How to Knit Horizontal, No-sew Pockets [TUTORIAL]

Pockets make everything better!

Many of my garment patterns include pockets, such as The Comeback Cardigan, Dilaila's Hoodie, or Soothsayer. They're all horizontal pockets that feature separate pocket edgings and linings that are sewn or seamed onto the garment.

In this tutorial you'll learn a method of knitting a horizontal pocket with a bag-style lining that doesn't require any seaming or sewing, only a bit of waste yarn and picking up stitches. This type of pocket makes an appearance in two of my patterns: Tweed Is Still the New Black from 2019 and the recently released Happenchance.

Tweed Is Still the New Black features horizontal pockets worked into the stockinette body.

Step 1. Mark Pocket Placement with Waste Yarn

We're picking up the action in media res.

Inserting a forethought pocket is done very much the same way as a peasant thumb or a forethought heel (or anything forethought, really). Work the number of stitches equivalent to the pocket width with waste yarn, then slip these stitches back onto the holding needle, and carry on on your merry way to finish the rest of the garment.

Stitches worked with waste yarn mark where the pocket opening will be.

In Happenchance the pockets are hidden within the hem ribbing. Here I've worked the waste yarn on the first row of ribbing instead of into the stockinette body.

Unlike afterthought pockets, which are inserted after the main body of the garment is complete, forethought pockets are planned from the start. If you don't know where you'd like to place them while still knitting the garment, take the afterthought route and decide pocket placement later. In that case you'd forgo the waste yarn step and pick up stitches directly from the knitted fabric instead.

Step 2. Pick Up Stitches Around the Pocket Opening

Pick up stitches from the row above and below the waste yarn.

Holding the work in the direction of knitting, pick up the stitches from the top and the bottom of the waste yarn by inserting the needle tip under the right leg of each V.

Unpicking the waste yarn reveals the pocket opening.

Carefully unpick the waste yarn to form the pocket opening. There's now a gaping hole in your garment!

Don't be alarmed if you have one fewer stitches on the top needle. No, you didn't drop one! This is perfectly normal and has to do with the structure of knitted fabric. While the bottom needle is holding the actual stitches (the Vs) in the orientation in which they were knit, the top needle is holding the running threads between stitches, resulting in one stitch fewer. Think of it like the fingers on your hand: you have five fingers but only four spaces between fingers.

To even out the difference, just pick up an extra bar on the top needle. Speaking of extra stitches, pick up another extra stitch in each corner to prevent holes or gaps where the pocket bag meets the body of the garment. Decrease these extra stitches as you work the first round.

Step 3. Create a Fold Line

To help the pocket bag keep tucked inside the garment, it's a good idea to create a fold line along which the stitches will naturally want to flip over. As I discussed in the Happenchance blog post in regards to shawl collars, a simple purl ridge works best. This is done on the first round of the pocket bag.

Work a fold line by purling across half of the pocket stitches.

Re-orient the work and the needles so that the pocket edge closest to the hem is on the bottom. Join yarn and purl across the first half of the pocket stitches, then knit (or work in pattern) across the remaining half.

Step 4. Knit the Pocket Bag

The purl ridge needs to be done only once. The rest of the pocket bag can be worked in any stitch pattern you want until desired length is achieved.

Work the pocket bag in the round.

A simple stockinette pocket bag is the easiest and perhaps the most practical. But you can also play around with adding some hidden detail to your garment in the form of, for instance, a contrasting color, colorwork, stripes, or a fun textural stitch pattern. I'd stay away from lace, though. After all, you don't want holes in your pockets.

Step 5. Close the Bag

Push the pocket bag to the inside.

When the pocket bag measures the desired length, the bottom of the bag is closed from the wrong side. Push the bag to the inside of the garment with the needles still attached.

Use three-needle bind-off to close the bottom of the pocket bag.

Pull the needles and yarn to the outside of the work and use three-needle bind-off (3NBO) to close the bottom of the pocket bag. This creates a sturdy and stable seam that won't stretch out.

Step 6. Finishing Touches

Finished pocket bag on the wrong side.

Here's the finished pocket bag, still inside out. All you need to do now is weave in the two tails, one at the beginning where you joined yarn for the pocket bag and the other on the end where you finished the 3NBO. If you want, you can use these tail ends to tack the pocket bag down so that it doesn't flop around on the inside of your garment.

Finished horizontal pocket on the right side.

And here's how the pocket looks on the right side. The pocket opening blends seamlessly into the fabric. The purl ridge fold line ensures that the pocket bag stays on the inside without wanting to push up and revealing the innards.

When to Use No-Sew Pockets?

A horizontal pocket with a double-layer pocket bag is a fun and practical addition to a cardigan or pullover. While it requires a bit of planning ahead, the result is well worth the effort.

Happenchance features horizontal pockets hidden in the hem ribbing.

This method integrates pockets seamlessly into the design, creates a clean finish with no sewing, and doesn't distort the fabric because the pocket bag is knit separately from the main garment. If the pocket bag is snagged or wears out, your garment will still be intact — just knit a new pocket bag!

These types of pockets are best used in fine-gauge knits where the double-layer bag doesn't add much bulk. If the garment is worked in a very heavy-weight yarn, a single-layer pocket lining attached to the main garment may be a better alternative.

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