Michelle sent me this link (from Janet at Lanetz Living) and asked me what I would assume must be a rhetorical question: "Is there such a thing as a too-big pocket?"
Okay, okay … maybe there is such a thing as a too-big pocket. And perhaps, just perhaps, this jumper is in possession of it. But I can certainly think of extenuating circumstances that would justify needing a pocket this large: what if you had freakishly long arms? You'd have to have a deep pocket to hide the extra foot of forearm, right? Or what if you needed to transport yardsticks, or sawed-off shotguns, or small table lamps? You'd be glad of this pocket then!
I like the look of resignation on the face of the woman in the be-pocketed jumper. It's that same look I get when I know someone is about to play a practical joke on me and the only thing I can do is to endure it and get it over with. I think she knows that there's something yucky at the bottom of that pocket (poorly wrapped PB&J sandwich? slobbered-on post-dog tennis ball? open safety pin?) and that it's only a matter of time before she finds it, the hard way.
A Dress A Day 
That’s the same look I’d have on my face when I’d find my grandmother’s denture plate in her pocket! She would put it in her pocket and then ask my 4-year-old self to get something out of her pocket. Still makes me laugh 44 years later.
LikeLike
Oh I don’t know. There’s a bit of a “Make my day” look going on there. The kind you might see on the face of a long-suffering woman just before she spins (gracefully, in that jumper, of course) around and pulls her sawed-off shotgun out of her be-pocketed jumper in the face of some snooty, vogue garbed fashionista who has been making snide comments about pockets.Or it could be a soggy diaper.
LikeLike
I’m with anonymous! Ha!I suppose if you wanted the Godzilla pocket for design purposes[?] you could always make a smaller lining pocket. You could even be creative and do a sort of false-bottomed trunk effect: Smaller pocket lining with secret opening into the larger pocket, for your hit-man paraphernalia.
LikeLike
Well, I could use pockets that big. I always have an apron with pockets on, and when I see things out of place in a room, into the pocket they go, till I can find the room they go in. My pockets are ALWAYS full!
LikeLike
I think they’re storing their ribcages in those pockets.
LikeLike
It’s a tambourine. No wait a boomerang!
LikeLike
Oh, those pockets are for loose change and tissues..wait,hankies! I would have to wear one of my many vintage hankies half-showing out of the top of one of the pockets just as I did back in the old days when I was a whippersnapper..boy, did I just date myself!
LikeLike
Oh, this stuff is too funny! I love your imagination, Erin! Plus those of all the commenters! I’m going to phone my friend in Ontario to read it all to her, since I’m spending the week cat-sitting in Montreal.Speaking of Montreal, can anyone recommend where one should go looking for fabric?Which makes me think that those could be shoplifting pockets. One could fold up substantial lengths of fabric and smuggle them out of a store that way. Although, how one would get away with unrolling a bolt across a cutting table, employing the store’s shears to cut oneself a length, and then standing in the aisle with arms akimbo trying to fold it all up into a square small enough to insert into one of those pockets without being noticed by the staff does elude me.
LikeLike
Oracle, your shoplifting comment reminds me of a story I was told by a Vogue Fabrics (Evanston, Ill.) employee.She said a patron tried to walk out of the store with a roll of fabric strapped to his leg. I can only imagine how his stiff-leg gait must have attracted attention as he walked to the exit….Is that crazy or what? He must have really needed a fabric fix badly to go to that extreme!
LikeLike
Oh my gosh, this is one of the funniest posts ever. And then there are the comments.I got my tape measure–thanks!! :)These pockets remind me of my students in their jean shorts that are so big they look like pants and they can actually pull an entire binder out of their pockets. True story.
LikeLike
I love the jumper/dress — pockets and all. I have been known to utilize big pockets. The plaid – oh the plaid. Have only made one plaid dress in my life – having to match those lines was terrible. Made it for a final exam in high school home economics class in 1963 – and made A+! Never again, I swore. But of course, you could (as said) make the jumper/dress and omit the pockets. Onward to the sewing machine!
LikeLike
Looks like the perfect pockets for a long day of shoplifting! Thus the shifty, over-the-shoulder glance…
LikeLike
Oops! Didn’t read the comments before I posted mine. I see someone else had the same devious thought about those pockets.
LikeLike
I am literally laughing out loud at your description of what may be lurking in those over-large pockets! (I refuse to type “LOL” as if I can’t be bothered with the chore of typing out whole words) The jumper is cute, but I don’t think I could bring myself to actually wear pockets that big. Although, it might be nice to have a dress with such copious pockets that I wouldn’t need to haul around my diaper bag. Hmmm…
LikeLike
Oracle, I live in Montreal and I’d love to tell you all about it. Contact me at alison dot cummins at gmail dot com.
LikeLike
I could see those giant pockets being handy for a schoolteacher. (Or, yes, a mobster.)
LikeLike
Alison, thanks and I’ll try to contact you a little later today.
