DIY fashion ~ No-sew pocket t-shirt for summer

Have you noticed that pockets are everywhere this Spring/Summer? On a recent shopping trip down the high street I spotted pockets on almost every item of clothing and I’m loving the contrasting pocket look. Although I want to follow the trend, I’ve never been one to spend my hard-earned cash on something new when I can recycle something I already have or funk up charity-shop find, and in this instance, I picked up this slouchy tee from a charity shop for only a couple of quid. You can hunt for a similar t-shirt in your own local charity shop or Oxfam online.

I’ve shared the step-by-step tutorial to make this no-sew pocket tee on the Oxfam Fashion blog here.

I already had some fat-quarters of fabric from Wholeport at home, but you can often find small pieces in the remnants bin of haberdasheries and charity shops. The only difficult part of this project was choosing which colour and pattern to use. I decided on a contrasting pink floral fabric and set to work on creating my pocket and attaching it to my t-shirt, adding a little button embellishment on top. You could always consider adding a pocket to the sleeve of a top, or putting a couple of pockets on the front of a skirt to be bang on trend for this Spring/Summer.

You will need: T-shirt, small piece of fabric, iron-on hemming web (if you don’t have webbing you could use fabric glue), card, scissors, needle and thread, button.

1. Decide on the size and shape of your pocket and cut a piece of cardboard (I used a cereal packet) to shape to use as a template. Your pocket could be square, with folded corners like mine, or with a traditional ‘pocket-shape’ pointed base – whatever you prefer.
2. Draw around the template onto your contrasting fabric then cut out with an extra 1cm hem allowance all the way round.
3. Fold the edges of the fabric over the cardboard and iron to create hems on all sides.

4. Place the iron-on hemming web underneath the hems and follow the instructions on the webbing packet until the glue has melted and sealed the edges of the pocket.

5. If you want to add an embellishment or button to your pocket, now is the time to stitch it on – I added a small purple button to tie in the colours of the fabric with the t-shirt.

6. Position your pocket on your garment and use more iron-on hemming web to glue it in place along the sides and bottom of the pocket.

All done – Enjoy your new t-shirt! And don’t forget to add contrasting pockets to anything else that takes your fancy.

I’ve started volunteering for Oxfam Fashion and this was my first DIY blog post for them – check out the Oxfam fashion blog here for more amazing  DIY projects and bargain clothing ideas.

PS: I’ve been shortlisted in the Company Magazine Style Blogger Awards and I would be eternally grateful if you would stop by their page and cast your vote – I’m in the Thrifty Blog category and I’d love it if you voted for me! Thanks so much 😀

Related articles

• Button up! Upcycling vintage buttons into jewellery (cassiefairy.com)
• Padded letters craft project (cassiefairy.com)
• One of my absolute favourite things to make (cassiefairy.com)
• Making a skirt from vintage patterns (cassiefairy.com)