Sew welt pockets into trousers #TH03
In the following video and illustrated text instructions, I explain step by step how to sew welt pockets into the back of the trousers. As sewing this kind of pockets requires a bit of practice, you can download a practice pattern, which you can use to copy the individual steps. Enjoy sewing!
1. This is required:
![Sewing a piped pocket - what you need The picture shows which pattern pieces are needed to sew the piped pocket.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-selber-naehen-das-wird-benoetigt.jpg)
Pattern pieces made from main fabric:
- back trousers (HH) – 1 pair
- pocket bag facing (TBB HH) – 1 pair
- pocket welt (TS HH) – 1 pair
Pattern pieces from interlining:
- pocket welt (ETS HH) – 1 pair
- pocket underlay (ETU HH ) – 1 pair
Pattern pieces made from lining fabric:
- upper pocket bag (TBO HH) – 1 pair
- lower pocket bag (TBU HH) – 1 pair
- Note: The two pattern pieces are identical. The area on the lower pocket bag is marked in the pattern where the pocket bag facing will be sewn on later.
Tools and aids:
- template for the pocket position (P-TZ HH) out of paper
- pins
- scissors
- Tailor’s chalk or fabric marker
- ruler
2. Reinforce the welt pockets entry
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - mark pocket position The picture shows how the position of the pocket is transferred to the rear trousers.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-taschenpositionen-linke-stoffseite.jpg)
I place the back pieces in front of me, wrong sides facing up, and mark the pocket position. I align the template with the centre back and top edge and transfer the pocket rectangle with tailor’s chalk.
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - iron on interlining The picture shows how the interlining is ironed onto the wrong side of the fabric.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doppelpaspel-hosentasche-naehen-diy-3-taschenunterlage-linke-stoffseite.jpg)
The interfacing strip is placed over the center of this rectangle and ironed on.
3. Prepare the pocket welt
![Sewing piped pocket - Fastening and ironing the pocket piping The picture shows how the piping strip is fixed and ironed.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-taschenpaspel-vorbereiten.jpg)
I attach the fusible interfacing onto the pocket welt and press ist over by 18 mm, according to the notches. The value of 18 mm results from the piping width of 12 mm plus 6 mm seam width.
4. Place the upper pocket bag
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - place upper pocket bag The picture shows how the upper pocket bag is placed on the back trousers.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/place-pocketing-for-sewing-double-piping-trousers-pocket.jpg)
Place the upper pocket bag on the trousers. The pocket’s right side is facing the trousers’ left side of the fabric. This way the right sight of the pocket bag will be visible on the inside of the pocket. Align the upper pocket edge with the upper edge of the back trousers. Place the pocket back central to cover the retangle and pin it to the trousers preventing it from moving.
5. Mark the welt pockets position
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - mark pocket position The picture shows how to mark the position of the trouser pocket on the right side of the fabric.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-taschenposition-anzeichnen.jpg)
I turn the back pieces right sides facing up and use the template to mark the welt pockets position.
6. Topstitch the pocket welt and facing
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - Draw in guide lines The picture shows which auxiliary lines must be drawn for the double piping.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mark-contact-lines-to-sew-single-piping-trousers-pocket.jpg)
I measure the exact hight of the pocket on the template. In this example it’s 12 mm. Starting from the bottom of the retangle, draw another retangle measuring 12mm in hight. This will be the bottom contact line for the welt.
Draw a parallel line 6mm (half of the pocket size) from the top edge of the pocket frame to create the top contact line.
![Sew piped pocket - Sew on pocket bag facing The picture shows how the pocket bag lining is placed on the upper contact line.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-beleg-oben-anlegen.jpg)
I place the pocket bag facing right sides together above the upper line of contact and align it to the top contact line. If you wish, you can transfer the top edge of the pocket frame onto the pocket bag facing, as this will be the sewing line.
![Sew piped pocket - Create piping strips The picture shows how the piping strip with the folded edge is placed on the lower auxiliary line.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-unteren-paspel-anlegen.jpg)
Next I place the pocket welt. The left side of the welt is facing the right side of the trousers. The ironed fold is aligned to the bottom contact line and the raw edge is facing towards the waistband. Mark the width of the pocket frame and make sure the welt is overlapping the frame equally on both sides. Transer the bottom edge of the pocket frame, too.
![Sew piped pocket - topstitch pocket bag facing The picture shows how the pocket bag facing is stitched on. To do this, fold away the piping strip.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einfache-paspel-hosentasche-naehen-paspel-aufsteppen.jpg)
I stitch the pocket welt and pocket bag facing using a straight stitch according to the markings drawn before.
It is important to work very precisely and to secure the start and finish of each stitch line with some stitches.
7. Cut in the pocket opening
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - check the distance between the seams The picture shows how the distance between the seams is checked.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/paspel-hosentasche-naehen-kontrolle-nahtabstand.jpg)
I measure the distance between the stitch lines to make sure it equales the size of the pocket frame, in this case 12mm.
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - Cut open pocket opening The picture shows how the pocket opening is cut open.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-einschneiden-tascheneingriff.jpg)
Make a small incision in the middle of the two lines. Stop approx. 6mm before the end of the line and cut diagonally toward the stitches. This is done best on the left side of the fabric. Make sure not to cut the fabric or through the stitches.
