Beginner · free small project

Mini drawstring pouch

Knit one rectangle, fold it in half and sew two side seams: a small drawstring pouch with garter-stitch top bands and two eyelet rows for the cord (yo, k2tog on the right side; yo, p2tog on the wrong side). Width and depth follow your measured stockinette gauge.

Original Purlgrid recipe · engine-checked counts · diagrams are previews, not photographs of a physically made sample.

Supplies and skills

Smooth yarn, matching knitting needles, a blunt yarn needle, scissors, and either more yarn for a twisted cord or a ready-made cord.

Knit and purl (stockinette)
Eyelets: yo with k2tog on a RS row and yo with p2tog on a WS row
Mattress-stitch seam

How to make it

Knit a stockinette swatch, wash and dry it, and count stitches and rows in 10 cm. Enter your gauge and the finished width and depth you want.
Cast on the stated count and follow the row groups: a garter band, an eyelet row, the back, the front, a second eyelet row and a second garter band. Count your stitches after each eyelet row — the yarn-overs and decreases keep the total the same.
Bind off, fold the piece at the stated fold line and sew both sides with mattress stitch, taking one edge stitch from each layer into the seam.
Thread a cord through all the eyelets, starting and ending at one side seam, and knot its ends.

Not a toy. Keep drawstring bags and cords away from babies and young children.

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Cast on: 24
Rows (back + front): 68
Finished size: 12.2 × 14.2 cm
Eyelets per row: 11

Usable width 12.2 cm: 24 cast-on stitches minus 1 seam stitch on each side. The worked panel is 13.3 × 28.3 cm before folding. Depth 14.2 cm = 34 rows at 24 rows per 10 cm; the garter bands are counted at your stockinette row gauge and may be a little shorter.

Engine schematic of the single knitted piece at your stitch proportions: row 1 at the bottom of this drawing, fold line dashed, seam stitches shaded, eyelets as dots. Not a photograph of a made sample.

Working instructions

Terms used here: k = knit; p = purl; sts = stitches; RS = right side (the outside); WS = wrong side; k2tog = knit the next 2 stitches together as one (1 stitch fewer); p2tog = purl the next 2 stitches together as one (1 stitch fewer); yo = yarn over: bring the yarn over the right needle to make a new loop, which leaves a small hole; garter stitch = knit every row; stockinette = knit the RS rows, purl the WS rows.

Odd-numbered rows are right-side (RS) rows. Cast on 24 sts. Each eyelet row keeps the stitch count: every yo adds a stitch and the k2tog or p2tog next to it removes one.

Rows 1–4 (garter, back top band): knit every row — 24 sts.
Rows 5–6 (stockinette, back): k24 on RS rows, p24 on WS rows — 24 sts.
Row 7 (eyelet row, RS, back): k1, *yo, k2tog; rep from * to last st, k1 — 24 sts (11 eyelets).
Rows 8–34 (stockinette, back): k24 on RS rows, p24 on WS rows — 24 sts.
Rows 35–61 (stockinette, front): k24 on RS rows, p24 on WS rows — 24 sts.
Row 62 (eyelet row, WS, front): p1, *yo, p2tog; rep from * to last st, p1 — 24 sts (11 eyelets).
Rows 63–64 (stockinette, front): k24 on RS rows, p24 on WS rows — 24 sts.
Rows 65–68 (garter, front top band): knit every row — 24 sts.

Bind off on the next row (row 69, RS) knitwise without pulling tight. This edge is the front's top edge.

Making up

Weave in the cast-on and bind-off tails on the wrong side.
Fold the piece between rows 34 and 35, wrong sides together, so the two garter bands meet at the top and the eyelet rows line up.
With the right side facing, sew each side with mattress stitch, taking the 1 edge stitch of each layer into the seam, from the fold up to the top of the garter band. Fasten off securely.
Make a cord about 54 cm long (a twisted cord or crochet chain from the same yarn, or a ready-made cord). Starting at one side seam, weave it in and out of every eyelet all the way round so both ends come out at the same side. Knot the ends.

Not a toy. Keep drawstring bags and cords away from babies and young children.

Materials

Main yarn that gives 18 sts and 24 rows per 10 cm in stockinette
Cord: about 54 cm (not included in the fabric estimate)
Knitting needles, yarn needle, scissors

No fabric yarn amount is assumed. Add a weighed, measured swatch below for an area-based estimate of the main fabric.

Approximate time: about 1.4–2.7 hours of stitching: 1,632 stitches at 10–20 stitches per minute. Every pace above is an assumed range, not a timed sample; enter your own pace to replace the main one. Finishing (seams, weaving in ends, blocking) is not included.

Stitch totals: 1632 knitted stitches (24 × 68 rows), 24 cast on, 24 bound off.

✓ Every row uses 24 stitches and makes 24 stitches.
✓ The written row groups cover every row exactly once.
✓ Both eyelet rows sit 6 rows from their top edge, so they meet when the piece is folded.
✓ Fold line between rows 34 and 35: back and front have 34 rows each.

Questions about this project

Why did the stitch count go up by one?

The eyelet row is k1, then pairs of yarn-over and k2tog, then k1, so it needs an even number of stitches. If your width gives an odd count, one stitch is added and the actual width is shown.

Why are there more stitches than my width needs?

One stitch at each side is sewn into the mattress-stitch seam. The cast-on includes them; the finished width shown is measured inside the seams.

Terms and next steps

k = knit; p = purl; sc = US single crochet; MC = main colour; CC = contrast colour. A number after a stitch abbreviation is the number of stitches to work. Read repeat instructions as written.

Abbreviation references: Craft Yarn Council knitting terms · Craft Yarn Council crochet terms and US/UK comparison.

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