Adding Front Flap Pockets to the 229 Sailor Pants

April 27, 2024

I really like our 229 Sailor Pants pattern, and it is a special pattern because it was designed from an original pair of WWII sailor pants.  And, there can be many riffs on these pants - from as simple as adding, or not adding, the pockets or leg godet or back gusset, to making them into a skirt (or shorts).

I got inspired to make these pair of white sailor pants with pockets in the front flap from the pair that Keeley Hawes wears as Louisa Durrell in The Durrells in Corfu (PBS Masterpiece Theater).  This is such a great show, and the kids and I really enjoyed watching it.  The 1930s costuming and fashion is really wonderful in the show as well.  I especially loved that Louisa had pockets in the front flap of her sailor pants.  So I set about to figure out how to do it.  And, funnily enough, a customer wrote to me last week asking if I had an idea of how to add pockets to the front flap.  So I started on this pair that I had in my mind for over a year now. 

You can see the inspiration for these pants here from The Durrells in Corfu - side pockets in the front flap. 

Preliminary Information

Fit:  First, it will be important to get the fit how you want with this pattern before putting in the pocket.  The pocket does take away a bit of the ease of getting in and out of the pants (the way I designed the pocket), but not by much.  If you make the pocket larger than I did, this is less of an issue.  If I do these again, I would make them another size larger for myself because I think I would prefer a looser fit.  I added darts to the back of the pants at the waist and made the waistband and waistband curtain a bit smaller.  This is because my waist is smaller than the hip measurement that fit me best.  I also kept the back gusset for these pants because this also makes getting in and out of the pants easier, especially since you are reducing the front flap availability with the pockets.

Fabric:  I chose a white denim that we have in stock at Folkwear for this sample.  Using a heavier weight fabric caused me to think more about what I might use for any lining pieces.  I used a scrap of lightweight blue linen for the waistband curtain and the lining of the Back Gusset.  I did use the main fabric for all my pocket pieces, though you could potentially use a lighter weight fabric for the Buttonhole Facing. 

Sewing:  If you have questions or get stuck somewhere sewing these pants, be sure to check out our Sew Along!  It is 11 days and goes into detail about this pattern and has lots of tips and tricks for sewing these pants. Start here for Day 1 of the sew along.

Designing the Pocket

I made the pocket from the Buttonhole Facing (Piece C) and the Front Dart Gusset Facing (Piece B).  The Buttonhole Facing will make up the front of the pocket and the Front Dart Gusset Facing will make up the back of the pocket.  These pieces will be sewn together at the inner edges of the pocket rather than just face each other. 

I used our free pocket pattern (from this blog post) to design the pocket for these pants.  I placed the pocket piece on top of the pattern pieces (C and B) and traced out new pieces, also aligning them as they would be when they are sewn into the pants so that the pocket front and back come out even with each other (so matching dots on the flap dart).  

This shows the Buttonhole Facing on top of the Pant Leg with a pocket set in approximately where I wanted the pocket to be placed.

This shows the pocket piece placed with the Buttonhole Facing.  I used these two together to trace a new Buttonhole Facing with the pocket bag as a part of it.

This shows the pocket lined up with the Front Dart Gusset Facing.  The line on the pocket shows where it will line up with the stitching line on this pattern piece.  I traced a new Front Dart Gusset Facing with these pieces together to make a back for the pocket bag.

These were my new Buttonhole Facing and Front Dart Gusset Facing pieces.  These became the front and back of my pocket, as well as the facing pieces for the pants front flap.

You can see above my new pattern pieces with the pocket built into the facings.  I made the pockets a bit on the small side because I was worried about how much extra fabric it was adding to the front and how that extra fabric would be handled.  However, I think I could have made the pockets larger.  I could have made them come closer to the pants center front  (i.e. made them wider).  They could also have been a bit deeper too.  But, in any case, this is how to make the pocket pattern pieces!  Feel free to make your pockets larger.  

I cut the Buttonhole Facing on the fold and cut 2 of the Front Dart Gusset Facings (I did not cut a lining for it, but you could - I would recommend a lighter weight fabric).

