It’s a shame to spoil the look & feel of your phone with a bulky case. But you definitely need to protect the screen with something!
So here’s my simple slim knitted phone case pattern. It’s easy to adapt for any phone. You only need a small amount of 4 ply yarn – perfect for making the most of leftover variegated sock yarn.
It’s also an ideal project to practise knitting in the round. It’s quick to make such a small tube & you end up with a useful finished object. Yay!
Materials & Notes
- 2.5mm long circular needle (for magic loop) or double pointed needles, or size needed to match gauge.
I love KnitPro Zing 100cm circular needles. - Small amount of 4 ply or sock yarn. I used Scheepjes Our Tribe in shade 985 Ubuntu-Molly (420m per 100g ball). 35-50 metres (8-12g) approx needed depending on phone size.
- Tapestry needle for grafting the end (optional) & weaving in ends.
Tension / Gauge
15 stitches per 5 cm knit in the round, equivalent to 30 stitches per 10 cm / 4 inches. Because the phone sock is so small, it’s easier to measure gauge using 5cm here.
42 rows per 10cm knit in the round. Row gauge does not matter though. Just knit until you reach your phone length.
Yarn Substitution Notes
While any 4 ply yarn should work well here, you may need to adjust the needle size or stitch count to get gauge.
For example, I needed to use a 2.25mm needle with Drops Fabel to get gauge. Using Fabel with a 2.5mm needle still worked well, but knitting the small size (44 stitches) produced a medium size cover.
Your phone case look & feel will also vary a bit depending on your yarn choice. For example:
- Scheepjes Our Tribe has a woolly haze and knits up into a lovely soft cover, but goes a bit fuzzy with use.
- Drops Fabel is not as soft & produces a thinner feeling cover, but you don’t get any wool fuzz & it wears very well.
☘️ In Ireland? You can shop local for Scheepjes Our Tribe and Drops Fabel yarns at Winnie’s Craft Cafe.
How to knit the right size cover for your phone
You can use this pattern for any phone. As a rough guide, casting on 48 stitches should suit average size recent smartphone models. This assumes you match the 3 stitches per cm gauge.
If you have an extra large phone, try 52 stitches instead.
If you are lucky enough to have a supercute iPhone mini like me, or a similar smaller phone, use 44 stitches. The finished size should be approx 7.25cm by 14cm.
You don’t have to get the stitch count exactly right because wool is stretchy. It might take a bit of trial and error if you want a perfect fit though. Try it on your phone from soon after the ribbing & just rip back if it’s not right. If in doubt, err on the side of too few stitches as a snug cover works best.
Here’s a table showing suggested stitches for some popular smartphones:
| Phone Model | Cast On |
|---|---|
| iPhone 12 Mini | 44 stitches |
| iPhone 12 | 48-50 stitches |
| iPhone 12 Pro Max | 52-54 stitches |
| iPhone 11 | 52 stitches |
| Pixel 3a or 4a | 48 stitches |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 | 48 stitches |
Need help working out the number of stitches for your phone? Just comment below & I’ll try to help.
For any maths fans out there, here’s how to work out how many stitches you need for your phone:
- First measure your phone, or use a free tool like Phone Sized to find the exact dimensions. Just search for your phone and click on its picture to see the width x height x depth measurements.
- If your tension is also 3 stitches per cm, you can use this formula:
(phone width in cm +1 ) x 6 - Round your answer to the nearest even number & cast on that many stitches.
For example, if you have a Google Pixel 4A phone, that’s 69.4mm wide = 6.94cm. The formula gives (6.94 + 1) x 6 = 47.64. So you would cast on 48 stitches.
Knitted phone case pattern
Cast on
Use 2.5mm needles, or size needed to get 3 stitches per cm gauge.
Use the long tail cast on or your preferred cast on for 1×1 rib.
For a small phone e.g. iPhone mini: cast on 44 stitches.
For a medium or average size phone: cast on 48 stitches.
For an extra large phone: try 52 stitches.
For the best fit, read the sizing and yarn substitution notes above for further guidance on the number of stitches & needle size for your phone.
Join for working in the round
If using a long circular needle (magic loop), divide your stitches in 2 ready to work in the round. Here’s my step by step magic loop video tutorial (learn in 10 minutes).
If using double pointed needles, divide your stitches among 3-4 needles as you prefer, ready to start your first round.
Knit 6 rounds of rib
k1, p1 around for 6 rows of 1×1 ribbing.
NB your phone cover circumference should look much too small at this stage. That’s always the case when knitting in the round.
Knit until your phone cover is the right height
After the rib, the rest of the phone sock is just plain knitting.
After knitting a few rounds, put it on your phone to check it’s the right width. A snug fit works best & remember your phone cover may stretch a bit with use.
Check the fit every so often as you go. Stop knitting once your phone cover is the right height. I like my ribbing about flush with the top edge, but it’s personal preference.
For the iPhone mini cover, I knit about 53 rows (after the 6 rib rows). This gives a finished size of approx 7.25cm by 14cm.
Graft the ends of your phone cover together
For the best finish, I recommend grafting the ends of your phone cover together with kitchener stitch using a tapestry needle. Alternatively, you could cast off all stitches at this point & then stitch the ends together with a tapestry needle instead. But I would encourage you to give grafting a go first. ?
If you haven’t done kitchener stitch before, don’t be put off. It’s quite simple & gives a really professional result. Here is a clear video tutorial showing you how to graft ends from aknitica.
If using DPNs, first arrange your stitches so they are on just 2 needles, half on the front needle and half on the back needle. The 2 needles are parallel, one in front of the other. Your yarn should be at the right end of the back needle, as if you were going to knit another round.
Cut your yarn, leaving a good long length for stitching with. Thread your tapestry needle with this.
Step 1: bring your tapestry needle through the 1st stitch on the front needle as if to purl (right to left) and leave it on the needle.
Step 2: bring your tapestry needle through the 1st stitch on the back needle as if to knit (left to right) and leave it on the needle.
Step 3: bring your tapestry needle through the 1st stitch on the front needle as if to knit (left to right) and slip it off the needle.
Now repeat step 1.
Step 4 bring your tapestry needle through the 1st stitch on the back needle as if to purl (right to left) and slip it off the needle. Now repeat step 2.
Repeat steps 3 & 4 until no stitches remain.
Once you have done the initial set up stitches, you get into the rhythm of: front – knit and slip off, purl, back – purl and slip off, knit.
After every few stitches, review how the end looks & tighten up the grafted stitches as needed to match well with the rest of your knitting. Just take your tapestry needle and pull out the loose bit of a stitch with it and then move this along adjusting each following stitch.
Before you weave in the yarn end, have a final check of the grafted stitch row and adjust tension as needed.
As if by magic, grafting makes your end join disappear! Note the picture below is after 1 month’s use, so the phone cover looks slightly fuzzy with wear:
Weave in the yarn ends
Weave in the yarn tails at the top and bottom of the sock. Your phone sleeve is now complete. Enjoy!
I hope you have fun knitting your phone cover. If you have any questions or feedback, just leave a comment below.
This free pattern is for personal, non-commercial use only. It may not be copied, sold, translated or distributed in any way, nor any finished items made using it sold, without permission.