8. Iron welt and pocket opening
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - iron out lower piping strip The picture shows how the lower piping strip is pulled inwards and ironed.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-untere-paspelnaht-ausbuegeln.jpg)
Wrong sides up, I pull the welt through the incision and press the fold of the welt up.
![Sew piped pocket - fold and iron the turn-in The picture shows how the fold of the piping strip is folded down and ironed.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-untere-paspelnaht-ueberbuegeln.jpg)
Then I press it down again and place it over the seam.
![Sew piped pocket - iron out facing seam The picture shows how the seam at the base of the pocket bag facing is pressed apart.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-obere-paspelnaht-ausbuegeln.jpg)
Now I also pull the pocket bag facing to the inside and press the seam open.
![Sew piped pocket - press seam allowance towards the waistband edge The picture shows how the seam allowance of the pocket bag facing is pressed towards the waistband edge.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-obere-paspelnaht-ueberbuegeln.jpg)
I then press the seam allowance over towards the waistband edge.
9. Secure the triangle at the corners
![Sew piped pocket - secure incision The picture shows how the triangular notches are attached to the piping strip and pocket bag facing.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-taschenecken-abnaehen.jpg)
I secure the triangular notches to the piping from the inside. The tip of the triangle needs to be pointing towards the edge of the pocket bag before sewing. Press in place when needed. Make sure that the pocket bag facing is pulled completely smooth underneath so the fold of the welt is exactly at the top seam. As this step can be a bit tricky I recommend to not secure the first stitch in case you have to unpick it. Leave a tail and make a knot once you are happy with the result.
10. Design variants for welt pockets
![Sewing a piped pocket - design suggestions for the piped pocket design The picture shows four design suggestions for how the piped pocket can be stitched on the outside.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/design-variants-to-sew-single-piping-trousers-pocket.jpg)
Depending on your preferences you can decide to leave the pocket as is, topstitch all round or only at the bottom. You can also often see narrow bartacks on the sides, as shown in variants 2 and 4.
![Sewing the piped pocket - folding up the pocket bag facing The picture shows how the pocket bag facing is folded up before topstitching the lower piping seam.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy17.jpg)
If the design includes topstitching at the bottom piping seam, you must do this before joining the pocket to the bottom pocket bag. To do this, first fold the pocket bag facing upwards so it won’t be stitched down.
11. Connect the lower pocket bag
In the next step, I join the welt to the upper pocket bag and the pocket bag facing to the lower pocket bag. You can serge the bottom edges of the welt strips and the pocket facing or, if the fabric is not too thick, fold it over by 1 cm.
![Sew piped pocket - pin pocket bag facing together with lower pocket bag The picture shows how the pocket bag cover is attached to the lower pocket bag](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-taschenbeutelbeleg-an-unteren-beutel-stecken.jpg)
I pin the lower pocket bag to the upper pocket bag, left sides facing. In this position, I pin the pocket bag lining to the side of the lower pocket bag.
![Sewing a piped pocket - description of the parts The picture shows the names of the different parts of the bag that are sewn together.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/label-of-pattern-pieces-to-sew-single-piping-trousers-pocket.jpg)
The serged or folded bottom edges of the pocket bag facing and pocket welt are now stitched to the pocket bags.
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - finished pocket bag The picture shows the finished and finished pocket bag.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-zusammengenaehte-taschenbeutel.jpg)
The two pocket bags are joined together at the sides and the bottom edge. I pin them in place and then sew them together using a straight stitch with a 10 mm edge distance and then neaten the edges.
12. Topstitch the top and side edges of the welt pockets
![Sew piped pocket - pin pocket before topstitching The picture shows how the pocket is pinned before the visible stitching is made on the bottom edge.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-oberkante-zunahen-bei-sichtbar-gesteppter-variante.jpg)
I place the trouser piece in front of me right side facing up. If you have opted for the version with topstitching around the piped pocket, topstitch the sides and top. It is helpful to pin the pocket opening with 1 to 2 pins beforehand.
![Sew trouser pocket with piping - concealed topstitching The picture shows how to work when the stitching should not be visible from the outside.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-oberkante-zunahen-bei-ungesteppter-variante-1.jpg)
For the version without visible topstitching on the top edge, I fold the fabric down right above the opening and pin it in place. Now topstitch the top pocket bag directly behind the seam at the side and top of the pocket bag so you can only reach down into the pocket.
For the design of the welt pockets with the side bartacks, I recommend trying it out on a piece of fabric first. In this example I use a narrow zigzag stitch with a 2.5 mm width and a 0.5 mm length.
13. Sew welt pockets bag to waistband edge
![Sew piped pocket - secure pocket bag The picture shows how the pocket bags are attached to the edge of the waistband with an auxiliary seam.](https://smartpattern.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/einseitige-hosen-paspeltasche-naehen-diy-taschenbeutel-oben-oberkante-verbinden.jpg)
Finally, the pocket bag is sewn to the waistband edge with an auxiliary seam at 5 mm edge distance. Your welt pockets are finished and you can continue with the next step.
Below you will find a selection of links to further steps:
If you are not quite ready yet and perhaps want to start at the beginning, you can find some links here: