Posted on 26/01/201608/08/2024 by mavenpatterns

In-seam pocket Tutorial

I DO LOVE a side seam pocket. They are nicely hidden in the side seam so unobtrusive and don’t disrupt the line of a fantastically printed fabric. And I find it very annoying not having somewhere to shove my hands!

Our signature In-seam (side seam) pockets are a regular feature on Maven Sewing Patterns . My pockets may look a little unusual to you, but bear with me, I developed the pattern and technique especially to combat a few of the things that annoy me about pocket construction.

IN SEAM POCKET TUTORIAL_MAVEN PATTERNS-07

Problem 1: Overlocking

So, here’s the thing… you may look at the pocket bags on this pattern and think…Mrs M, really what the ???? I’ll admit they may look a little odd at first glance, with the curvy bit added, but I do have a very good reason: I feel this method gives a much better result.

My problem with the usual way of making pockets that sit at the side seam is you can’t overlock around the pocket bag in one easy motion. Generally, you are told to neaten the edge of each pocket bag separately which just isn’t as strong. And end up having to pull the seam ‘straight’ to catch all of it in the awkward little angle created, which is a pain and eventually the overlocking just pulls away in the wash leaving a raw fraying edge exposed. Mmmm…messy.

Side note – I’m going to say overlocking a lot but replace with zig zag stitch or your preferred seam neatening term.

Problem 2: Snipping

And the other problem, with some methods, was sometimes having to snip into the seam allowance to get them to lie flat in the direction you want. It’s a pet hate, I don’t like doing ‘the snipping’ . in fact, I hate snipping and clipping unless I REALLY have too because it makes a weak point on your seam.

Problem 3: Concealed

I wanted the seam off set from the side seam, so it was less visible.

So what I wanted was a pocket bag I could overlock everything easily and together so it is stronger, and NO snipping into the seam.And the pocket bag is set back a little from the side seam so shows less when being worn. And I wanted to press the side seam open. I thought I was really easy-going until I started writing sewing instructions!

The In-Seam pocket Tutorial

Firstly cut out your garment, make sure you cut 2 pairs of pocket bags (so you have 4 bags in total). Transfer the marker dot positions to your garment (chalk, tailor tacks – whatever works for you. I’ve used neon orange pen so it would show in the photos – I don’t recommend it!)

Spot fuse the strip of fusible interfacing to the pocket mouth on the FRONT body.

A NOTE ON SEAM ALLOWANCES – Images are shown with 1cm side seam allowance + 6mm seam allowance to attach pocket bag. Some patterns have different seam allowances; 1.5cm side seam allowance + 1cm seam allowance to attach pocket bag which will be shown on your pattern. These are shown in brackets below but the technique is the same!

Step 1

Place the pocket bags to the front and back garment, with right sides of the fabric facing each other, and so the notches on the pocket bags line up with the side seam notches and stitch together with a 6mm (1cm) seam allowance. Overlock (or neaten with your usual method) the raw edge of the pocket bag and garment together, starting and finishing about 3cm either side of pocket bag – (shown in green thread).

UPDATE – On the back seam – rather than starting the overlocking just above the pocket bag – start at the top of the seam and overlock the entire seam right down to the hem. It’ll save you having to go back and overlocking the rest of that seam later. Which means you’ll have 1 less process to do and save at least 30 seconds – you’re welcome!

Step 2

Press the pocket bags AWAY from the garment and understitch on the front pocket bags.

Step 3

SIDE SEAM:

Pin with right sides of fabric facing each other, line up the marker dots on the front body with the corresponding one on the back body.

Take a 1cm (1.5cm) seam allowance, start at the underarm and stitch down to the first marker dot, PIVOT * and stitch from the dot across the pocket bag until you are back at a 1cm (1.5cm) seam allowance on the pocket bag. (The stitch line is marked on the pattern piece, so you could transfer the line across with chalk and a ruler if you wanted).

Carry on around the pocket bag, and stitch TO the next marker dot, PIVOT again and continue down to the hem.

It’s a good idea to reinforce each of the corners at the pivot point as in-seam pockets can take quite a lot of stress. Set your machine to a smaller stitch length and just stitch a second machine row DIRECTLY ON TOP of your first row of stitching about 3cm either side of each marker dot.

Don’t forget to put your stitch length back to your normal setting.

*TO PIVOT – Stitch to the marker dot, leave your machine needle IN your garment, lift your machine foot and turn your work in the direction you want to stitch, drop your foot back down and continue to stitch – makes a nice tidy corner.

Step 4

Press the pocket bags towards the front body.

Press the side seams OPEN above and below the pocket bag, as far as you can. Overlock the front side seam first, all the way around the pocket bag – it’s easier because of the curved shape!!!

THIS NEXT STEP IS FROM THE ORIGINAL METHOD – you can skip this step if you are following the updated method and have already neatened the full length of the back seam. On the back side seam: overlock (shown in pink) from the top of the seam down to the pocket bag and overlap the new overlocking (pink thread) over the original overlocking (green thread), so there are no raw edges. Restart the overlocking below the pocket bag, again being sure to overlap as before, so the entire seam is neatened.

