A Pocket Wrap

I recently scrolled across a picture of a wide, crocheted scarf with pockets and decided I needed to have one. The problem, however, was the time required to crochet something that large. I saved the picture to my social media and decided that I would make the shawl, when and if I could find appropriate fabric.

Find the pattern for this crochet shawl here: https://www.goodshomedesign.com/easy-crochet-shawl-pattern/?fbclid=IwAR3MIa5kZaAcTho_iAZydIEs4D_p-Z5_RtWuaxblE6yGggns5NHujZACxtI

It just so happens that, ironically, the next day I found a remnant the perfect size at the thrift store for $3.99. I brought home the narrow remnant and put together this pocket shawl in slightly less than one hour. Here’s how I did it –

I usually only buy things at the thrift store on 50% off day, but fabric tends to go fast at this thrift store; when I find something that works, I buy it!

If I had to guess, I would say the fabric was just about 2 yards in length and about 38″ wide (It had been cut), which was perfect for my project. I laid the fabric out on the floor and cut up the folded side, giving me two strips of fabric about 19″ wide. I then sewed them together at the short end to create one long, narrow strip (a shawl!).

I wrapped the long strip around me and decided how long it should be. Marking it with a pin, I cut the bottom 20″ on each side to make pockets.

20″ of the bottom of the shawl was cut to make a pocket.

For each pocket, I folded down the top and sewed a 3″ hem.

Fold down and sew a hem for the top of the pocket.

The pockets were placed back on the shawl and sewn into place with matching sides of the fabric before being turned out and stitched securely into place.

Once the pockets were sewn and turned out, there were just two steps to completion. The biggest issue was tightening up the pocket so that it wouldn’t droop.

A wide pocket suffers from drooping and needs a little stitching to be practical for use.

After measuring each, the pockets were stitched so they wouldn’t droop. The picture on the left barely shows where the pockets were stitched. On the right you can see how the pockets were stitched – along the top of the hem and a deep rectangle for the pocket itself, in the middle of the pocket area. Once the pockets were in place, I turned in the raw edges of the scarf and sewed them in place to give it a slightly finished look.

This was an incredibly easy project that took practically no time at all. I did go the extra step of attaching a button, to keep the shawl around me as I moved through my daily activities. If you happen to come across a nice wool blanket or piece of sweater-y fabric, give it a try!