Small Crochet Pouch Pattern (Free & Beginner Friendly)

As the festive season is approaching, I thought it was only right to offer you not one but TWO fabulous and free knitting patterns! I know, no crochet patterns this year, but to tell you the truth I can’t even remember the last time I picked up a crochet hook… Apart from when I pulled a whole load out from between the sofa cushions! If you know you know, the little rascals!

Something I have always loved is the idea of reusable gift wrap and tags. A few years ago a beautiful Japanese technique called Furoshiki became really popular and caught my eye. This Japanese technique involves wrapping presents with fabric instead of paper gift wrap in beautiful ways, cutting down on waste and also allowing you to gift the fabric you used for the wrapping alongside the present or simply save it for the next time. Genius, eh?

So, with that in mind I designed these pouches that are not only reusable and but perfect for holding small gifts such as jewellery or chocolates, They are also easy to scale up to any size you like, so you aren’t limited to only tiny gifts! There’s something so special about handmade presents, but handmade packaging (especially hand-knit) is such a rustic and thoughtful idea that everyone will appreciate. How about putting a hand knit item such as a hat or scarf into one? Double the handmade joy! You could also use these pouches to hold your Airpods when you’re on the go or for sweets at Halloween, too. There are so many design possibilities for these, but I stuck with the simplicity of stripes (both vertical and horizontal) and the homespun look of a jute tie cord to add contrast and texture. You can, of course, use anything you like as a tie such as ribbon an i-cord or a length of crocheted chain stitch, but I prefer the look of jute against the softness of the wool and cotton yarn I used for the pouch body.

For this pattern you’ll only need small amounts of yarn so it is a great project for using up scraps and turning them into something new, eco-friendly and beautiful – just what we love.

Tools, yarn, skills and extras:

LEVEL: intermediate or very confident beginner.

Yarn and materials:

· Less than 25g of DK weight yarn in two colours, ideally in wool for the MC (main colour) and cotton for the CC (contrast colour). I used a selection of Ricorumi yarns (in the shades Apricot, Light Blue, White and Neon Fuchsia) for the CC and Hobbii Friends Wool (in the shades White and Light Gray) for the MC. You’ll also need jute cord for the drawstring tie.

· 3.5 mm longer-length circular knitting needles, a stitch marker, scissors, yarn needle.

Gauge: N/A

Size: 10 / 7.5 cm (for my samples. If you knit a bigger size your measurements will vary).

Skills: Knitting on circular needles using the magic loop method, knit stitch (k), knit through the back loop (tbl), purl stitch (p), invisible join in the round, changing colours in the round, Fair Isle colour work (for the Vertical Stripes pouch), cast on and bind off, weaving in ends.

Tips: When changing colours do not break the yarn, but drop it, work with the new colour and pick the old colour up again when you reach the next colour change round. This limits the amount of ends we need to weave in when we’re done.

For the Vertical Stripes version of the pouch you will need to know how to do colour work using two colours (Fair Isle).

Changing the size of the pouch is really easy – simply cast on more stitches in a multiple of two until you’re happy and work more rounds until it’s as tall as you want.

Methods (knit from the bottom up):

Style one: Horizontal Stripes.

In MC, cast on 41 sts and join invisibly by decreasing one st (40 sts). Place marker or use the yarn tail to indicate the beginning of the round.

Rds 1 – 8: Work in the magic loop and knit 8 rds plain.
Rd 9-10: Ch to CC, k every st around.
Rds 11 – 13: Ch to MC, k every st around.
Rd 14-15: Ch to CC, k every st around.
Rds 16 – 18: Ch to MC, k every st around.
Rd 19-20: Ch to CC, k every st around.
Rds 21 – 23: Ch to MC, k every st around.
Rd 24-25: Ch to CC, k every st around.
Rds 26 – 28: Ch to MC, k every st around.
Rd 29-30: Ch to CC, k every st around.
Rds 31 – 33: Ch to MC, k every st around.
Rd 34-35: Ch to CC, k every st around.
Rd 36 – 40: *k1tbl, p1 to end
Bind off all sts.

Style two: Vertical Stripes.

Note: due to the nature of stranded colour work your pouch may pucker or pull in slightly. To combat this, consider knitting a little looser than usual and/or wet block and shape after you finish. The best way to reshape it is to saturate the pouch, out your hand inside and gently pull the pouch outwards. Lay it flat to dry as usual.

In MC, cast on 41 sts and join invisibly by decreasing one st (40 sts). Place marker or use the yarn tail to indicate the beginning of the round.

Rds 1 – 8: Work in the magic loop and knit 8 rds plain.
Rds 9 – 27: k1 MC, k1 CC to end.
Rd 28 – 33: *k1tbl, p1 to end
Bind off all sts.

Seam the bottom (cast on edge) carefully. Wet or steam block your work. This step can be skipped but it is worth doing! Blocking evens your stitches out nicely and gives a more finished look.
After your pouch is dry, weave your jute cord around the top of the pouch into the final knit round just under where the ribbing starts (see image). Once you’re finished, all you need to do is fill your pouch with gifts and enjoy!