Give the pocket a gentle final press.

MAVEN PATTERNS_INSEAM POCKET TUTORIAL 2016

And from the right side…Tis a thing of beauty!

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Posted on 06/12/201520/10/2023 by mavenpatterns — 4 Comments

HOW TO SEW BIAS BINDING

Bias binding is such a useful technique and it’s not difficult to master, like everything a little practise makes perfect. Bias binding is a great way to finish the raw edge of a garment. It is hugely versatile and can be used on necklines, armholes, hems, pretty much anywhere really. You can buy ready made binding from your local haberdashery shop. I like to make my own and use up some of those scraps!

There are really two types of binding for our purposes:

DOUBLE BIAS BINDING

Will show on the right side of the garment. It can be decorative if made in a contrasting fabric.

SINGLE BIAS BINDING

It can be used in lieu of a facing on an armhole or neckline. Apart from a row of topstitching, only be seen on the inside.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to attach your bias binding tape. If you want to know how to cut, join, press and sew bias binding, go check out my BIG BIAS BINDING TUTORIAL.

How To sew Double Bias Binding

Double bias binding is used when you want to see it on the right side of a garment. It is both decorative and practical. YAY, One of my favourite combo’s!

Take your prepared binding and pin RIGHT side of binding to the RIGHT side of garment. Align the raw edges together. Machine stitch along the fold.

TIP: if you are binding a thicker fabric or a few layers of fabric, take a smaller seam allowance so you have extra binding where you need it to help accommodate that extra bulkiness.

Press binding AWAY from the garment.

Wrap binding over to the raw edge to WRONG side of garment. Position the folded edge of binding so your machine stitching is covered by a few millimetres. Pin to hold. Tack right on the edge of the binding to hold into place. Ensure you catch all the binding on the reverse side and just cover the machine stitch. Keep an even distance away from the binding on the front. Take your time to get this right now, the tack line will be a guide to your topstitching!

TWO OPTIONS TO FINISH:

OPTION 1: EDGE STITCH ON THE BINDING

Top stitch the binding to finish

With the right side of your garment facing you, edge stitch the binding. As long as you stitch to the inside of your tacking stitch, you know you’ve caught the back of the binding!

OPTION 2: If you don’t want your stitching to show on your binding try this method…

Finish your binding by Stitching in the Ditch (also known as sink stitch).

‘Stitch in the Ditch’ is a really useful technique to know, good for finishing waistbands as well as bindings. When stitched in the same colour as your main fabric the stitch line practically disappears as it settles into the seam.

Maven Patterns Bias binding tutorial 012

Position your machine needle in line with the groove (the ditch) of the seam, you are going to stitch right in that ditch, NEXT to the binding but not on it. And as long as you stitch to the inside of your tacking thread, you know you’ve caught your binding on the back 🙂

Just remove your tacking thread, and you’re done!

And another way to attach binding!

There is yet another way to attach bias binding to finish a raw edge!

This way was shared with me by Shelley, one of my lovely testers of the new Maven1832 patterns. Shelley was making the French dart with the bishop sleeve in a slippery fabric and found this was an easier way to attach the binding at the cuff.

It’s pretty similar to the above methods, except you attach to the wrong side of the fabric and flip binding to the right side of the fabric and stitch. This method only works with visible edgestitching but you might find it less fiddly if you are working with a tricky or slippery fabric.

It’s really a personal preference which way you prefer to sew your binding, but it’s always good to have more than one way to stitch something. Different fabrics do sometimes require a different method!

METHOD

Place the right side of binding to the wrong side of fabric and stitch in the fold to attach.

Fold binding over to the Right Side so all the raw edges are enclosed and the stitch line is covered. You can trim the seam allowance down a smidge if the biding doesn’t quite cover the stitch line.

And then, with the Right Side Up facing up, edgestitch the binding in place.

How To Sew Single Bias Binding

Single bias binding is used to finish a raw edge without it showing to the front of your garment, a great choice if you want a fuss free finish without a facing.

This isn’t everybody’s method, but this is the method I was taught by a sample machinist I worked with about 20 years ago, she called it the Cheat Method. I liked the method because it was quick and that binding NEVER frayed no matter how much I washed those garments (baby and kids clothes), must have been the combination of a folded edge and the extra understitching – great for linen fabrics. I’ve used this many times over the years instead of a having a flappy facing. The only drawback is some fabrics are just too bulky, but just bind anything too thick with a contrasting fabric and make a feature of the inside!

MAVEN PATTERNS SINGLE BINDING TUTORIAL 01

PRESS: Fold your binding in half and press.

ATTACH: Line up the raw edges of your binding with the raw edge of your garment, with right sides together.

Stitch with a 6mm seam allowance to attach.Press binding and seam allowances away from garment. Understitch (machine stitch an edge stitch through all the layers on the binding close to the seam.) The understitching is an optional step, there won’t be a disaster without it, but it does make the binding roll to the wrong side better and I think it makes the binding stronger.

Tack along the edge of the binding to hold in place, this will also give you a guide line for your next row of stitching.

