Waffle Patterns are marvelous, especially for those of us who love pockets and clever engineering. I´m never likely to wear a short skirt, but I loved the hanging pocket on Waffle´s Anzu skirt, so I bought the pattern just for the pocket.
Image of a brown canvas pocket with angled corners,
and a diagonal front pocket with an embroidered band
sewn across the diagonal. There is a zipper barely visible
along the top, and two canvas belt loops behind the zipper.
Then, of course, I changed it up quite a bit.
First, I´d better admit a major blogging failure; I didn´t take photos as I constructed the pocket. For a variety of reasons, it took me a month to make this (very straightforward!) item, and there just wasn´t enough energy to manage step-by step photos along the way. So we have photos, but not very good ones!
First, though, is the plan. I knew I wanted to change things up a little bit, and, specifically, I wanted internal pockets to match my typical use case. Here´s the original scheme:
Image of a rough, handwritten, plan showing
pieces and layout for the pocket bag.
Much of this scribbling became obsolete, but it was helpful to start out with a basic layout.
Originally, I planned to use brass snaps for closures, and to have a wide band through which a supporting belt would fit, but I quickly changed my mind about those. (You can see small circles above where snaps were planned, and the layout of what was meant to be the band for the belt.) I wanted a lighter pocket, and realized that I´d rather have closed belt loops, too.
Image of the pocket bag looking into the inner pocket below
the front diagonal zipper. The upper edge of a canvas internal
pocket can just be seen inside the opened zipper.
There is a diagonal exposed zipper across the front of the Anzu pocket. I switched that up to a (more or less) concealed one, and added an embroidered tape across the top. This was a good thing, since the bag would be utterly boring (and perhaps even grim!) without that accent!
Inside the front, zippered pocket, I added a fairly large pocket for transit passes, etc.. You can just see it in the photo above, inside the open zipper, above the decorative band.
Image of the area behind the front diagonal pocket, showing
a cotton pocket with bound edges, set to the right of the pocket space.
The area behind this front panel is open, and I added a slender, deep, pocket inside, as well as several loops at the sides, so that my phone or another small object could be clipped securely inside. This pocket, too, is just visible above.
I added a second zipper which runs across the back panel, giving me a second enclosed pocket space, and added an internal pocket, and loops, here, too. Below, the zipper is open, and you can just see the pocket (it´s made of quilting cotton) on the left. I off-set this pocket with the one inside the front, to reduce bulk.
Image of the main large pocket formed by joining the front
and back panels. The open zipper reveals a barely visible,
bound, cotton pocket at the left.
The Anzu pocket is open at the top, with a wide gusset at the front, and a narrower opening at the back. Though I could see the utility of the open front, in the end I realized that a narrower opening would serve my purposes better, so I eliminated the gusset in the front, making my pocket quite flat.
My assembly process was straightforward:
1. Assembled the front diagonal zipper front (pocket plus backing layer).
2. Added an internal pocket on the full front piece, behind where the diagonal front pocket would sit.
3. Lay the assembled diagonal front onto the full front piece, set it aside.
4. Attached an internal pocket to the wrong side of the full backing piece, off-set so that the internal pockets wouldn´t lie on top of each other.
5. Hemmed an additional pocket, which opens below the back panel, and attached it to the right side of the full backing panel. This layer was not part of the Anzu pocket scheme; I added it because I do like an open back pocket.
6. I added the belt loops to the back panel before adding the zipper.
Image of the back of the brown canvas pocket bag, showing
the open back pocket which is hemmed so that it opens
just below the top zipper which unites the front and back
panels of the pocket.
7. With the fronts and backs basted separately in place, I attached the second zipper along the top of the front and back panels.
8. Then I put the panels right sides together and stitched them up, leaving the zipper partially open for turning.
9. That was it! Well, except for the belt . . .
10. Which I made of brown webbing, with a flat buckle and a tri-glide clip, so that it could be adjusted:
Image of a brown canvas pocket bag with a darker brown
webbing belt threaded through two loops at the top.
The belt has a flat, black, buckle.
If you are a pocket-loving fiend (like me!) you might want to check out Waffle Pattern´s 23+ Pocket pattern. It´s a gem! I own it, too, but, as it happened, this cargo version comes only with the Anzu skirt.
(I have no affiliation with Waffle Patterns except as a paying consumer, but I know thrilling patterns when I see them!)