Wacko Welt Pocket
madamemodiste has a pocket dilemma, for which I think I can interpret a solution. Since I can post pics here on my page, I'm repeating my instructions here.
As a writer of instructions: "Gaaagghhhh!!!"
Here's what I think they were trying to say:
Since you are not setting the pocket into a seam, you are making a welt pocket with a single welt. To a) keep down the number of seams, or b) be clever, we are using part of the pocket to make the welt.
In the interests of conserving paper, we are not going to print two very similar pocket pieces, but will instruct you to cut two identical pieces, and then fiddle with one so that they are no longer identical.
We put our pocket together this way, and thought we were a) clever, or b) doing it the obvious way. We did not consult other patterns with welt pockets to see how they wrote their instructions.
But, I digress. On to the actual problem at hand.
If I’m reading correctly, the pocket piece toward the front (as opposed to the one toward the pleats) has all the original, unadulterated fabric: it has not been shortened half an inch. This piece is going to be the welt as well as the pocket-that is, you’ll see a small slice of black on the front of your skirt where the pocket is. The way we do this is to wrap the pocket around the ¼ inch? 3/8ths inch? seam allowance. Instead of folding the seam allowance behind the fabric, leaving a slot like a toaster in your skirt, on this side, keep the seam allowance flat, extending into the “slot.” Wrap the pocket fabric around it as you turn it to the inside. You should see a little black welt filling the “slot” in your skirt for your pocket. You can put a pin into the welt, if you want, to keep all four layers of the welt together, and keep them from folding under.
(Make the other side of the pocket as you normally would, folding the seam allowances behind the fabric at the seamline, so that no black shows on the skirt on that side.)
Here's a side view of what I think they are trying to tell you to do: the skirt fabric is the red line, the pocket fabric is the black line. The right side of the diagram shows the way one normally folds under the seam allowance. The left side is the weird "stand up the seam allowance..." reimagined.
When you turn the skirt piece over to the back side, the two pocket pieces should now line up, as the welt side (pocket piece toward the front) has now been shortened by the same amount you cut off the other piece. To sew it all together, fold back the skirt pieces so you can stitch the pocket seams only. The pockets should extend as little ears to the sides of the pocket slot, as well as creating the pocket bag, but I find this can be very annoying to maneuver into the teeth of my sewing machine. You want to stitch it because it keeps the welt in the pocket slot; it’s very small, bulky, and finicky. (This is the part where they warn you to fold out the little mitered point from the slot in the instructions.)
When you sew the pocket pieces together, you'll flip the pocket piece on the right over the one on left, like this:
I usually hand backstitch the parts close to the skirt to keep from accidentally catching the skirt in the pocket seams. It's easier for me that way.