Big Pockets Skirt

Hi everyone! I'm back again with another knitted skirt. Knitting a basic skirt like this one is an overall easy project. You can follow one of two strategies to make one; either knit it as one piece, worked in rounds (see my Bold Stripes Skirt post), or as two pieces, front and back, sewn together along the side seems. I made a skirt of the second kind and added two large side pockets. One of my favorite aspects about this skirt is the buttons; they are not only decorative, but they also fasten the front to back part of the waistband. Another feature of the skirt that I took great care to show off is the “I-cord” like line that starts from the waistband, along the pocket opening, and continues down the side seams to the hem. I hope you try out this design, and I can’t wait to hear your feedback about this project. Let me know if you liked it or had any comments about it. My next project might be a matching top, but I haven’t decided yet, so stay tuned!

Skill level: Intermediate

Get printable PDF for this pattern:    or  

Materials:

• Suggested yarn: Alize, Burcum, Nokta, 100% acrylic, 3.53 oz. (100 g), 230 yards (210 m), in the color 5665: 3 (3, 4) skeins.
• knitting needles, sizes US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 9 (5.5 mm). 
• Tapestry needle.
• Four buttons, 1" (2.5) in diameter.
• Transparent elastic thread.
• A few pins.

Sizes and measurements:

Size	Waist	Hips	Skirt Length
XS/S	26"- 28" (66- 70 cm)	36"- 37" (90- 94 cm)	18" (46 cm)
M/L	29"- 31" (74- 78 cm)	39"- 40" (98- 102 cm)	19.5" (50 cm)
XL/2XL	32"- 35.5" (82- 90 cm)	42"- 45" (106- 114 cm)	21.5" (54 cm)

Yardage: 

• Size XS/S: 515- 520 yards (470- 475 m), approx.
• Size M/L: 585- 590 yards (535- 540 m), approx. 
• Size XL/2XL: 645- 650 yards (590- 595 m), approx.

Gauge: 15 sts and 21 rows = 4" x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm) in stockinette stitch.

Knitting Terms:

• st: stitch.
• sts: stitches.
• k: knit.
• p: purl.
• m1L: one stitch increase left-wise.
• m1R: one stitch increase right-wise.

Instructions:

Note: an advice to get a neat side edge, instead of knitting or purling the first st of each row, slip it purl-wise.

Front:

Upper band:

With US 7 (4.5 mm) knitting needles, cast on 35 (45, 55) sts. work as follows:

Rib row 1: (k 1, p 1), repeat to last st, k 1.

Rib row 2: purl the p sts and knit the k sts. 

Repeat rib row 2 two more times.

Buttonholes row: (k 1, p 1) twice, make 3 sts wide buttonhole, (p 1, k 1) to last 8 sts, p 1, make 3 sts wide buttonhole, (p 1, k 1) twice. 

You can watch my tutorial video for knitting this type of buttonhole here: 

Repeat rib row 2 five times. Repeat buttonhole row once, then repeat rib row 2 five times. 

Side pocket shaping:

Change to US 9 (5.5 mm) knitting needles while working the next row:

Row 1: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 8, (p 1, k 9) to last 13 sts, p 1, k 8, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [37 (47, 57) sts]

Row 2 and every even numbered row (unless mentioned otherwise): knit the k sts, and purl the p sts.

Row 3: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, (k 9, p 1) to last 13 sts, k 9, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [39 (49, 59) sts]

Row 4: (p 1, k 1) twice, (k 1, p 9) to last 5 sts, k 1, (k 1, p 1) twice.

Row 5: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, (p 1, k 9) to last 5 sts, p 1, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [41 (51, 61) sts]

Row 7: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 1, (p 1, k 9) to last 6 sts, p 1, k 1, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [43 (53, 63) sts]

Row 9: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 2, (p 1, k 9) to last 7 sts, p 1, k 2, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [45 (55, 65) sts]

Row 11: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 3, (p 1, k 9) to last 8 sts, p 1, k 3, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [47 (57, 67) sts]

Row 13: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 4, (p 1, k 9) to last 9 sts, p 1, k 4, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [49 (59, 69) sts]

Row 15: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 5, (p 1, k 9) to last 10 sts, p 1, k 5, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [51 (61, 71) sts]

Row 17: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 6, (p 1, k 9) to last 11 sts, p 1, k 6, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [53 (63, 73) sts]

Row 19: (k 1, p 1) twice, m1L, k 7, (p 1, k 9) to last 12 sts, p 1, k 7, m1R, (p 1, k 1) twice. [55 (65, 75) sts]

Repeat rows (1-10) once more. [65 (75, 85) sts]

Continue working the front as follows:

Basic row 1: (k 1, p 1) twice, k 3, (p 1,k 9) to last 8 sts, p 1, k 3, (p 1, k 1) twice.
 
Basic row 2: knit the k sts, and purl the p sts.

Repeat basic rows twenty-three (twenty-six, twenty-nine) more times. Repeat rib row 1 once then rib row 2 twice. Bind off all sts.

Back:

Upper band:

With US 7 (4.5 mm) knitting needles, cast on 121 (131, 141) sts. work as follows:

Rib row 1: k 1, p 1, repeat to last st, k 1.

Rib row 2: purl the p sts and knit the k sts. 

Repeat rib row 2 fourteen more times.

Change to US 9 (5.5 mm) knitting needles while working the next row:

Row 1: k 35, (p 1, k 9) to last 36 sts, p 1, k to end.

Row 2: purl the p sts and knit the k sts.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 fourteen more times, then work as follows:

Ending pockets rows:

Row 1: bind off 28 sts, (k 1, p 1) twice, k 3, (p 1,k 9) to last 36 sts, p 1, k 3, (k 1, p 1) twice, k to end.

Row 2: bind off 28 sts, purl the p sts and knit the k sts. [65 (75, 85) sts]

Finish knitting the back piece by following the same instructions for the front, starting with Basic rows 1 and 2 to the end of that section. 

Sewing skirt pieces: Place the back piece face down on your working table, then fold the pockets towards the middle line of the skirt. Place the front piece on top and pin the two pieces together. Sew the seams of the pockets to the underside of the front (use hidden st technique). Sew skirt front and back side seams together (from pocket ends to the hem). Sew buttons in place. Weave in loose yarn ends. To prevent the skirt's waistband from becoming too loose, I passed four pieces of transparent elastic thread through it. 

You can watch my tutorial video to see more details about making this skirt, including the sewing process: 

Lastly, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or find something confusing in the pattern.

Happy crocheting/knitting! follow me on Instagram @wiams_crafts and Twitter @wiamscrafts to see my upcoming projects.