Fern sewalong: sewing the pockets

Now we get to sewing! If you haven't sewn in a while and would like a quick reminder on how to wind your bobbin and thread up your machine, have a look at our YouTube videos below.

Sewing the darts

Sew the darts on the front and back shorts pieces. Start at the top edge and gently taper your stitching to a point for a neat finish.

Once you're done, press the darts towards the side seams.

Sewing the pockets

Start with your shorts front piece facing up. Then, place the pocket piece right side down onto the shorts front.

Sew in place, then flip to the inside and press.

Place the hip yoke pocket in front of you, right side facing up. Match the shorts front with the placement line, essentially covering the shaded area that was on the pattern piece. Make sure the pocket pieces line up with each other on the reverse!

Joining the pockets

Sew all the way around the pocket pieces to join. You can see here that I have overlocked the edges to finish them. If you have an overlocker, you can do the same, otherwise a zig-zag stitch to stop fraying works just as well!

You'll notice that the top of the pocket where it meets the waistline is still a bit flappy. This will get resolved later when we set the waistband. But for now, baste the pocket in place. I like to do this with a line of large hand-tacking in a contrasting colour, so it's easy to spot and remove later.

Cool!

There's little I love more than great, deep pockets. And now you're sorted! Next week, we'll move on to stitching the side seams and making our belt loops.

Remember, you can share your progress with us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook using the hashtags #fernsewalong #fernshorts #sewingfern and #afternoonpatterns

Running behind? Catch up with what happened last time when we cut out our pieces.