jean pocket--simple replacement

Just the pocketing part? The fabric will look like a white cotton, it's not denim like the rest of the jeans.

Sharon

Yes, just the white cotton pocket part. Thanks

Okey dokey. Not a fun job. It wouldn't be so bad except for the rivets that are usually at the corners of the pockets. Now, I'm going to assume the problem is at the bottom of the pocket (since that's where good pockets usually go bad first.) What I would do is leave as much of the original pocket in there as possible and basically repair instead of totally replacing the pocket bag. If it's just a hole, even a sizable one, in the pocket bag, I would get some poly/cotton broadcloth (wal-mart carries that for a reasonable price if you need a source) and patch over it. You will need to wash the fabric in hot water and dry completely before you do anything with it at all. (you want to pre-shrink the fabric before you put it in the jeans so it won't shrink later on.)

If you have pinking shears, you can cut your patches out with those. The edges of the patches won't ravel that way. Cut them slightly larger, say

1/4", than the hole. Then you can hand stitch them in there. I would put one patch on the outside of the pocket, turn it inside out, and put a second patch on the other side of the hole directly over the other patch. That works well. I would backstitch them in there since that's a pretty strong hand stitch.

If you've totally shredded the pocket bag, and it really can't be saved, think about how valuable those jeans are to you. ;) It really is a pain to replace the whole thing. You have to work around the rivets, and you have to work carefully on the lower edge of the pocket opening because your stitching will be visible. When you make your new pocket, look carefully at the pocket in a "healthy" pair of jeans. There is a seam only on one side of the pocket bag. They cut one piece of pocketing twice as wide as it needs to be, fold in half and sew the other side. Make sense? Ok. Cut the old pocket out from the lower inside edge, where it is sewn to the little bit of denim that sticks down into the pocket. Cut the pocket off the front opening very carefully.

When you make your new pocket bag, don't sew the side seam shut yet. First carefully press under the edge that will get sewn to the outside. (use the old pocket as a guide) If you have a sewing machine with a free arm and can get in there, you can pin and then top stitch the new pocket in place. You will need to use a "jeans" needle in the machine and match the "jeans thread" as close as possible to what's already on the jeans. (try Wal-mart again. They carry the jeans topstitching thread and so do all the chain fabric stores.) Stitch that edge in place first. Then stitch the other side of the pocket to the inside of the jeans. You won't have to be as neat on that side, and if it's too difficult to get in there with the sewing machine, do it by hand. Then sew the side seam of the pocket bag.

Try patching first if you can. You can see it's a whole lot easier. In all honesty, if a client brought a pair of jeans to me for that repair, I'd likely tell them it would be cheaper to buy a new pair of jeans. But I understand how much you can love an old pair of jeans. ;) Especially when they get to that point that they are as soft as flannel.

Good luck. If any of that doesn't make sense, let me know!

Sharon