Free Knitted Pouch Pattern: Reusable Eco Friendly Gift Wrap

As the festive season is approaching, I thought it was only right to offer you not one, but two fabulous and free knitting patterns. While there are no crochet patterns this year, to tell you the truth, I cannot 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 traditional 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. It is sheer genius, isn’t it?

Why You Will Love This Free Knitted Pouch Pattern

With sustainable wrapping in mind, I designed these tiny pouches that are not only reusable, but also perfect for holding small gifts such as jewellery or chocolates. They are delightfully easy to scale up to any size you like, meaning you are never limited to only tiny gifts. There is something profoundly special about handmade presents, but handmade packaging, especially hand-knit wrapping, is such a rustic and thoughtful idea that everyone will appreciate.

You could also use these pouches to hold your AirPods when you are on the go, or even for sweets at Halloween. There are so many design possibilities for these little creations, though I stuck with the simplicity of stripes, featuring both vertical and horizontal options, alongside 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 a ribbon, an i-cord, or a length of crocheted chain stitch, but I personally prefer the organic look of jute against the softness of the wool and cotton yarn used for the pouch body.

Shop The Yarn You Need On Lovecrafts (affiliate link):

Small Knitted Pouch

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.

Materials and Project Details

For this pattern, you will only need small amounts of yarn, making it a wonderful stash-busting project for using up scraps and turning them into something new, eco-friendly, and beautiful.

At a Glance: Drawstring Pouch

Skill Level: Intermediate
Materials and Tools: Less than 25 grams of DK weight yarn (Main Colour in wool, Contrast Colour in cotton), jute cord for the drawstring, 3.5 mm longer-length circular needles, a stitch marker, scissors, and a yarn needle.
Skills Required: Magic loop, knit, knit through the back loop, purl, invisible join, colour changes, Fair Isle technique, cast on, bind off, and weaving in ends.
Finished Size: 10 by 7.5 cm, though fully adjustable.
Project Notes: To limit ends, do not break the yarn when changing colours. Simply drop it and pick it back up when needed. For a custom size, cast on multiples of two and work until you reach your desired height.

Tools, yarn, skills and extras

AT A GLANCE: DRAWSTRING POUCH INTERMEDIATE
MATERIALS & TOOLS	Yarn: <25g DK weight (MC wool, CC cotton) Cord: Jute cord for the drawstring Needles: 3.5 mm longer-length circulars Notions: Stitch marker, scissors, yarn needle
SKILLS	Magic loop, k, tbl, p, invisible join, color changes, Fair Isle, CO/BO, weaving ends
SIZE	10 × 7.5 cm (adjustable)
PROJECT NOTES To limit ends, don’t break the yarn when changing colors—drop it and pick it back up when needed! For a custom size, simply cast on multiples of two and work until you reach your desired height.

Knit Your Own Pouches: The Patterns

Style One: Horizontal Stripes

Using your Main Colour, cast on 41 stitches and join invisibly by decreasing one stitch to leave 40 stitches total. Place your marker or use the yarn tail to indicate the beginning of the round.

Rounds 1 to 8: Work in the magic loop and knit 8 rounds plain.
Rounds 9 and 10: Change to Contrast Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 11 to 13: Change to Main Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 14 and 15: Change to Contrast Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 16 to 18: Change to Main Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 19 and 20: Change to Contrast Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 21 to 23: Change to Main Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 24 and 25: Change to Contrast Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 26 to 28: Change to Main Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 29 and 30: Change to Contrast Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 31 to 33: Change to Main Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 34 and 35: Change to Contrast Colour, knit every stitch around.
Rounds 36 to 40: Work alternating knit one through the back loop and purl one to the end of the round.
Bind off all stitches.

Style two: Vertical Stripes.

Style Two: Vertical Stripes

Note: Due to the nature of stranded colourwork, your pouch may pucker or pull in slightly. To combat this, consider knitting a little looser than usual, and remember to wet block and shape your work after finishing. The best way to reshape it is to saturate the pouch, put your hand inside, and gently pull the fabric outwards before laying it flat to dry.

Using your Main Colour, cast on 41 stitches and join invisibly by decreasing one stitch to leave 40 stitches total. Place your marker or use the yarn tail to indicate the beginning of the round.

Rounds 1 to 8: Work in the magic loop and knit 8 rounds plain.
Rounds 9 to 27: Knit one Main Colour, knit one Contrast Colour to the end.
Rounds 28 to 33: Work alternating knit one through the back loop and purl one to the end of the round.
Bind off all stitches.

Seam the bottom cast-on edge carefully. Wet or steam block your work. While this step can technically be skipped, it is well worth doing because blocking evens your stitches out nicely and gives a much more professional, finished look. After your pouch is completely dry, weave your jute cord around the top of the pouch into the final knit round just under where the ribbing starts. Once you are finished, all you need to do is fill your pouch with thoughtful gifts and enjoy the process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use worsted weight yarn instead of DK weight? You certainly can, but keep in mind that a heavier yarn will result in a larger pouch. If you do switch to worsted weight, you may want to adjust your needle size accordingly and swatch first to check your gauge.

What is the best way to weave in ends cleanly? Since these pouches are small and often viewed from the inside, use your yarn needle to weave the tails neatly along the back of the matching colour rows, splitting the yarn fibres slightly as you go to lock everything securely in place.

Are these pouches machine washable? That depends entirely on the fibre content of the scrap yarns you choose. If you use superwash wool and cotton, a gentle wool cycle on your washing machine should be fine, though hand washing is always safest for handmade gifts.