DIY Pocket Protectors

Why did I never think of this before? I guess my idea of pocket protectors were smart guys trying to protect their shirts from a leaking pen or sharp scientific instrument. I was reading about using aprons on Large Family Mothering. I had heard of doing this before but it seemed a chore to keep things from falling out of your apron or damaging your pockets much less the time to move everything from one apron to another. Then I read her solution of making a simple canvas drawstring bag to keep scissors, pens, nail clippers, etc without damaging the apron pockets.

How brilliantly simple! Then I thought of my husband. His box cutters, pens, keys, etc destroy his pockets on a regular basis. I get why they make pockets out of thin fabric to keep from adding too much bulk but those pockets are not made for working men. What if I made two smaller drawstring bags from a sturdy fabric for his pockets? I thought about making it as a gift but since his birthday is months away, I just told him about my idea. He liked it.

I didn't have any canvas in my stash but I did have a strong denim. I used some squares that were already cut to about 8-10 inches. I folded them in half with right sides together and stitched an L around the open side and the bottom. I used a straight stitch and then a zig zag stitch over it to make it strong. I turned the bag inside out so that the denim blue was showing.  I checked to see how it fit in my husband's pocket and folded it down a couple inches so it wouldn't show. I sewed a drawstring channel. I cut an opening and used a safety pin attached to the end of my ribbon to feed the ribbon through as a drawstring. The ribbon came from a couple sets of bathcloths that I had bought on clearance. I brought the ends of the ribbon together and tied a sturdy knot.

Not only will this protect his pockets but it can also be pulled tight before sitting in a recliner. You have no idea the amount of box cutters and markers that have been fished out of our recliners. It also saves a lot of time of moving all his manager essentials from one pair of pants to the other. It makes it easy to pull out and put on his nightstand so he can spend the evening without all that weight in his pockets.

Here are the two drawstring bags. I am still in awe. Why did I never think of this before?