Amsel Storage Box - Free Knitting Pattern For Home in Paintbox Yarns Recycled Big Cotton by Paintbox Yarns

Amsel Storage Box – Free Knitting Pattern Using Paintbox Yarns Recycled Big Cotton

The Amsel Storage Box is a free, downloadable knitting pattern from Paintbox Yarns, designed to create a sturdy, decorative home storage box worked entirely in the round. Rated intermediate in difficulty, this project is a wonderful introduction to combining functional home décor with colourwork knitting. The finished box measures approximately 9¾ inches (25 cm) in height and 35½ inches (90 cm) in circumference, making it a generously sized container suitable for storing yarn, toys, blankets, or household essentials.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a single cylindrical knitted storage box with a separately constructed bottom piece and a colourwork body. The design features a classic, clean silhouette with a textured moss stitch body and a decorative stranded colourwork panel worked from a dedicated colorwork chart. The combination of neutral and accent colours gives the box a modern, Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic that suits a wide range of home interiors.

Techniques Used

• Worked in the round – The entire box is constructed using circular knitting needles, producing a seamless tube that forms the body of the storage container. This technique avoids the need for seaming and creates a smooth, even fabric.
• Stranded colourwork – A colourwork chart featuring up to three colours is incorporated into the body of the box. In stranded knitting, unused yarn colours are carried loosely across the wrong side of the work, creating a double-layered fabric that adds structure and durability — ideal for a storage item that needs to hold its shape.
• Moss stitch – The main body fabric is worked in moss stitch (also known as seed stitch in some traditions), which alternates knit and purl stitches in a specific sequence to create a dense, textured surface. This stitch pattern lies flat without curling, making it particularly well suited to a box construction.
• Increases (Inc) – The bottom piece begins with just 4 cast-on stitches and is shaped through repeated increase rounds, building outward in a circular form to create a flat, disc-shaped base for the box.
• Purl rounds – Alternating purl rounds are worked between increase rounds during the construction of the bottom piece, helping to define the shaping and add a subtle ridge detail.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) – The foundational knit stitch is used throughout the pattern, both in the body and the colourwork sections.
• Purl (p) – Purl stitches are used in the moss stitch pattern and in the shaping rounds of the bottom piece.
• Moss stitch – An alternating knit-purl combination that creates a bumpy, reversible texture across the body of the box.
• Increases (Inc) – Used extensively in the bottom piece to build the circular base from a small cast-on.

Materials and Yarn

The pattern calls for Paintbox Yarns Recycled Big Cotton, a super chunky weight yarn available exclusively at lovecrafts.com. This yarn is notable for its eco-conscious construction, being made from recycled cotton fibres. It produces a substantial, structured fabric that helps the finished storage box maintain its shape without any internal stiffening. The recommended yarn quantities are as follows:

• 3 balls in Beige (A) – 8.8oz / 250g balls, used as the primary background colour
• 1 ball in Light Pink (B) – used as a contrast colour in the colourwork chart
• 1 ball in Red (C) – used as a second contrast colour in the colourwork chart

The pattern is knitted using US 11 (8mm) circular knitting needles, which are the correct size to achieve the stated gauge of 10.5 stitches and 13 rows to a 4-inch (10 cm) square in moss stitch. Additional materials include scissors and a large-eyed needle for weaving in ends.