Sewing Tiny Pockets - The Edwardian Pocket

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Sewing Tiny Pockets! Shari is taking the lead for this course, over the next 4 installments she'll be introducing new patterns and demonstrating pocket sewing techniques. We'll be mixing in some samples of historical fashion sprinkled with some modern day pockets from Liberty Jane too! Pockets, as we know them today, are a relatively recent addition to clothing that evolved from pouches that were simply tied to onto a belt over ones clothing. These pouches were an easy target for thieves, however, who found they could quickly cut the ties of these pouches and run off with whatever valuables were inside. By the 17th century, men began having pockets sewn into their garments to provide a more secure place to carry their belongings. Women, not wanting to mar their carefully fashioned silhouettes with bulky pockets, began wearing detachable pockets under their wide skirts that could be accessed through slits in the petticoat or dress. This was a perfect solution until the beginning of the 19th century when the thin filmy Regency style dresses became fashionable. Again, to protect their carefully fashioned silhouettes, ladies began carrying a new and more elegant version of the pouch called a reticule. This new pouch was the precursor to the modern purse and was carried on a string instead of worn at the waist. When full skirts became popular again during the Victorian period, some women went back to wearing pockets under their skirts, but the popularity of the reticule remained which would lead to the invention of the modern day purse in 1841. When the Rational Dress Society was founded in 1891, the members encouraged women to dress for health, ditching corsets, form fitting bodices, and full skirts in favor of boneless stays, shirtwaists, and lighter skirts that allowed for easy movement, especially for bicycling. The influence of the Rational Dress Society hit its pinnacle around the turn of the century, when men’s suits often sported up to 15 pockets. It was during this time that the fight for the right of women to vote took on steam and by 1910 suffragette suits with at least 6 pockets became all the rage. Despite the move towards more rational dress, women still had a penchant for feminine details. It wasn’t long before a wide range of decorative, yet functional, pockets became a way of embellishing the otherwise plain skirts produced by the rational dress movement. Edwardian ladies reworked the simple patch pocket in a myriad of ways. I was particularly drawn to this casual looking pouch design, so I’m going to start out our pocket topic by showing you how it is drafted. Find the Thimbles and Acorns Edwardian A-line Skirt pattern HERE.This pocket looks great on the simple A-line skirts of the Edwardian period, but it has a kind of timeless look to it that would work equally as well on modern garments.

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