How to Sew a Utility Overskirt with Pockets | Sewing Tutorial

Hello everybody! In this tutorial we're going to be making a utility overskirt. You can wear the utility overskirt, over a pair of pants a skirt, a dress, over a jacket. this pattern is designed to be made high waisted. Of course you could trim like the upper section if you wanted to make it lower-waisted. If you do that, you'll need to lengthen the lower part of the upper skirt so that you still have enough room for the pockets without having to resize them. The inspiration for this project are these workwear aprons traditionally worn by craftspeople such as carpenters, jewelers, gardeners. And then when I posted on Instagram, you guys told me about this tie-on pockets that women used to wear back in the 17th to 19th centuries, in Europe, over or under their clothes. And I had no idea about that. I love it so much. You'll need some marking tools and erasable pen or a chalk. You want a fabric with some structure with little to no stretch, such as a heavyweight twill like chino, gabardine, denim upholstery, fabric or duck canvas For sportier look, you could also pick nylon. It doesn't necessarily need to be extremely heavy, but it should have enough body and rigidity to hold the shape of the overskirt and its pockets. You will also need some interfacing for the facings, the pocket flaps and the belt. This overskirt is not lined. Instead, the upper edge and center front edges are finished with facings. If you would prefer to line your overskirt, you could cut the front and back pieces a second time in lining fabric or in the same fabric. You could, then assemble the outer overskirt and the lining separately before sewing them together, leaving a hole and turning everything right side out. You will also need some bias tape to bind the raw edges of the facings. And finally we need a slider buckle for the belt. If you want something with a sportier look, you could use a side release buckle instead. You could also choose a hook style closure. This really comes down to the look that you want for your overskirt, and maybe what you envision pairing it with. Okay, let's get into it. Let me show you the pattern pieces. We have the front cut twice mirrored and the back cut on the fold. Then we have the front and back facings which are interfaced. We also have the pocket cut twice and the pocket flap cut four times. The pocket flaps are also interfaced. Then we have the tie loops cut twice. And these ties which will be part of the pocket closure. On the right we have the belt, the belt loops and the slider buckle. I actually have two buckles here because I haven’t yet decided which one I want to use. And finally we have some bias tape. The bias tape is optional. I'm going to use it to finish the raw edges of the facing. But you could simply finish this edge with an overlocker instead. Let's take a closer look at the pockets. As you can see, there are quite a few lines on the paper pattern, but the most important ones are these ones because they are just stitching lines. The other lines indicate where the folds will form. If you sew the pocket correctly, these folds will naturally fall into place, so you don't need to worry about transferring the fold lines. Before we start sewing, make sure you have fused the interfacing to all the pieces that require it. We also need to transfer a few markings. Transfer the darts onto the wrong side of the fabric, and the loops and pocket placement markings onto the right side. For the pocket placement, I'm not transferring all four corners. I'm only marking the two corners closest to the center front. When you transfer these two points make sure they're positioned symmetrically on both front pieces. This is going to help us position the pockets evenly later on. All right let's start by sewing all the darts. We have two darts at the front and two at the back. We're working on the wrong side of the fabric. Fold each dart with right sides together, matching the dart legs, and stitch from the wider end towards the point. Once the darts are sewn, we can press them, placing a small piece of cardboard underneath each dart. While pressing, on some fabrics, the thickness of the dart and its seam allowance can leave an impression on the right side of the fabric. When pressed, the cardboard creates a barrier underneath the dart and prevents that ridge from being pressed onto the fabric and showing through on the right side. We're now going to make the pocket loops. I have this long rectangular strip of fabric. First I'm going to finish one of the two long edges. Doesn't matter which one. First, I fold the raw, unfinished edge towards the center, and I press it, and then I fold the finished edge over the first one and I press again. We can now topstitch close to both long edges. This is what we get. Fold the strip in half to find the center, Then cut it into two equal pieces Before setting them aside, head back to your ironing board and press both ends of each loop under by one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch. You can set aside. For now, let's concentrate on the front pockets. Make sure you have transferred the pocket loop placement onto the right side of the fabric. Right now my fabric is actually wrong side up, I marked the loop placement on the wrong side, that's completely useless. We need the marking on the right side. Let's take our first pocket. The wrong side of the fabric is facing us. Fold the pocket right sides together Stitch along these lines. Now we want to