No Sew Toddler Pocket Vest

A very practical, easy to knit toddler vest is the What's In My Pocket? Vest. Claudia Krisniski wrote this pattern especially for CIC knitting and it has been used over and over again by those of us who knit for CIC.

The fun part about having a pocket is the opportunity to tuck a little toy in it. The unfun part, for me, was sewing the pocket onto the vest.

CIC vests are worn by the kids until they fall apart, and sometimes after they fall apart. I always felt like my sewn on pocket was the weakest part of the vest, especially with little kid hands going in and out of it. So I started making a knit in pocket.



This is how it's done:

The vest is size 2, 72 stitches at 3 stitches per inch.

Knit two inches of k1 p1 ribbing. (Pocket will still work if you prefer the garter stitch bottom border. I like the ribbing better.)

Knit 17 rows after the ribbing.

With a second ball of yarn and a second needle, pick up 20 stitches just above the ribbing in the center of the front. To pick up a stitch, go into it from the top and loop around the horizontal bar of yarn.

Work the following 17 rows in the picked up stitches.
Odd rows are wrong side.
Even rows are right side.
Ssk = slip as if to knit, slip as if to knit, knit two slipped stitches together.
K2tog = knit two stitches together

Row 01 - K3, p14, k3 (20 stitches)
Row 02 - k20
Row 03 - k3, p14, k3
Row 04 - k20
Row 05 - k3, p14, k3
Row 06 - k4, ssk, k8, k2tog, k4 (18 stitches)
Row 07 - k3, p12, k3
Row 08 - k18
Row 09 - k3, p12, k3
Row 10 - k4, ssk, k6, k2tog, k4 (16 stitches)
Row 11 - k3, p10, k3
Row 12 - k16
Row 13 - k3, p10, k3
Row 14 - k4, ssk, k4, k2tog, k4 (14 stitches)
Row 15 - k3, p8, k3
Row 16 - k14
Row 17 - k3, p8, k3

Now go back and knit with the main needle. When you get to the center 14 stitches of the front, knit the pocket stitch and the vest stitch together.

I haven't done a size 4 vest yet, but I'm thinking the pocket for size 4 will be two stitches wider and two rows taller.