Why Are Jacket Pockets Sewn Shut?

This question came from Regan Bradley of Paramount Properties in West Hampstead in London. the only place to go to if you're looking to buy or let in Northwest London!

Regan asks: “Why are the pockets on jackets sometimes sewn shut?”

The reason why pockets on jackets are sometimes sewn shut is because as tailors, we need the jacket to keep its shape and hold itself together when we're giving it a final press, when we're checking it over to make sure that the fit, shape, etc. is correct.

Another reason for the pockets then being left sewn shut once we deliver the item to you is to stop you putting things in your pockets. As soon as you put something in your pocket, the weight of the object, whether it's keys, a wallet, a phone, drags the pocket down.

So, if you imagine that the two edges of the pocket are not sewn together, they're left forced to part as soon as you put weight in them. That's going to start to distort and ruin the shape of your jacket.

So that's why a lot of tailors and stores prefer to leave the jacket pockets sewn shut, so that you can't use them. We always want you to look fresh, clean, tailored with perfect lines so we'll often leave them sewn up.

Now, at Roberto Revilla London, we actually don't sew our pockets up once we hand the garment over to the customer. The reason for that is because we understand that most of our clients do want to actually stick stuff in their pockets. So, we actually do it the other way around. Once we finish a suit or jacket, we pass it over to the client with the pockets open. They have the option to have us then sew them shut.

I hope that answered your question, Regan!

I guess another thing I should add is if you want to open the pockets if they are sewn up on the jacket you've bought or had made, you can do that very easily. You need to be careful because not all pockets are real, particularly on ladies' jackets, especially on shorter jackets. The pockets will actually be fake, you'll want to leave them sewn up.

Usually when you open up the welt of the pocket, you'll see some stitching in there. Just try to pry it open and if it starts to come open with relatively little resistance, you should be able to just pull it apart and the stitching will just come out.

Or with a little bit of help, you can use a a good pair of scissors that have got nice sharp tips so they give you precision when you're trying to work the threads. Or if you have one, you can use a stitch ripper and I recommend getting one, if you don't have one in the house, they're a really handy thing to have around.

But you can use a stitch ripper to get rid of the thread from a pocket that's sewn shut. If there's a lot of resistance and you're not sure, you should be able to go to your retailer or your tailor and have them undo the pockets for you. They should not have a problem with that at all.

So, I hope that answered the question Regan, and I hope that was really helpful for everybody else reading.

If you've got anything that's on your mind related to clothing that you've got some questions on, feel free to drop your question in the comments below and I will endeavor to answer your questions in an upcoming article, or even a video on our YouTube Channel!