Slash Pockets
Construction — one of 69 in the glossary
A pocket reached through a straight or diagonal opening cut into the garment, with the bag hidden inside rather than stitched on the outside. It gives a cleaner line than a patch pocket, which is why it is used on jackets, trousers and better polos. The opening is usually reinforced at both ends with a bartack. For decorators the hidden bag is the catch: it doubles the fabric behind the opening, so anything heat-pressed near a slash pocket presses through two layers unevenly, and embroidery there needs the bag pulled clear of the hoop.
An opening, not an applied pocket
A slash pocket is reached through a straight or diagonal opening cut into the garment itself. The bag that holds things hangs inside, out of sight.
A patch pocket is the opposite: a piece of fabric stitched onto the outside. It is cheaper and more visible.
Because a slash pocket adds nothing to the silhouette, it gives a cleaner line — which is why it is used on jackets, trousers and better polos.
Where it is reinforced
The two ends of the opening are the stress points; every time a hand goes in, the corners take the load.
They are normally reinforced with a bartack — a dense cluster of stitches — and the presence and quality of those bartacks is a fair signal of how the garment was built.
A slash pocket without reinforcement will eventually tear at a corner, and the tear is in the garment itself rather than in an applied patch.
The decorating problem
The hidden bag doubles the fabric behind the opening. Anything heat-pressed near a slash pocket presses through two thicknesses on one side and one on the other, so the result is uneven.
For embroidery the bag has to be pulled clear of the hoop, which restricts how close to the pocket a design can sit.
On a polo with a slash pocket, check where the bag actually falls before approving a left-chest placement.
Common questions
- What is a slash pocket?
- A pocket reached through a straight or diagonal opening cut into the garment, with the bag hidden inside rather than stitched on the outside.
- What is the difference between a slash pocket and a patch pocket?
- A patch pocket is stitched onto the outside and is visible; a slash pocket is an opening into the garment with the bag concealed, which gives a cleaner line.
- Can you print near a slash pocket?
- With care. The hidden bag doubles the fabric behind the opening, so a heat press bears unevenly across it. Embroidery needs the bag pulled clear of the hoop.
See also
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