clip into the corners and trim some of the seam allowances. This is what we have at this stage. Let's head over to the ironing board. There are quite a few pressing steps coming up. First, fold the seam allowances into position as I'm doing and press them. Once that's done, you can turn the pocket right side out. As you can see, the fold naturally start forming and the pocket falls into shape. Now fold these edges into position and press them. The important thing here is to let about one millimeter of the fabric underneath peek out beyond the fold. Wait a second. I’ll show you better. Here. This is what I mean. do this along all three edges. Now let's look at the upper edge of the pocket. I'm drawing a line two centimeters from the top edge. Fold the raw edge up to meet this line. Then fold it over once more, essentially creating a double-fold hem along the pocket opening. We can now topstitch the upper edge of the pocket with two rows of stitching. The second is approximately 1.8 to 2 cm from the edge. Now take one of the pocket loops and position it over the loop placement marking on the right side of the pocket. Make sure it is centered and straight. Topstitch the loop securely at both ends. This is what we have now, which means we are ready to attach the pocket to the front. position in the pocket. Using the two placement markings we transferred earlier. I think it's a good idea to position the second pocket. On the other front at the same time, this allows you to compare both sides and make sure the pockets are positioned at exactly the same distance from the center front edges. You really want the pocket to look symmetrical, so take your time with this step. Once everything is pinned in place, lift this upper section of the pocket and start stitching just underneath the hem. Make sure the seam allowances are properly tucked inside before you stitch over them. Topstitch all around the three outer edges of the pocket. Once that’s done, we can reinforce the two corners of the pocket opening with small rectangular areas of topstitching. And congratulations, you've made your pockets! Before assembling the front and back, we're going to finish a few raw edges I have the back in front of me, right side up. Place the two front pieces on top right side, down pin the side seams and stitch them with one centimeter or 3/8 inch seam allowance. We can now press the seam allowances open. Let's move on to the pocket ties. We have four of them, so you could make these ties in the same way you would make bias tape namely by folding both long edges towards the center, then folding the strip in half. I'm showing you this option right now. The thing is, I realized that my fabric was too thick for this option. The result was uneven at the tips. So I moved to another method, which I'll show you right after. So if you prefer the bias method, here's how to manage the ends. And again, in my case the result looks uneven at the tips, and it’s really because of the bulk. With thinner fabric, the result should be very clean. So here's the second method. It’s basically about making the ties in the same way as the pocket loops we made earlier. Take the strip and finish one long edge. I finished both edges here, that isn't necessary. You only need to finish one edge at the board. Fold the raw and finished edge towards the center and press. Then fold the finished edge over it and press again Trim the corners slightly before folding it in as I'm doing here. This gives us a cleaner finish at the tip. We can now topstitch. Repeat the same process until you have four ties. Make and attach the pocket flaps. Each pocket flap is made of two ties, as well as two flap pieces. As you can see, my pocket flap pieces have been interfaced Notice that the pocket flap has a top and a bottom. It has a slightly trapezoidal shape. The upper edge is shorter and the lower edge is longer. Fold the flap in half temporarily to mark the center. Now position the ties along the lower edge of the flap, Matching the raw ends with the edge of the flap Center them carefully. Place the second flap piece on top right sides together and pin everything in place. We’re going to sew along three edges leaving the upper edge open. Once that's done, clip the corners to reduce bulk fold and press the seam allowances into position. Give it another good press. we can now topstitch along edges of the flap. Then sew a second line one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch from the edge. Fold the flap along this second stitching line, one centimeter from the edge. Make sure you fold the seam allowances towards the underside of the flap. Press this fold carefully. At this stage, the flap should look like this. Let's take one of the front pieces. Position the flap directly above the pocket and make sure it is centered. The seam allowance on the upper edge of the flap should come right against the upper edge of the pocket. Pin the flap in place. Again, if your fabric is very thick, you can use tape as I'm doing here. Now stitch directly on top of the existing stitching line, one centimeter from the raw edge of the flap. Trim the seam allowance down to approximately 2 to 3mm. Fold the flap down over the pocket. We can now secure it with two rows of topstitching. One closer to the upper folded edge of the flap, and a second one approximately one centimeter below it. Once that's done, repeat the same step for the second pocket flap. All right. This is what our overskirt looks like at this stage. Before moving on, let's take a moment