Afterthought Pocket
An afterthought pocket is added to a finished garment by snipping a stitch in the body, picking up the live stitches above and below the cut, and knitting the pocket lining downward from the live stitches.
Recommended A printable technique cheat-sheet for your knitting bag.
Setup
Identify the row where the pocket should sit. Insert a strand of waste yarn along that row by duplicate-stitching across the pocket width, marking the row as the "snip line."
Cutting
Snip one stitch in the centre of the snip line. Carefully unravel the row to the width of the pocket. The result is a horizontal slit with live stitches on the top and bottom edges.
In partnership Tools and supplies that make this technique easier.
Knitting the pocket
Pick up the live stitches on the bottom edge of the slit. Knit downward in stockinette to the desired pocket depth. Sew or graft the bottom of the pocket to the garment's wrong side. The top edge of the slit is the pocket opening.
Finishing
Pick up the live stitches on the top edge of the slit and work a few rows of ribbing or garter stitch as a pocket band. Sew the band edges to the garment for a clean opening.
Abbreviation reference
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CO | cast on |
| BO | bind off |
Tips
- Mark the snip line with waste yarn before snipping — there is no second chance.
- Use a small, sharp scissors to snip one stitch only.
- For a perfectly invisible pocket, knit the pocket lining in a finer yarn so it does not bulk out the garment.
In depth
The afterthought pocket is one of the few knitting techniques that involves cutting fabric. The cut creates two parallel rows of live stitches that can be knit downward (for the pocket lining) and upward (for a pocket band). This is why the technique is so effective for retrofitting pockets to existing garments.