Allegro Sew Along Day Two

May 19, 2020 | Allegro Pants & Skirt | 1 comment

Every great pair of shorts, pants and skirt is made even better with the addition of pockets! On Day Two of the Allegro Sew Along, we will be constructing the front pockets and the back pockets. The steps are the same, no matter what version of the Allegro you are sewing. Let’s sew!

I’ll be using the shorts for this part of the tutorial. The fabric I’m using is rayon twill from Style Maker Fabrics. Yesterday, we chatted about all the fabrics I’m using for the sew along from our sponsors The Fabric Fairy and Style Maker Fabrics. I also went over how to measure to determine your size and how to make adjustments to get the perfect fit.

Sewing the front pocket

If you are using a particularly loose weave fabric with lots of drape, you may want to interface the edge of the pocket bag with some light woven interfacing. I really like SF101 for the majority of my sews.

Place your Allegro front face up on your table. Then, place the pocket bag right side down, lining up the diagonal edge of both pieces. Sew along the diagonal edge with a straight stitch. If you want, you can finish the edge with a serger or an overlock stitch.

Open the seam and press with the seam allowance towards the pocket back. Understitch the seam allowance to the pocket back. Understitching is when you stitch the seam allowance to the bottom piece only. It’s like topstitching, for the bottom layer only. Use a straight stitch. I like to lengthen it a little bit, to about a 3.6 length.

Flip the pocket back to the wrong side of the Allegro front. The wrong side of the pocket bag will be against the wrong side of the front. Press well. Yes, I know what you are thinking, lots of pressing. Pressing makes a bit difference in your finished piece! Always press after each seam!

Place the pocket lining right side down on the pocket bag. Line up the curves and the side seams and top seams. Stitch in place around the curved section. Finish the raw edge. The baste the pocket into place along the top and side seams. (black stitching below) That’s it! Repeat on the other front piece.

Sewing the back pocket

The fabric I’m using for the back pocket portion is this melon tencel twill from Style Maker Fabrics. Remember to transfer your pattern markings! I used pins to mark the fold marks on the pocket piece.

Finish the top edge of the pocket piece. Fold the top towards the RIGHT side. Stitch the sides 3/8″ from the side.

If you want to finish the edges of the pocket, now is a great time.

Flip the top of the pocket over to the wrong side. I use a chop stick to push the corners of the pockets out. Fold the sides in 3/8″ to the wrong side and press well.

Topstitch the folded edge of the pocket into place.

I topstitched with two lines of stitching. The first is 5/8″ from the edge and the second is 7/8″ from the edge. Make sure you backstitch at the beginning and end of the topstitching to secure it.

Pin your pockets into place on the back piece. I am going to leave my pockets pinned into place until I can try my Allegro on. Pocket placement can be pretty personal and it’s not uncommon to have to move them around a bit based on how you want your pockets to sit.

That is all we have for today! Tomorrow we will sew the side seams. A member of our Facebook Group requested a cargo pocket hack. I thought that was a brilliant idea! So tomorrow, I will share that with you. I hope you can join me!

Missed the Facebook Live video? View it below from the Love Notions YouTube Channel!

https://youtu.be/qcjiMDmauc4

A big big thank you for our sponsors for the Allegro Sew Along!

Style Maker Fabrics and The Fabric Fairy both provided the fabrics you see in this series. I will be using this gorgeous fabrics all week to create Allegro shorts, skirts and pants! Members of our Facebook Support Group will have a chance to win a gift certificate to each The Fabric Fairy and Style Maker Fabrics and Love Notions Patterns for sewing along with me!