Sewing the Pocket

I basically followed the same directions that are in the instructions for putting in these facings, but with a few modifications you will see below.  I reinforced the dot at the bottom of the slash lines on the leg with fusible interfacing.  And as a side note, you can move the slash line down by about a 1/2" (13mm) if you want your pocket opening to be a little longer.  You will need to also adjust the lower dots that match to that point on the Buttonhole Facing and the Front Dart Gusset Facing, but that shouldn't be an issue.

First, I only folded up the center of the Buttonhole Facing by 1/2" (13mm) and sewed in place (I clipped to the seamline to release the center section, similarly to the instructions).  I sewed the Buttonhole Facing in place on the front flap, clipped the corners, and turned it to the inside.  I pressed it really well. 

Buttonhole Facing piece with the center front marked, as well as where I made my snips to fold up the lower edge by the center front.  Also dots for the markings for the front flap dart.

I clipped to the seamline at these corners so I could turn up this center section and finish it.

Front section turned up to wrong side (and then sewn down).

Here I've pinned the top of the Buttonhole Facing to the front flap (I already cut the dart slash lines on the pants).  I also matched the lower dots to the pants and drew in a stitching line.

I also matched the lower dots to the pants and drew in the stitching line from top dot to bottom dot on the facing. 

 
The Front Dart Gusset Facing pinned to the pants front - matching dots.  I drew in a line for stitching between the dots and matching the pants sewing line.

Then I turned the Front Dart Gusset Facing to the inside and now my pocket fronts and back match!

Here is the front of the pants with the facings with pockets in place.

Now you need to sew the pocket front and back together.  This is a bit intuitive, but you will sew around the pocket edge - from the bottom dot at the bottom of the dart to the top of the pocket.  I used a 1/4" (6mm) seam allowance and I finished the edges with a serger.  You can also choose not to sew quite to the top of the pocket, especially if you might need a little more room in the flap to get in and out of the pants.  This doesn't really effect the functionality of the pocket much, and does allow a little more room for the front flap.  Just figure out how you want to finish your seams.  You may want to serge or overlock (or zigzag) your seams first - before doing the construction.

Here you can see the pocket pieces pinned together.  I sewed from the bottom dot on the dart down to the 1/4" (6mm) seam allowance and around the pocket and up to the dot at the top of the pocket bag.  I ended up taking out some of the stitching at the top of the pocket bag so that I could have more ease getting into and out of the pants.  Note also that the Buttonhole Facing is folded over below the bottom dot on the dart (behind this facing piece). This helps with a cleaner finish.

This is the front flap folded down so you can see the Front Dart Gusset Facing and the top of the pocket.  Again, I ended up taking out a little stitching at the top of the pocket here for ease of getting into and out of the pants.  

I finished the pants as the instructions say, though I did not add the leg godet or any of the other pockets (welt and coin) since I added these flap pockets.  I did lower the dot on the back gusset where it meets the center back pants because it also gave me a little more room for getting into and out of the pants.

Then I topstitched where I wanted and where it made sense.  With the front pockets, you can't really topstitch around the Front Dart Gusset Facing or bottom of the Buttonhole Facing as indicated in the pattern.  I topstitched along the front flap and beside the darts (pocket openings), and I added a bar tack at the bottom of each pocket.  I topstitched along the waistband and on the back gusset as well.

Buttons:  You could add buttons all the way across the top, or just use a couple, or just have one in the center and one at each corner of the flap, as I did.  I also just put one button on the waistband.  Depending on the look you want and the size of your buttons, you can change up the button number and placement as suits your project.

You can see the pants are finished (but not yet topstitched). 

 

Topsitched pants with the pocket front flap folded down.

Trying out a button on the front to see how it looks. I ended up using different buttons, but I did like these grey ones.

That is about all there is to putting pockets in the front flap of the 229 Sailor Pants!  Will you try this technique?  Let us know what you do and post pictures of what you make!

Leave a comment

Also in News