to finish the entire lower raw edge. with the overlocker. we're now going to take care of the belt loops. We have this long strip of fabric Finish one of the two long edges. We're going to fold the strips into thirds. Fold the raw and finished edge towards the center and press. Then fold the finished edge over it and press again. Topstitch close to both long edges. cut the strip along the marked lines to separate the individual belt loops. On each belt loop, Fold one end under by one centimeter in press, leaving the opposite end raw. If you haven't already transferred the belt loop placement markings onto the overskirt, go back to the pattern and do that now. Place the first belt loop onto the overskirt Align the raw and folded end of the belt loop with the upper edge of the overskirt. Stitch in place using a seam allowance slightly smaller than one centimeter. This is what we have now. Bring the folded end into position and topstitch it securely to the overskirt. Repeat for all the belt loops once they're attached. Take a moment to check that everything is positioned symmetrically. Let's take the two front facing and place them on the table right side up. Place the back facing on top, wrong side up so the pieces are now right sides together at the side. seams. pin the side seams and stitch them with a one-centimeter or 3/8 inch seam allowance. Press the seam allowances open. There are several ways to finish the outer edge of the facing. The simplest option is to overlock it, which I’m going to do first. If you want a more elegant finish, you can bind this edge with bias tape instead, which is what I'm going to do afterwards. And this is the finished result. The facing is now ready to be attached to the overskirt. Place the facing against the overskirt, right sides together, matching the edges and seams. then stitch the facing to the overskirt with a one centimeter or 3/8 inch seam allowance. Once that's done, it's a good idea to take a minute to check that the two fronts are symmetrical in particular. Check that the pockets sit at the same distance from the center front edge on both sides. Once you’re happy with everything, trim the seam allowance at the corners and clip into the curves. We’re going to understitch the seam allowances to the facing. before understitching. Press the seam allowances towards the facing and flatten them carefully. Then understitch close to the seam through the facing and both layers of seam allowance. This will help keep the facing neatly rolled towards the inside of the overskirt. Now take a moment to hand stitch the facings to the side seam allowances. Let's make the lower hem before giving the entire facing its final press. The finished hem will be one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch. If it helps, you can draw a line two centimeters from the lower edge to use as a folding guide. At each lower front, fold the facing back over the lower edge of the overskirt. Right sides together. Stitch across the bottom of the facing with a one-centimeter or 3/8 inch seam allowance. Clip the corners to reduce bulk. Then turn the facing right side out. Head back to the board Press the facing so that the center front corners are nice and crisp. Fold the remaining lower edge of the overskirt up by one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch, and press the hem into place. And this is what we have at this point. The skirt itself is now finished, and All we have left to do is to make the belt. All right. This is our belt. I could not cut mine as one continuous piece, so I cut in several sections. Stitch them together and press the seam allowances. Open. At first I thought my fabric was thick enough so that could skip the interfacing, but I changed my mind and added it afterwards. So I would recommend interfacing the belt. Even if you're working with a fairly substantial fabric. Take your belt to the board and press both long edges towards the wrong side by one centimeter or 3/8 of an inch. You don't need to press the short ends Once both long edges have been folded and pressed. This is what the belt should look like. Now take one short end and fold the belt right sides together. Stitch across the short end with a one centimeter or 3/8 inch seam allowance. Repeat at the other end. Trim the seam allowances at the corners to reduce bulk. Then turn both ends right side out. Now fold the entire belt in half lengthwise and press it carefully, keeping the right side of the fabric on the outside. We can now topstitch the belt to close it and give it a clean finished look. And this is the result. The final step is to attach the slider buckle. If you're right handed, I recommend positioning the slider buckle on your left hand side Personally. I also want the side of the belt with the visible joining seams to face downwards. Thread one end of the belt through the center bar of the slider buckle. Fold the end back on itself and stitch it securely in place. all that's left to do now is thread the belt through the belt loops and try on your skirt. I intentionally made this belt quite long because I like the way it looks. I’m worried that such a long belt isn’t necessarily the most practical, so feel free to shorten yours to whatever length works best for you. I’m really excited to see what you create. I think this is such a fun and visually interesting project. and I'm especially curious to see how you style yours and what you pair it with. Thank you so much for sewing with me. I'll see you very soon for another sewing project. Kiss.