LikeLike
My first inclination was that they would be perfect for a mom on the go instead of a diaper bag. Or a busy day where a purse or backpack would slow you down. Stuff a sweater in one pocket, lunch and hanky and a dime for a phone call (didn’t all ladies of that era carry a dime just in case?) and you are set to go. By the time you get home the lunch would have been eaten and you are wearing the sweater since it is cooler out and now nothing but the lonely dime and hanky are in the pockets.I actually have an apron pattern that is apparently for hostessing a dinner at your on home and as much as I studied how to put that pattern ogether I couldn’t figure out the pockets. There was an opening to put your hand into but seemingly no bottom to the pockets. Weird, but as there was also a normal half apron pattern included with normal sized pockets I use that instead. Of course I make all my pockets a bit large because I have long fingers and hands and need the space.
LikeLike
But the burning question the really must be answered is to whom is the woman in blue giving the (discreetly gloved) finger?Is she the wheelman for our shoplifter and her plaid-clad lookout? Is she about to put pedal to the metal and tear out of the parking lot, screaming “Later, pigs!” to the security guards swarming out of JoAnn’s in their larcenous wake?I need to know!
LikeLike
I love Cindy B’s comment – maybe that’s a fun way to get your kids involved in cleaning up – make them a cleaning up apron with a big honkin pocket or two. Sounds like fun!-fruitbat
LikeLike
The pockets are for gloves, hankies, lipstick, change purse, powder compact, steno pad, pen, spare hose and head scarf. Obviously. I’m not sure what goes in the other one.
LikeLike
Did anyone notice that the pocket takes half a yard of fabric ALL BY ITSELF?? That makes it worth making, right there, sister. Word.
LikeLike
I would carry my divorce decree in that pocket! Just in case. As a matter of fact I would carry the entire contents of my purse. In the other pocket I would carry stray animals and lost children
LikeLike
whoooo boy! those comments have me not only laughing out loud, but spewing out the vegan fondu I’m currently enjoying. which makes me think, how handy it would be to have, say, a fondu pot in one pocket, and assorted fruits in the other?! I was also thinking of that scene in mary poppens where she pulls furniture and things out of her carpet bag.. well how much better would it be if she pulled the lamp and mirror out of her pocket? ooo and, what if I put the pockets on the inside of the dress, I could be the lady with the magical mary poppins pockets!I feel the need to began compulsivly sewing HUGE pockets on all my dresses…
LikeLike
You wouldn’t need a purse with pockets that big… or a briefcase or diaper bag, come to think of it.Perfect for transporting those freakishly tiny dogs that seem to be the fashion now.
LikeLike
Actually, I needed pockets like that when I worked as a veterinary assistant. We had so much stuff we had to carry around: Bandage scissors, suture scissors, pens, exam cards, etc., and breast pockets on scrub tops are USELESS. I spent so much time leaning over and crawling around on the floor, stuff was always falling out. I could have put a small dog or two in each of those pockets and saved myself a lot of hassle.Oh, and my measuring tape got here the other day. Thanks! My mother is always stealing mine and insisting that she bought them, but she can’t pull that one if it’s got your logo on it!
LikeLike
So, I’m definitely going to construct a dress with pockets like that. I love them. I never use my pockets for anything, though – disrupts the line of the garment… and gives me a reason to buy fancy handbags.
LikeLike
Well, the lovely red number looks perfect for spectation at a fall sporting event, so I’m thinking that she’s got her spare foam finger in one and the rug, cider, hot dogs, peanut packets, spare trash bag and damp cloths to wipe down sticky hands and faces in the other.At any rate, that’s how I will be utilizing them once I’ve whipped this up.
LikeLike
I have this pattern. Been in the family since it first came out. Funny, I never thought to comment on the pockets. Always kinda liked them, though. They’d be great outlined in big rick-rack…
LikeLike
This would have been the perfect dress for my husband’s grandmother, who was a perfectly delightful older lady who loved to sew and crochet. She was also a kleptomaniac. Had boxes of fancy buttons, horsehair braid and endless packages of seam binding, most things priced at around 35 cents. I inherited them when she passed on. Never found her pattern stash, though.
LikeLike
Hi Erin!This pocket is PERFECT. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Perfect for a paperback, or even Harry Potter 7, plus a small bag of Boston Baked Beans or Allsorts or some other embarrassing candy you don’t want anyone else to know you have.I have a too-big Barbour waxed jacket and for years I thought the wonderful, secret, super-deep interior pocket was made for me and for the Norton anthologies I needed to have close to me on the subway or in the rain…until a short-lived boyfriend who hunted deer and other defenseless creatures explained that Barbour made that pocket to hold the small game you shot while tromping through the heath, or something. “It’s reinforced and waterproof so that the blood doesn’t leak on to your pants!” he told me, with great glee.I prefer the book, and the small bag of shameful candy.Hope to see you in NYC at the Library before long,Betsy B
LikeLike
I love the pockets on this! Can’t you just imagine the cutest little toy dog peeking out?Crystal at 3Stairs
LikeLike
Those pockets are perfect for those days when you are out on the farm, needing somewhere to put the two bottles of milk you are going to feed the baby goats after you put out the hay.
LikeLike
Or, you could just put the baby goats in there.
LikeLike
Yes, you could carry a baby or medium sized dog in that pocket. Comments and suggestions all too funny!! I was almost convinced I am a pocket person until I saw that.
LikeLike