So Jess Sew - George and Ginger Monna Hoodie. Plus, How to Sew Welt Pockets

G&G Monna Hoodie

George and Ginger just released a new pattern called the Monna Hoodie. It's super cute and unique. Have you ever seen a hoodie like this? It has a an overlapping criss-cross hood, a piping style trim piece at the bust with gathers on each side, and welt pockets. How fancy is that?! It's also on sale until Friday (3/1/19) for only $6.75 which is 25% off. No code needed! Click HERE to see it on the GG website.

*This post contains affiliate links, which just means that if you buy something after clicking the link, I get a few cents to help bring you great blog posts!

Never done welt pockets before? Don't be intimidated, they are actually not that bad, scroll down for a step by step tutorial including how to finish the seams as you go. 

I made this one out of thin sweater knits. (Blue is from Sincerely Rylee and the striped grey was in a sweater knit scrap pack from Knitpop.) I actually helped test this pattern. For a previous test, I used a ribbed cotton spandex and for the trim, a thick doodles half knit/half woven fabric. You might have seen that one on my Instagram @sojesssew. It's purple and had a thicker trim piece, and I liked that with the more stable material, the hood sits up a bit. But it's cute either way.

I sewed a few hoodies for the minis as well. For the kids, I used the Love Notions Vanguard if you're interested. It comes with pants too, which I haven't made yet. This is the hoodie color blocked version A in 2t and 4t.

Welt Pockets 

Step-by-Step Instructions including how to finish the seams as you go.

Just a quick note before I start the tutorial. The instructions provided from George and Ginger are actually awesome. I did not need any further guidance the first time I made the pockets using Kristi's instructions directly from the PDF file. However, it might be helpful to see more pictures and I wanted to show you how to add interfacing and how to finish the pockets as you go, since its hard to get in there after the fact on some parts. Since it's knit, you don't have to finish the seams, but if it were woven you would need to (the instructions don't change for woven pockets) and it just makes it look nicer inside.

1. Mark the placement of the welt pockets from the pattern pieces. You can do this with tailors chalk or or another similar fabric marker. I like to use pins and stick them through the pattern piece into the fabric in several places to make sure I'm drawing the lines in the correct place. It's easiest to mark this right after you have the piece cut out so that your fold is aligned perfectly. *I learned a super neat trick on Facebook that I wish I had thought of. If you cut the pocket out, you can just mark it directly through the hole you made. How smart is that?!

2. Cut out the pocket pieces, as well as 4 interfacing pieces, 2 for each the pocket binding and facing pieces. Iron the interfacing onto the binding and facing fabric pieces. I used Pellon Interfacing for thin fabrics. You can pick this up at any fabric store or online. If you are using a very stable or thick knit like cotton spandex, then you may not need to add the interfacing. However, if you are using a thinner or less stable fabric like sweater knit or rayon spandex, the interfacing will help the pocket stay the right shape and make the whole process easier.

Be sure to have the bubble side down facing the wrong side of the fabric. This is important so that you don't end up with the interfacing stuck to your iron instead! (Ask me how I know). 

2. Fold the welt pocket binding piece (the fatter pocket piece) hot dog style, wrong sides together. Sew a basting stitch (longest length stitch your machine has - a 4 or 5) on the long side with a 1/2" seam allowance from the raw edges. Then optionally, finish the raw edges with a sewing machine or serger.

3. Sew a basting stitch all the way around the welt pocket placement lines you made in step one. You should have a long skinny rectangle of stitches on your fabric.

Now put the binding piece over top the pocket placement stitches you made, with the folded edge facing in toward the center of the bodice. Align the basting stitches on the binding piece with the inner side of the placement stitches. The binding piece will stick out past your basted placement lines by 1/2 inch on top and bottom.

Sew the binding piece along the inner basted placement lines, starting a 1/2 inch below the top of the binding piece and ending 1/2 inch before the end of the binding piece (so you start sewing at the top of the rectangle and stop a the bottom of the rectangle).

4. With right sides together, sew the welt pocket facing to one of the large pocket pieces with an 1/2" seam allowance.

If you want to finish the seams here, separate the facing's raw edge from the pocket's raw edge. Then zigzag or serge the edges separately as shown in the photo below.

5. Flip the facing up and sew basting stitches a 1/2" from the raw edge at the top of the facing. Optionally, you can zigzag or serge the raw edge.

6.  Sew the pocket/facing piece to the outer side of the pocket placement line. Align the basted lines you sewed on the top of the facing piece with the outer basted pocket placement lines. Stitch starting 1/2" from the top and stop sewing 1/2" from the bottom of the facing/pocket piece.

7. Now here's the scary part...pull the stitched seams away from the center of the pocket placement rectangle and cut a tiny hole directly in the center of the rectangle. Now make a cut vertically in the center of long rectangle stopping about an inch before the top and bottom edges. Here you will cut diagonally out to the corners on both ends forming two triangles, don't snip through your stitches! See picture below.

8. Pull both the facing and binding pieces through the hole to the wrong side of the garment. Make sure your triangles pressed out of the way of the hole.

9. Allow the pocket binding piece (the fatter one without the big piece attached to it) to lay down flat and using a 1/2" seam allowance, sew the second large pocket piece to the top of the binding piece matching the raw edges. Be sure to only sew the facing and pocket pieces together, and NOT the flap from the bodice.

Optionally, you can zigzag or serge the raw edges.

10. Line up the pocket piece tops and make sure all the pieces are laying flat. The best way to check if you have this part correct is to align the pieces and then flip the garment over to see if the welt pocket looks good before you sew anything. If you you don't have the pieces aligned well, you will get puckering in the corner or a gap between the facing and binding.

Once you have everything looking correct, you will flip the garment back to the wrong side and sew at the base of the triangles, attaching them to the pocket facing and binding pieces on both sides.

11. Now serge or sew all the way around the bottom and sides of the large pocket pieces to close the pockets.

And you are done. 

Congratulations, you made super fancy pockets! 

Have any questions or comments? Leave them below! 

Happy Sewing.