Outside and inside pockets
A patch pocket is a piece sewn on top of the fabric. With welt, jetted and in-seam pockets the pocket bag is hidden inside and only the opening shows.
Read each description carefully: the difference between pockets is usually in how the opening is made and finished.
The jetted pocket
An opening edged by two narrow, equal strips of fabric. It is the pocket of formal suits and dinner jackets and needs great precision, because the opening is cut into the garment itself.
The in-seam pocket
Hidden in an existing seam, such as the side seam of a skirt or dress, so it doesn't cut into the fabric and doesn't show from outside.
The pocket bag
Usually made from a sturdy cotton pocketing or from lining, with a facing of the main fabric where the opening shows, so the bag fabric stays hidden.
Rivets in jeans
In 1873 Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss patented reinforcing pocket corners with copper rivets, because the pockets of work trousers kept tearing.
Women's pockets in the past
In the 17th and 18th centuries a woman's pocket was often a separate bag tied round the waist under the skirt, reached through a slit in the skirt.
Learn to sew pockets beautifully
From patch pockets to jetted pockets, in Anna Stella's Manchester sewing classes.
Sources
- Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, Reader's Digest.
- Claire B. Shaeffer, Couture Sewing Techniques, Taunton Press.
- Levi Strauss & Co. — US Patent No. 139,121 (20 May 1873).
- Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A): 18th-century tie-on pockets.