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18th Century Embroidered Pocket Alignment Tutorial

Recently, I was asked about a pocket alignment tutorial video for designs like my mid-18th century pocket and new “Hannah” pocket. Video tutorials have been on my list for quite a while, so I got busy and recorded one to share with my sew-along group on Facebook.

Speaking of the sew-along – the group was started in May to work on Regency gowns, and we had a lovely variety of projects being worked on. We had so much fun that the members voted to keep the group open an rotate through projects. August 15-October 15 we’re working on pockets, reticules, and other small accessories.

The timing of this tutorial and the new pocket design were perfect for helping the group members.  If you want to sew along with us, it’s not too late to join! Come on over to Facebook and say hello.

As for the video, it’s a short overview of how I stitch out my pocket designs. The Hannah pocket is shown in this video. It has 5 pieces, but the technique is exactly the same for the mid-18th century pocket, which has 7 pieces.

I start by marking lines for the center and top edge of the pocket. This gives me multiple points to match up piece A, which is the topmost section of the pocket. This piece includes stitch lines for the top and slit marking, so it will create basting stitches right along the lines you mark. If the design is off, the stitches are easy to pull out, so you can adjust your placement and try again.

pocket alignment tutorial - finished embroidery

Once you have the first piece placed, there are also alignment markings that stitch out on every piece. You can see these stitches just outside the pocket outline in the above image. When these marks match up, the center of the design comes together easily and without gaps. Even if the alignment marks are a little bit off, there is enough flexibility in the way the pieces are nested that you shouldn’t see any gaps in the finished pocket.

I hope you find this pocket alignment tutorial helpful. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments or come join us on Facebook and ask questions in the group.

 

18th century Pocket Alignment Tutorial

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