When Bad Things Happen to Good Pockets

Friends, I have good news and bad news.

First the good news: I zipped up to the Garment District today, selected some elegant horn buttons for my nearly completed suit, and had buttonholes made at Jonathan Embroidery.

Here are my buttons:

Here are my buttonholes:

Now the bad news:

Back home, I started attaching my buttons, starting with the single-welt back pockets on my pants. Suddenly, I noticed something strange, and why I hadn't noticed it before, I really don't know: there was no facing behind the welt.

Even when the pocket is button closed, you're treated to a flash of this:

Needless to say, this realization had me ready to spit. Normally when I make a single (or double) welt back pocket, a fashion-fabric facing is stitched onto the pocketing in the area that will end up directly behind the pocket opening. How could I have missed that?

I looked at the pattern pieces: no back pocket facing. I looked at the pattern instructions: no reference to attaching a back pocket facing. I looked at the cutting diagram: sure enough, Willi Smith had you cut the pocket bag out of your fashion fabric so there'd be no need for a pocket facing (piece number 29 below):

OK, I'm sorry, but WHO CUTS THEIR POCKET BAG OUT OF THEIR FASHION FABRIC? Nobody I know!

I did the only thing I could do, the only thing you would do: I stitched my pockets permanently closed. If truth be told, I would never put anything in the back pocket of a pair of dress pants anyway.

Much better:

For what would end up being a pair of faux pockets, I certainly invested a lot of time and effort, but given the alternative, I believe I made the right call, don't you?

In other news, there's a lovely vintage Forties pattern on Etsy at the moment that's well-priced ($15 or less in my book) but I just don't think those (lantern?) sleeves would suit Cathy. If you like it (and it's still available when you read this) please grab it and, hopefully, make it. (I have no relationship with the seller, btw, I just like the pattern.)

When I see pattern deals that I can't take advantage of, I do try to alert anyone I can think of who might be interested (Only last week Laura Mae called me an enabler -- the nerve). Perhaps I should make this a regular feature of my blog.

Readers, that's all for now. I hope to get my suit photographed this weekend and posted early next week. As for those pockets, live and learn.

Have a great day, everybody!