Flip your garment over and topstitch with the right side up. If you stitch inside your tacking line so you know that you will catch all the binding!

(You can make narrower binding if you prefer…simple bit of maths… finished width of binding + seam allowance, x 2 = cutting width of binding.)

And that is how to sew bias binding!

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Posted on 06/12/201504/05/2025 by mavenpatterns

How to use the Layers Feature when printing PDF patterns

Have you ever wondered how to use the layers feature when printing a PDF sewing pattern? Our quick little guide will help you to easily turn layers within your PDF pattern on and off so you can just print the sizes you need. Using the layers feature in Adobe Reader when printing your PDF sewing pattern can make complicated patterns or ones with lots of sizes easier to follow and can help you save some ink, which has got to be a good thing .

Learn how to print and assemble a PDF sewing pattern at home with our easy and straight-forward PDF PRINTING GUIDE HERE.

HOW TO USE THE LAYERS FEATURE TO PRINT A PDF SEWING PATTERNS

The Layers tool is great, it means you can toggle sizes on and off and only print the size (or sizes) you want. I know, it’s really quite splendid! One snag, it’s currently only available on the desktop version, not the mobile App version of Adobe Reader.

So how does it work? Well, want to make a size 16? Toggle off to ‘Hide’ the other sizes and just print that one size 16. Or, are you between a size 10 and 12? Turn off the other sizes and leave the two sizes you want visible before printing, this makes it easy to see and blend your between your sizes now.

No more pick a line, and hope you’re cutting the correct one for your size, there only is your size. And, as a little added bonus, only printing the size you want saves ink too!

Oh yeah, like I said, layers is a great feature!

So you’re convinced LAYERS is amazing, so here’ s how to use the layers feature:

(Not convinced? You can just leave them all on and carry on as usual and print the full range of sizes)

Open up your layered pattern and make sure you are using the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

On the left you can see a menu, look for the LAYERS icon. It looks like 3 diamonds (or sheets of paper, I can’t decide) on top of each other.

Click the LAYERS icon to open and a panel will fly out, showing two options if you have a combined instruction and pDf pattern file. The first bar is for the Maker Instructions (the instructions have NO layers) and the second bar is for the PATTERN (later patterns will not show the instructions option).

CLICK the + icon on the PATTERN HEADER BAR to release the DROP DOWN MENU.

TA-DA! All the layers are listed so you can easily select your size(s). To toggle the layers on and off, just click the eyeball icon next to each layer name.

Leave the eyeball ON to print a layer, eyeball OFF to hide a layer. Now you see it, now you don’t!

LOCKED LAYERS

For this pattern you can see two layers are locked, the pocket layer and the tiling layer that contains pattern and the print test square information relevant to every size. This will vary slightly from pattern to pattern but the locked layers will protect the layers you really don’t want to turn off by mistake.

TOP TIP: Before you print, just double-check you have everything you want to print selected because the only thing worse than a pattern with lots of lines, is a pattern without any lines! And don’t forget to print the test square.

So there you go, all the benefits of a layered pattern in one little post. Enjoy!

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See The PDF Pattern Printing Tutorial

Posted on 16/09/201520/06/2019 by mavenpatterns — 6 Comments

The Maria Wrap Apron UPDATE

The Maria Wrap Apron - PDF Sewing Pattern

The Maria Wrap Apron Update

I’ve done a little re-vamp on the maker instructions for The Maria Wrap Apron.

I’ve added some hyperlinks – Wahoo! – so now if you are viewing your instructions on a screen you can get a direct link to the relevant tutorial if you need it.

I know a lot of you view your instructions on iPads or laptops while sewing up a storm, so hyperlinks can be really useful. Personally, I have to print everything as the computer/office bit/corner of the kitchen is downstairs and sewing studio is upstairs. Obviously, hyperlinks won’t work if you print your instructions as I have too… I’m good but I’m not that good 😉 I’ve also added some pretty colours, because Hey! pretty colours…well, why the hell not?

So just for clarity: there are NO CHANGES TO THE ACTUAL PATTERN OR HOW TO MAKE THE APRON, I’ve just added a few little pretties so the maker instructions have the same features that are already on The Wendy Smock instructions.

If you have already bought The Maria Wrap Apron PDF sewing pattern and would like an updated Maker Instruction file, send me an ETSY convo and I am very happy to email you one – for FREE!

What other features do you like to see in your patterns and maker instructions?

Lots of detail and explanation?

Or do you do the same as my friend Maria (the inspiration for The Maria Wrap Apron) She may (maybe) give the maker instructions a fleeting, cursory glance before completely ignoring them and doing her own thing, only going back to the instructions if necessary. I’m with Maria (it’s why we’re friends, that and we bonded over how much we hated cooking the small people’s tea after school – it cut into valuable making time – true story. Beer and curry is also part of that story, but I’ll spare you that part…). I’m just firmly of the opinion there is more than one correct way to stitch anything, and you learn from each mistake. So ignore away if that works for you, or read every word and ask all the questions you like – it’s all good ladies!