Pocketing

What it is

A front pocket on a jean or a jacket is a bag of cloth hanging inside the garment, sewn to the opening. That bag is the pocketing. Nobody sees it. It carries keys, coins and hands, gets tugged on every time the garment goes on, and is usually the first thing to wear through.

Why not the same cloth as the outside

Because the outside cloth is the wrong tool. A 12 oz denim pocket bag is a stiff slab that shows through the front of the leg, adds bulk at the waistband, and dries slowly. Pocketing wants to be:

• Lighter — so it disappears inside the garment.
• Tightly woven — so coins and keys do not push through.
• Stable — so it does not stretch into a sack or twist.
• Soft — hands live in it.

A light, dense twill does all of that, which is why the Standard Issue Jean carries pocket bags cut from an 8 oz broken twill rather than from its own denim. A broken twill is chosen over a plain twill for stability — the reasoning is under Warp, weft and twill.

What it changes

Pocketing is one of the places a garment can be quietly good. A well-cut bag lies flat, is deep enough to be useful, and is sewn so its seam does not sit under the hand. It also decides how a pocket ages: a bag that wears through is a small, honest repair, and it is designed to be replaceable. See Repairs and visible mending.

The project page for a piece lists its pocketing where it is a considered choice rather than an afterthought.