Current fashions in men's shirts are such that few of them have pockets with button closures, and few of those that do are deep enough to button closed over a Palm unit. I determined that Velcro -- the venerable "hook and loop" fastener -- was the solution to my problem. This, in itself, may seem a trivial piece of deduction but, in fact, there are several points about the use of Velcro in this application that aren't so obvious. My purpose in this article is to convey to you what I've learned about the best ways to use Velcro to keep your Palm device safely anchored in your shirt pocket.

Your velcro options
Looking through your wardrobe, you'll probably find that the size of your shirt pockets varies somewhat. Some may be deep enough that you can close the pocket over a Palm device, using two tabs of Velcro to take the place of the button that your shirt-maker decided was an unneeded extravagance. Most shirts have pockets too shallow for this, however; either the pocket won't close over the Palm unit at all, or forcing it to do so will give your pocket a "stuffed" look that isn't attractive. The solution in this case is to use Velcro to stick the Palm unit to the inside of your pocket, rather than to stick velcro between the pocket material and the shirt material. This is done by attaching a small (about 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch) tab of self-stick Velcro to the back of your Palm unit, and a corresponding tab to the inside of your pocket.

This brings us to the issue of how best to attach Velcro to the fabric of your shirt. Self-stick Velcro should not be used for this; it won't last through more than one or two launderings. Sewing the Velcro onto the shirt is an option, but this is time consuming and requires a bit of skill.

The ideal solution is an iron-on hook and loop fastener. You just cut a tab of this product, put it in place, and run a hot clothes iron over it to bond it to the fabric. You must have fabric between the iron and the hook and loop fastener; if you place the iron directly on the fastener it may melt, ruining the fastener, and perhaps your shirt and your iron as well.

The only other problem with the iron-on variety of hook and loop fastener is that you may not be able to find any. It doesn't seem to be a widely available product, the Velcro company doesn't seem to make one. Perhaps this is because of the just-noted risks involved in using it. Apparently, the iron-on product isn't even made by the Velcro company; only some of the "non-Velcro brand" hook and loop fastener manufacturers carry it.

A good alternative is to use "sew-on" Velcro (as distinguished from the self-stick variety) with fabric glue. Fabric glue can be found at any store that carries sewing supplies. The brand I've tried is Aleene's, and it worked very well for adhering Velcro to fabric. Apply a small amount of glue to the pressure sensitive Velcro and put it in place inside your pocket. Then put a book or similar weight over the shirt to hold the assembly together for a few hours while the glue dries.