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How to add side seam pockets to 119 Saroulles!

October 30, 2024 1 Comment on How to add side seam pockets to 119 Saroulles!

side view African women standing in front of a brick wall wearing a black and white stripe cardigan and wearing 119 african saroulles in dark green with hands in her pockets.

By Esi Hutchinson

In a previous blog post, Molly makes a good point that some of the Folkwear Patterns don't have pockets due to the traditional and historic nature of the garments (based on how the fabric was woven and the culture they come from), but that doesn't mean you can't add them. Read the blog post here about adding a patch pocket to your pants. I would also encourage you to read this blog post about the history of pockets and the hierarchical roles they have played in clothing.

In today's short blog post, I will show you how to add a side seam pocket to 119 Saroulles. It is very easy! The pattern pieces make it very simple to add a side seam pocket. You will need a pocket pattern piece, plus the 119 Sarouelles pattern. You can download and print a free pocket pattern piece here, and you can read more about side seam pockets in this blog post. The fabric yardage won't change if you include a side seam pocket for this pattern.

The African and Turkish pants in this pattern are cut with the side of the pants on the fold. So there is not normally a side seam. However, to add a side seam you just need to add 1/2" (13mm) seam allowance on the fold line for your size. I'm making a large, and the green line in the image below is the original fold line and the pink line is my new cutting line.

Pattern piece of leg pant B with highlighted original line in green and half seam allowance in pink

Zoomed out view of the whole pattern piece of leg pant B with highlighted original line in green and half seam allowance in pink

You can add notches to the new side seam if you like. I included double notches about 18" down from the waistline so it would make it easy to line up my side seams.

Pattern piece of leg pant B with highlighted original line in green and half seam allowance in pink with double notches on the new cutting line

With the side seam, you will now be cutting four pants legs instead of cutting two on the fold.

pattern piece pant leg with cut one on fold marked out with pen and written cut 4 instead.

I wanted my pocket bags to be larger than the free downloadable pockets we have (linked above) so added some extra room. This is an easy pattern drafting step anyone can do.

pocket pattern piece extended with a pink marker.

Usually pockets are placed 2" to 4" (5-10cm) below the waist. I marked 2" (5cm) below the waist for the top of my pocket placement.

marking 2 inches from the waistline for pocket placement.

Sew one pocket piece to the side seam of each of the four pant pieces, from the top of the pocket to the bottom of the pocket, and press the seam toward the pocket. I placed dots 1/2" (13mm) above and below the bottom and top of the pocket. I added the dots to indicate where to start and stop sewing on the outer seam of the pocket when I sew the pants legs together. You can also understitch the pocket so the pocket doesn't roll out -- stitching the seam of the pocket/pants to the pocket.

Sew the two pants pieces together starting from the waist down to the dot of the pocket, around the outer edge of the pocket up to the lower dot and down the rest of the pant leg.

side seams of pants legs with pockets sew together and orange direction lines for where to sew.

Now you can continue with the pattern instructions to finish your pants. This pocket tutorial was made with my muslin to make sure I cut the size I wanted. I made my final pair out of a Lyocell Twill in the color Balsam.

pant leg pieces pinned at both crotch seams

cut out pant pattern pieces out of balsam lyocel twill fabric. On a green cutting mat.

Below are the African Pants from 119 Saroulles. I picked this fabric for a casual dress pant look. I think these pants are super comfortable and with the right fabric the pants could work for different occasions.