Peasant Dresses and Tops and 3-Piece Lined Patch Pockets

There seems to be a trend with my sewing for the girls lately that leads directly to the peasant dress/top.  Older entries show pictures of a dresses for all three granddaughters made in this style.  I used Kwik Sew 3665 for the little girls and Simplicity 2377 for V.   I liked the fit so much that I decided to use it to make a top for V for school as well.  This is fabric she picked out a year ago that I never made up, and I'm glad I waited.  She absolutely loves the denim capri pants and the top made from fabric she picked out. 

To make the top, I just used the bodice, sleeves, and first section of the dress skirt pattern.  I sewed all but one of the side seams.  I left it open to add the bottom ruffle.  To do this,  I cut two widths of fabric 3.5" wide and sewed them together, serging the seam and one of the long edges for a finished hem.  Then I used my gathering foot on my sewing machine to make a nice, full ruffle.  I attached this to the red fabric at the bottom of the peasant top with my serger, which automatically finished the edge.  Then I sewed and serged the side seam shut.  The last thing done was turning the serged edge at the bottom of the ruffle and sewing it up to finish the hem.

I wanted to do something special to tie the top and pants together, so I decided that the patch pockets I wanted to add to the back needed to have both of the top fabrics included.  I wasn't sure how to do this at first, so I went to my Wild Ginger Child's Play to see what kind of pockets they included.  They have one that is similar to this, but is just one layer.  I wanted a lined pocket so the inside wouldn't catch on little fingers.  I devised my own out of three pieces that works really well. The directions follow.

1. Decide on a size for your pocket.  I made mine 4" squares, and I used 1/2" seam allowances on them.  For each pocket I cut two print  rectangles that were 5" X 4" for the bottom section and one red polka dot rectangle that was 3" X 5" for the top section. 
2. I sewed the one of the print pieces to the 5" side of the polka dot piece, and then sewed the other print piece to the opposite side of the polka dot piece.  Press open the seams. 
3. Turn the pocket so the right sides are together, matching the seam lines on the two sides. 
4. Sew one seam from the folded edge to the bottom.  Press it open and trim triangles off both top and bottom. At this point, two sides of the pocket are open--the other side and the bottom.  
5. You will turn the pocket right side out at the bottom after the second side is sewn, but you want to mark the hem before you sew the second side.  I like to use my machine's longest stitch length (6 mm) to put in basting where a hem is to be turned, so at this point I set up my machine to do this. Through a single layer of fabric, I put a row of basting stitches 1/2" from the bottom edge and press it up so it is easy to turn it after the other seam is finished.  
6. Then I can sew the second seam (using my regular stitch length, and yes, sometimes I forget to change it back), press it open, and trim the triangles from top and bottom.  
7. Turn the pocket to the right side, turn up the bottom hem, and place it on the pants where you want the pockets to appear. 
8. Sew the pocket to the pants.  I like to use an edge stitch foot that has a bar down the center to help me make a consistent edge seam.  I simply move my needle over about 1.5 mm, which gives me a secure pocket seam width.