the applied pocket is overlapped on the fabric, and the seam allowances are pressed and folded. So, when the pocket is turned and ready to be sewn on, it will be easier to do the topstitching around the edges.
A patch pocket that has two openings for pockets and is usually bigger. A kangaroo pocket is a patch pocket that goes across the front of a garment. This kind of pocket is often found on sweatshirts and hoodies, which are often worn for sports.
These types of pockets on jackets are often seen as casual because they are the least hidden type of pocket. This style of pocket is often used on sports coats. If it’s on a suit, it’s usually meant to be worn casually, not to a business meeting. You can also cut the suit in half and wear the top half as a different jacket.
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Jetted Pockets
A jetted pocket usually has a flap that is tucked in to make it look cleaner and more simple. The flaps are what the gentlemen would rather have in their pockets. The flaps are also supposed to be there; you only take them off to clean out the debris.
It’s also called a besom pocket or a welted pocket, and the edges of the slit are reinforced with welts for both looks and strength.
The jetted pocket is great for the evening to wear and formal morning dress because it looks clean and smooth. It can also work well with suits and sports coats for a more formal look. So, its clean look and appearance make it a good choice for formal clothing.
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Flap Pockets
The flap pocket looks like a pouch under the surface of the jacket that has a flap over it. These types of coat pockets is made of the same material as the jacket. From what we know about history, this was first made to keep dirt out of the jacket pocket. But it has always been worn for style and fashion.
The flap pocket is in the middle when it comes to how formal it is. So, it’s perfect for business suits, but you can also use it for sports coats. Whether you choose a suit, a coat, or a jacket, this style of pocket will work for both a formal and a casual look.
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Inseam Pockets
These pants pocket types where the opening ends in a seam or seams. This kind of pocket has a separate pocket bag made of shaped fabric pieces that gets attached to the seam and pocket opening. The pocket bag can be made in different ways, depending on the wearer’s needs, how much it costs, and how much fabric is used, but it usually looks the same in the end.
There are two types of pockets with name that are common in this category: pockets that are hidden in the seam and pockets that are exposed in the seam.
- Inseam hidden pockets are often hard to see because both ends of the pocket opening are sewn into the same seam. They are most often found in the side seams of pants or dresses. A flat sketch of this kind of pocket will just look like a line, which is what a seam line looks like.
- The second type of inseam pockets is the inseam exposed pockets, which are like a variation on the hidden inseam pockets. The openings for the pockets are made in two different seams.
- The waist seam and side seam are the most common seams on a garment, but side seams and princess seams are also used.
The inseam pocket that is most often seen on the front of jeans. Most of the time, there is an extra small patch pocket inside the exposed pocket on the right side.
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Slashed Pockets
This type of pocket is called “slashed” because it is made by cutting through the fabric layer where the pocket goes. The slash needs to be as big as the opening of the pocket and is often big enough for the wearer’s hand to fit through. Depending on how the edges of the slash are finished, there are different types of slashed pockets. Some common types are;
- Single welt pocket
- The double welt pocket (also called a “bounded edges pocket”)
- The zippered pocket
Like the inseam pockets, the slashed pockets have a separate pocket bag made from shaped pieces of fabric. This pocket bag ends up inside the garment, or between the fabric and the lining.
Tailored pockets are double-welt pockets with a flap. They are most often found on classic tailored jackets and coats. The flap can be made in different ways, and it is lined with a thin fabric. The flaps of a classic tailored pocket will fit perfectly inside the double welt pocket, so it can be worn either way.
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Inset Curved
Here, the pocket is built into the front of the pants or skirt, and the back of the pocket is also built into the piece. The back of the pocket bag is an extension of that part of the garment, and the front is basically a facing for the front part of the garment.
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Hidden In Seam
This pocket looks like a curved jet, but it is much easier to put together. Inside the garment, the pocket bag is set into a seam, topstitched, and reinforced. It is then attached to the seam allowance.
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Epaulette Pocket
This compartment is very much like the concealed in seam compartment. This is a raglan sleeve seam, thus it’s located at the shoulder. The epaulette moniker comes from the fact that the pocket is located on the shoulder.
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Bucket Pocket
A patch pocket that looks like a cowl neck at the top and is sewn on the outside of the garment. It makes for a draped look.
