Advice please...

[furstylisa]

Ok, so I have two pairs of messed up bib overalls. One pair is showing a lot of threads on front legs. The other pair has a huge hole in the back pocket. My boyfriend wants me to swap out that bad pocket for one of the pockets off the other pair. Is that possible to do by hand? I don't have a whole lot of sewing experience, but I'm thinking it can't be that hard.

OR is there an easier way? The whole is too big to patch with an iron on patch.

Thanks for the help

[Sandra]

Sounds like it ought to work. Pity you've got to do it by hand. I hate hand sewing.

Carefully unpick the good pocket. Carefully unpick the old pocket because you don't want to leave any holes beneath it. They can be caught quite firmly on the top corners.
Pin, and stitch. Tack in place first if it helps.

I did something similar recently for my brother. He had a badly damaged lower sleeve on his work overalls, and another pair where the legs had started to disintegrate but the sleeves weren't that bad.
I took the good sleeve and replaced the damaged one with it. They were an identical pair of overalls so it all went together beautifully.

Didn't do it by hand though. 

Sandra.
xxx

[furstylisa]

Thank you Sandra! I don't mind doing the handwork so much cause I've done it before. But never have I ever tried to unstitch pockets. I did buy a little sewing kit that has a seam ripper in it, so I will give it a try.

Wish me luck lol 

[Sandra]

Be careful with the seam ripper if you're not familiar with using one.

They can do more damage than expected sometimes. I think we've all had a  moment with one. 

Sandra.
xxx

[Iminei]

I think your boyfriend needs to buy you a lil sewing machine for you to do this job 

Seamrippers, Do Not Get me started.
Yonks ago when doing the waistcoats I was using the seam ripper on the buttonholes, the final act before a waistcost is finished and Yes you guessed it ... Riiiiiiiippp !!! 

So I did what us Darksiders are good at, I turned it into a design feature!

THIS is how the waistcoat should have looked ...

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And this is the modified creation which sold almost immediately and sparked orders!

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[BrendaP]

@furstylisa it should be quite possible to unpick the good pocket, unpick the damaged pocket and replace it with the good one.  BUT:
you won't be able to replicate by hand the stitching that's already on either pair of overalls.  If the good pocket has been well worn and the stitch holes are visible you should be able to make a reasonable imitation by using two needles and working 'saddle stitch' as used on leather goods.  Unless the two pairs of overalls are identical you will need to replace both back pockets so that they match.

You will need to source the same thickness and colour of thread as used in the pair you are repairing.

[Esme866]

Hand worked details are a "thing" today if I'm not mistaken.

I actually hand sew my patch pockets on nice jackets when I make them - but I do so with the intent of no stitching being visible - and I don't mind handsewing at all.

My only recommendations: do quickly baste the pocket into its correct location so that your sewing doesn't constantly get caught on pins and is properly placed.

I would personally use a back stitch. But whenever I do my own pockets, I stitch all the way around once, and then I reverse direction and stitch back to the beginning. This creates a more stable seam and sort of acts more like a locked machine sewn seam. This sounds like the pocket he may use for his wallet/phone. I use my jacket pockets regularly. Once around doesn't feel (and isn't) secure to me. Twice around feels like a machine sewn pocket.

Hope this makes sense. Do remember to reinforce the stitching on each side of the top of the pocket a bit.