Free Easy End of the Ball Knitting Pattern: Bed Pockets

It’s a warm summer afternoon. I’m sitting outside in the blistering heat thinking, not only can’t I knit, but I’ve got all the yarn left over from my winter projects. No matter how hard I try to enjoy the sunshine and my book, that yarn haunts me. It sits in the house on a shelf, not even large enough in ball size to be kept in a respectable bag, or basket, or box and it cries out. The center of the ball, the very SOUL of the yarn, for justice. It wants to be used...it must!

It’s summer. Who is going to wear a sweater? I don’t know. But I can’t focus on a lawyer betting on a boxing match in the book I’m reading. I have to knit....something. Somehow.

I go to put my book down and...there’s no-where to put it. That’s when the idea comes to me. An idea so simple in its simplicity that even a simple minded knitter (or one who is too busy to count rows and stitches) can piece together in an afternoon. A genius plan to be sure. I go inside, and begin my project the way I always do: by ensuring the yarn is of good quality. We can talk all day about types of yarn and materials, but cheap household projects like this one can (and should) be knit with quite a stiff, cheap yarn. No, I’m talking about the most important test of yarn quality: how does it feel in the mouth? How does it run across one‘s ear?

Testers abound, but I recommend a scrappy rescue cat for this. Her injured ear makes her much more sensitive to the highest quality yarn. And, yarn males rescue cats less timid. It’s the only thing Itachi will stop hiding for, so we give her liberal daily doses of it. 

Once tested and found passing, I cast on enough stitches to get the width of pocket I wanted. In this case, with sport weight polyester yarn and size 8 needles, it was 51 stitches. I sat in front of the TV for an hour or two and knit straight in garter stitch until I had a rectangle large enough to fold over into two pockets. Because I was using up scrap yarn, I just kept knitting until I was close to the end of the ball and then bound off the same way I’d been going along: in knit stitch. 

What this entire project has just one stitch? 

Yes. And really, why complicate things? 

I leave enough of a yoke in the middle to fold over the side of a bed (you’ll leave a bigger gap if you’re folding this over anything bigger like a couch arm) and stitch the sides. I work away the ends, turn it right-side in, think maybe I should have taken photos of this whole process instead of taking more photos of the cat (she’s so cute though) 

And end up with something like this:

As long as there’s something heavy in the shallow pocket (a book, a rock collection) the other side will hang over a bed just fine. Here it is on that famous reversible IKEA bunk bed, holding a few books. One day, I’ll get really fancy and add a cell phone pocket. Or I’ll get really fancy and add big wooden buttons, or tassels, or try one of those fancy knitting patterns I actually have to pay attention to or worse, actually write out a proper knitting pattern for this.  Tomorrow? Tomorrow I’m making wall pockets to hold my hair accessories! 

Incidentally, the Whole Year planner (created by me for creative people) is available on Amazon, AND I’m coming out with a new version this fall! 

Thanks for reading! Stay safe, stay home. And get crafty!