Pocket Crafts and Projects: Decor for Your House

Some people won’t even consider buying pants or shirts that don’t have pockets. That’s because pockets are so handy. They help us carry wallet, keys, change and more. Pockets don’t necessarily have to belong on clothing only, though. As helpful as they are on clothing, they’re just as helpful at home.

Remove pockets from old coats, jeans, shirts, children’s clothing and other discarded sources. The pockets can be used for all sorts of crafts and home decor projects. It can be a little difficult to retrieve pockets from thin fabrics but a razor blade will help tremendously. If, after removing the pocket some of the shirt is still attached at the corners, take the time to remove these fabric pieces so that the pocket will lie flat.

Place the pocket on a table, right side down. Attach magnetic sheeting strips around the edges of the pocket. Now the pockets can be put on the fridge or other metallic places to hold notes, pictures and other items.

The magnetic pocket will have a much nicer look if you take the time to line the pocket. Simply lay the pocket on a piece of fabric, draw around it, and cut it out. Use a sewing machine or fabric glue to attach the new pocket shape to the back of the original pocket. Now when you use the magnetic pocket you won’t see the raw edges.

Get a piece of metal, frame it and use it for a message center for the family. Place it in a central location and use blue pockets for one member, white pockets for another, and so on. That way, each person will notice when their particular color of pocket has messages.

Two pockets, placed wrong sides together, make a great tiny purse for a small girl. Use a strand of beads, or a length of rope to make a purse strap. Place the strap ends between the two pockets and stitch or glue the pockets together on all sides except across the top.

Sew or glue deep pockets onto a piece of fabric and place the arrangement onto the arm of a chair or sofa to hold eyeglasses, remote and other needs. The pockets should be aligned on one end of a long piece of fabric, allowing the part of the fabric with no pockets to cover the arm. Use twist pins for upholstery, made to hold arm covers in place, if you need to secure the pocket set.

Place a small strip of adhesive Velcro to the dashboard of the car, or another location in the car. Use Velcro dots on the backside of the pockets to affix them to the dashboard. Now you have a message center in your car that can serve to hold reminders for appointments or just hold business cards.

Normally discarded items are now being used to make all sorts of new things, so think about that before throwing anything away. Try a couple of these pocket crafts which are easy, fun and extremely useful.