“Pockets make everything better”, said everyone every day everywhere. Have you ever been on the fence about buying a dress, but then the moment you find out it has pockets are 100% committed to buying it? I’m guilty.

I had just made a new, striped tee shirt dress and found myself looking for a place to put my phone while walking around at a backyard party. If only this dress had pockets… oh wait, I made this, and can most definitely add them!

Adding pockets to a dress is totally easy, and you only need a few scraps of fabric to do it. I used leftover fabric from my tee shirt dress to make sure the pockets appeared hidden, but any complementing fabric will work. One thing you should note before adding pockets to something is that it may make the item a little bulkier, especially depending on the fabric you use, so use caution when making this decision. Make your life easier, and follow this tutorial for adding pockets to your dresses! Scroll below to see the full tutorial.

How to Add Pockets to a Dress Sewing Tutorial

Supplies:

Matching or complementing fabric – Four 8″ x 8″ squares
Thread to match dress
Sewing machine
Seam ripper
Pins
Pencil
Scissors

1. Start by turning your dress inside out and marking with a pencil the place where you want your pockets to start on either side of your hips. Take the dress off and seam rip the sides of the dress starting at the marks you made and moving downward so that you have about a 5-6″ hole on each side. Turn the dress back right side out.

2. Take your 8″ x 8″ fabric swatches and cut them in to the shapes shown so you have two pockets with fronts and backs. Take these pieces of fabric and pin them to the front and back of the dress at the seam that you ripped as shown with the drooping part of the pocket hanging down. Sew along the straight sides of the pocket pieces to attach them to the front and back of the dress, leaving an opening in the middle.

3. Turn the dress inside out and pin the front and back pocket pieces together along the curved edges. Sew along the side of the dress where you seam ripped at the top, then turn the seam to follow the curved edges of the pockets. Continue along the edges of the pocket until you get back to the seam of the dress and connect it.

Turn your dress right side out and you will have a perfectly pocketed dress!