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Curved Jet
As the pocket is cut out, the cut of the garment is not straight. This one is reinforced with leather.
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Double Pocket
This is a patch pocket that has been folded in half to make two pockets. One pocket can be reached through the zip at the top, and the other can be reached through the left side.
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Patch With Flap
As the patch pocket, but the opening is covered by a bagged-out flap that is the same width as the patch and stitched above the patch. It has a button or stud closure to finish it off.
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Pockets With Bellows
This type of pocket has a box pleat or an inverted pleat in the middle that opens up when the pocket is used. This type of pocket is also called a Safari pocket. This fold can be in the middle of the pocket or on either side. This is a type of pocket that can get bigger.
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Besom Pocket
Besom Pockets are inset pockets on a man’s suit jacket that have a narrow welted edge above the pocket opening. A pocket with welts on both edges is called a double-besom pocket.
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Cowl Pockets
A cowl pocket is a patch pocket that looks like a scarf because it has folds of fabric draped around the opening.
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Faux Pockets
A faux pocket is a fake pocket, which is usually a closed pocket on jeggings.
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Hidden Pockets
These are hidden pockets that are sewn into clothes to keep your things safe. This is often added later and can’t be seen from the outside. They are easy to make and a must-have for trips.
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Kangaroo Pocket
Kangaroo Pockets are long pockets that run along the length of the clothing. They look a bit like a letterbox and have two “pockets” for the hands at each end. They are called “kangaroo pockets” because they look like the pouch on a kangaroo.
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Slit Pocket
One of the most common types of pockets on clothes is a slit pocket. You must have seen this with your eyes closed. The name comes from the fact that from the outside, you can only see the openings of the pockets. On the slit, there is a pocket bag.
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Ticket Pocket
There’s a pocket within a pocket for your tickets. Surely you’ve seen this teeny small pocket on your jeans before, and it was intended to hold your train ticket. It’s usually stashed away in one of the two side pockets. It’s also known as the coin purse.
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Zippered Pocket
A slit pocket or a patch pocket with a zipper is called a “zipped pocket.”
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Utility Pockets
Utility pockets are a type of Kangaroo pocket that have different sections for carrying tools and other things. They are usually on the front of the clothing.
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Shirt Pockets
A patch pocket is what a types of shirt pockets is. This pocket is attached to the clothing at the top. Patch pockets on shirts usually come in two different shapes: square and round. They are put on the shirt’s left side. Most of the time, they go just above the third buttonhole.
The patch pocket on a denim shirt is sewn on with a double needle.
The bottom edge can be straight, round, or triangular, and the top edge can sometimes look like a welt by turning the fabric over.
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Side Pocket
This side seam pocket is almost impossible to see. It is usually found on tunics. This pocket’s opening will be on the side seam of the item. This is a guide on how to sew a side pocket.
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Cargo Pocket
It’s a big patch pocket with a folded flap and straight sides. The types of cargo pockets is patch pockets.
Last Words On Pocket Types
Although they may appear to be nothing more than pouches attached to your garment, pockets are actually an integral part of many types of apparel.
However, they are not as simple as they appear. You can upgrade the look of your bespoke jacket by adding different kinds of pockets, such as patch pockets, jetted pockets, or flap pockets. They have a dual purpose of elevating the seriousness and usefulness of the situation.
There are so many variations of pockets that it’s easy to find one that matches your clothing and sew it in. Pockets are a wonderful addition to any clothing since they serve practical and aesthetic objectives.
The addition of pockets not only makes it easier to transport little items without a bag but also improves the garment’s aesthetic.
Numerous pocket styles exist, however, the most common ones can be classified as either patch pockets, flap pockets, or side seam pockets.
Patch pockets are the most common type of pocket for novice sewers to attempt because they are always visible depending on the garment’s construction.
The patch pocket on the flap is optional yet useful. It’s a common material for giving garments like denim pants and jackets a rugged appearance.
The contents of the side seam pockets are concealed by the garment’s seams. Used most often on men’s clothing and other high-end garments for a polished final touch.
A pocket’s place in a garment goes back many decades, yet its design has evolved and evolved with the times. You may improve your sewing skills, whether you’re starting from scratch or repurposing existing clothes, by learning how to sew different types of pockets.
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