After having used this wonderful method of adding horizontal pockets to my latest knitted jumper, I thought that a quick walk-through of the needed steps - together with some pictures - might be of interest to some of you.
Not everybody has yet tried this easy peasy way of adding pockets in knitted garments.
Not everybody has yet tried this easy peasy way of adding pockets in knitted garments.
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These pockets might be called "after-thought", but you definitely have to give them some thought before hand, if you use the more common and risk-free waste-yarn-way*¹.
But if I say that you need to give them some thought, I mean easy stuff. There are no rocket science calculations involved here: The things to consider when deciding on the placement of the opening are logical factors, like the height and width of the pocket in relation to the garment itself and to the wearer's hand. |
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The idea is to have the pockets arranged at a flattering position, depending on the style one wants to achieve. If they are going to be functional and not simply decorative, they have to be at a comfortable height to put one's hand inside (preferably without resorting to acrobatic movements).
At the same time they need to be wide enough to comfortably fit the wearer's hand as also deep enough to fulfil their purpose.
But careful: We do not want the lining to be peeking below the hem when we use them! We all know how much give in length a knitted fabric can have and pockets can "grow" to nearly double their length when lounging hands are pushing downwards.
At the same time they need to be wide enough to comfortably fit the wearer's hand as also deep enough to fulfil their purpose.
But careful: We do not want the lining to be peeking below the hem when we use them! We all know how much give in length a knitted fabric can have and pockets can "grow" to nearly double their length when lounging hands are pushing downwards.
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More often than not these decisions can be quickly made by simply placing the hand on the area we would like the pocket to be - and by counting the width of our hand in stitches. Add to this about ½ to 1 inch more, for a comfortable opening and there is the needed width. Now we just need to work these openings in waste yarn, slip the stitches back to the left hand needle and work over them in our project yarn again. (Oh, and I do apologise for my stupidity to have chosen white waste yarn that hardly shows in the picture on the left.)
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That's actually all there is for the pocket placement itself!
After finishing the rest of the garment, we can go back and work on the lining of the pocket:
After finishing the rest of the garment, we can go back and work on the lining of the pocket:
For a seamless lining we need to pick up the stitches worked in our original yarn, on top and below the waste yarn row with the right side facing us. I am using circular needles here because it is easy to simply pick up the same amount of stitches at both sides of the opening: One needle tip sits at the row above and one at the row below.
Be careful to not twist the stitches and do try to always pick the right "leg" of each stitch.
Be careful to not twist the stitches and do try to always pick the right "leg" of each stitch.
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Then just remove the waste yarn and pull the right needle tip out enough to start working the thus exposed stitches of the lining in the round in the magic loop style (or simply change to a shorter circular needle or DPN). The needle size should be the same as the one we used for the project itself.
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Here I used the exact same yarn as for the main body, but one could try a contrasting coloured yarn in a finer weight for a more delicate version or play with stripes or other ideas that might make for a cute lining.
Work in rounds to form a tube for the lining and knit it to your desired length. If you are working a pocket for a seamless top-down-jumper like I did, then you can simply try the pocket length out while wearing the garment and just stop when you have reached a comfortably fitting length that still remains hidden 1 or 2 inches above the hem. |
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Close up the lining-tube by following the linked tutorial on the 3-Needle BO: It is perfect for this job, because it provides a good looking, sturdy seam that has the same elasticity as the knitted lining itself and is worked quickly during the binding off process!
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Finishing
Often there can be two big holes on each side of the pocket (where the stitches were picked up at the "corner" of the waste yarn row).
It is very easy to manipulate them into place and shrink them as shown in the pictures (if you need more info on this subject check out this older blog post, explaining this in detail) Finally the pocket can be formed into perfect shape during blocking by pinning the edges of the pocket's opening. |
Before you ask:: The jumper shown here is a new pattern called La GeKka (worked in Magasin Duett yarn Blues) and to be launched on the 25th of August 2018.....
*¹Footnote: A true after-thought method would be to just cut into the middle of any row and carefully unravel to both ends of the pocket (after having picked up the stitches above and below of course). But for the sake of the article let us stick to the "official" and non-pirate version of doing things!
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