Odd Pocket Shapes, Designs, And More; A Research Rabbit Hole

When looking at original pockets from The Philadelphia Museum Of Art and The Victoria And Albert Museum, I noticed something odd; many pockets were lopsided, embroidered off center, or just shaped rather strangely. I decided to compile some here, for your enjoyment, as a good reminder that not everyone was a professional Mantua maker (they mostly made dresses, but it's possible that a pocket or two was made by someone with a Mantua makers' skill) or tailor in the 18th century - most pockets were sewn by regular people, who drafted their own patterns, often straight onto the cloth it appears. So lets take a look at some interesting examples!

Here we see a pocket that is clearly lopsided. This seems to be dated incorrectly in the online database, as from 1875 to 1900, however, I thought it helpful to put that information here. It does seem oddly well-preserved.

This one is clearly 18th century. I love the embroidered strawberries - they are very cute. Not lopsided top edge and slightly wonky embroidery placement - this may be due to warping, however.

This one seems oddly short and fat.

This one seems to be intentionally sloped, and as it seems to have come from a pair of pockets, not being a single item, I think that this might be something that is seen on pairs, however that is just my guess, and not to be taken as truth.

So, remember, when you are sewing, that imperfection is totally historically accurate. Don't despair when something goes wrong!