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I love a quick-win when it comes to enhancing my wardrobe and as we all know, luxury fashion relies on attention to detail.

The best part about this technique, is that it can elevate your garments, adding a high-end touch that makes them stand out. Today, we're diving into a fun and creative sewing detail: pleating pockets.

The Art of Pleated Pockets

Pleating pockets, or as I like to call them: Origami Pockets, involves folding the fabric to create unique silhouettes and surfaces before cutting out your patch pocket shape. The pocket is made from a separate piece of cloth and sewn to the outside of a garment. This small but impactful addition can transform a simple piece of clothing into a luxury piece, emphasising the intricate design details that are often found in high-end, runway looks.

Sustainable and Creative

One of the great things about pleating pockets is that it's a sustainable way to use up scrap pieces of pattern-cutting paper and scrap pieces of fabric. This makes it an enjoyable and eco-friendly exercise. You can store your folded patterns in a poly pocket or manila envelope and tuck it in your fashion file for safe keeping, ready for when you want to add a special and practical touch to your next project.

It's like having a lucky dip of design ideas at your fingertips!

Step One: Start with a Basic Patch Pocket

Now, let's get back to pockets. Patch pockets are a beginner-friendly design detail that can be added to almost anything. The video below shows a standard patch pocket I've made for my PDF sewing pattern: The Glitch Shirt.

A patch pocket is a versatile and stylish addition to garments, commonly seen on everything from casual shirts to high-end coats. It is essentially a separate piece of fabric sewn onto the exterior of a garment. This piece of fabric, which can be square, rectangular, or even more creatively shaped as we’re about to get into, is usually attached with edge stitching on three sides, leaving the top open for access and functionality.

Characteristics of a Patch Pocket

1. Shape and Size: Patch pockets can vary in shape and size depending on the design and function. The most common shapes are square and rectangular, but they can also be rounded or have unique, custom shapes. The size can range from small and discreet to large and statement-making.

2. Placement: They are typically placed on the front of shirts, jackets, coats, dresses, or skirts. They can be positioned at the chest, hips, or even lower down, depending on the garment's design. As the designer, the placement, size and shape of the pocket can be chosen at your discretion.

3. Construction:

• Fabric: The pocket is usually made from the same fabric as the garment, but it can also be a contrasting fabric to create a design feature (and a great use of scraps!

• Sewing: The fabric is cut to the desired shape and size with seam allowance added, and then the edges are folded and pressed or alternatively finished to prevent fraying. The pocket is sewn onto the garment, typically with an edge stitch that is reinforced at the corners as these are stress points.

Step Two: Fold Your Pleated Design

Using small scraps of pattern-cutting paper, start folding and pleating to create interesting shapes and designs. It doesn’t have to be a pre-conceived idea, just see where manipulating the paper takes you in an organic way, but be mindful of your final textile choice; lighter fabrics can handle more folds, while heavier fabrics like denim should have fewer folds to avoid bulk.

Step Three: Create Your Pattern

Create Your Pattern: Once you're happy with your paper pleats, lay your basic pocket pattern over the pleated paper. Use a tracing wheel to transfer the overall pocket shape, not forgetting to add your seam allowances. With your pleats still folded, cut out your pattern.

N.B. It’s important we keep our pleated detail folded when tracing off our overall shape and adding seam allowance, as you’ll notice the shape of the pattern piece changes quite drastically once flattened out.

Join the Fun

If you're interested in more detailed instructions, we offer fashion file packs with PDF documents detailing various construction styles and pattern-cutting techniques. For a more immersive experience, join The DPL Atelier fashion membership, where we delve deeper into these topics.

Let me know how your pleated pockets turn out! Tag me in your creations—I love seeing how you incorporate these techniques into your own designs.

Stay safe, keep creative and I’ll catch you on the flip side x