Making Denim Chair Pockets

Hello Friends,

I have been busy for a couple of days making brand new chair pockets for my students!  I've had tables in my classroom for the past 7-8 years.  When I got my first set of round tables, I made these awesome denim chair pockets to give students a bit of personal storage space right on the backs of their chairs.  They have finally started to wear out and I have made brand new ones to replace them.  I know many of you use tables in your classrooms and go out and buy those store-made chair pockets that wear out after one year.  So.....I thought I would share my very economical and very durable "recipe" for homemade chair pockets.  You will need a sewing machine for this project!

The first thing you will need is some very sturdy denim fabric.   Each one requires 1/2 yard of fabric, so you will need 15 square yards to make 30 chair pockets.  If purchased 18 yards of heavy weight denim on Amazon for $82.  That is a great deal!!

Your bolt of fabric will be exactly 3 feet (36 inches tall).  Begin by rolling out the bolt of fabric on the floor in as long a strip as possible in the space that you have.

You will measure and mark your fabric in 18 inch strips, as shown in the picture above.  I used a tape measure and a piece of cardboard as a straight edge.  I marked the fabric using a Sharpie marker.

Next, cut out the strips.  Each strip is double-sided with a fold on the bottom.

Now you are ready to start sewing.   I used navy blue thread.....it took a whole spool for the project.  The first step is to sew down both ends to make a finished look on the bottom of the bags.

Then you will sew the sides, keeping the bag inside out.

What you now have is a "pillowcase" that is turned inside out.  You will carefully flip the top down half-way to make a pocket.

The final step, and most important, is to reinforce the bottom corners with a triple or quadruple stitch up and down.  This will keep the inside pocket from sagging downward when you put lots of heavy stuff in there!  You do this by stitching together the inside and outside bottom corners of the bag right along the seams.

You now have a completed chair pocket which will fit perfectly on most standard sized student chairs.  If you want to get really fancy, you can sew in a piece of elastic at the top so that it makes a draw-string top.  My last chair pockets had this feature and I found that it was unnecessary and not worth the extra work.

This is a picture of how they look on the back of the chairs:

 

Please let me know if you have any questions!  Have fun making your own chair pockets!  If you use a heavy weight denim (12-14 oz.) these will last years and years!

Love and peace,