How to Make an 18th Century Pocket | Historical Sewing for a Very Modern Problem 📱

What did women do before handbags—and more importantly, what does an 18th-century woman do with her PHONE? 😂 In this historical sewing tutorial, I’m making a traditional-style 18th-century tie-on pocket to wear with my blue robe à la française, with one little modern adjustment. Historically, women in the 18th century often wore large, separate pockets tied around the waist and accessed through openings in their petticoats. They could be hidden beneath several layers of clothing and used to carry all kinds of personal necessities. But my most-used modern necessity is something an 18th-century woman definitely didn’t have… my cell phone! 📱 Since I reach for my phone constantly—especially when I’m photographing, filming, and attending historical events—I wanted my pocket to be much easier to access. Instead of burying it beneath all of my petticoats, I’m planning to wear it directly underneath the outer layer of my robe à la française. And because there’s always a chance my pocket might peek out, I made it from the same blue fabric as the gown, allowing it to camouflage beautifully into the dress. In this step-by-step historical sewing tutorial, I show you how I construct the pocket and talk about 18th-century women’s pockets, historical clothing, period dress, historical sewing techniques, and how I adapt historical fashion to work in modern life. This pocket was created specifically for my blue rhinestone bow robe à la française, inspired by the decorative échelle-style bows seen on 18th-century gowns. If you’ve been following the creation of this dress, this is another piece of the complete ensemble! ✨ In this video: • Making an 18th-century women’s tie-on pocket • Historical pocket placement and how pockets were worn • Sewing a pocket to coordinate with an 18th-century gown • Adapting historical clothing for modern necessities • Creating hidden storage for a phone in historical dress • Historical sewing and costuming techniques • Building the accessories for my robe à la française If you love historical fashion, 18th-century clothing, historical sewing, costume making, living history, period dress, Georgian fashion, rococo fashion, robe à la française gowns, and sewing tutorials, subscribe and follow along as I continue creating and wearing clothing inspired by the past. Wear a bit of history. Experience the past. Connect With Me: www.rachaelsewsvintage.com Instagram: rachaelsewsvintage Facebook: rachaelsewsvintage Follow me on YouTube for more in depth sewing tutorials and tips:    / @rachaelsewsvintage22   #HistoricalSewing #18thCenturyFashion #RobeALaFrancaise #HistoricalCostuming #18thCenturyPocket #SewingTutorial #HistoricalFashion #CostumeMaking #GeorgianFashion #RococoFashion #PeriodCostume #HistoricalDress #18thCenturyDress #HandmadeClothing #LivingHistory #Sewing #Dressmaking #HistoricalClothing #Costuming #RobeALaFrançaise Chapters: 0:00 : Intro 1:08: Tracing the Pocket Pattern 1:27: Cutting out the pocket 2:01: Sewing pocket front facing together 2:59: Adding front of pocket to back 3:13: Cutting strips of fabric for the binding 3:47: Attaching binding to front of pocket 4:29: Ironing and pinning binding in place at back of pocket 5:33: Attaching binding to top of pocket 5:41: Adding ties to top binding 6:37: Sewing binding to back of pocket 7:04: Ironing finished pocket 7:17: Finished pocket on dress form 7:22: Finished pocket reveal