Tomato Can to Knit Plant Pot – Free Knitting Pattern

The inspiration for this project

I am a sucker for any African Violets that make it onto the clearance racks at our local plant center.

You might have read in previous post that where we currently live, we do not have access to recycling (except for Ripple Glass which I am so grateful for).  As someone who tries really hard to reduce the amount of waste I am sending to the landfill, this is really difficult for me.  So I have been looking at all the creative ways I can upcycle what would normally be our recycling. While I have a long way to go to reduce our trash to where it was before moving to Missouri, I am continuing to find ways to decrease our waste.  If you are interested in ways to keep some of your waste out of the landfill, check out my Upcycling Recycling Pinterest board for inspiration.  This tomato can to knit plant pot project was inspired by this, although I fell in love with the herringbone pattern on one of the plants in the background, and not the featured pattern.

Quick to put together

Getting started!

This knit plant pot is a great way to not only give 28-oz food cans a new life, it also gives all of my 4” nursery pots a pretty facelift.  After looking at the inspiration post, I pulled out my go-to copy of Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.  I picked up my copy at a used book store many years ago before the new printings were available and I use it frequently when looking for just the right pattern stitch.  After flipping through the book and swatching a few options, I decided the Herringbone pattern was just what I wanted. I did a little math and a bit more swatching and figured out how many stitches I would need to cast on.  

Once I was underway, the can cover knit up quickly (I completed the first one from start to finish in a day) and with a little seaming, it was ready to pop onto my tomato can and my plant slid right inside.  Luckily the lip on the plant pots keeps the 4” greenhouse pot from slipping down into the can, allowing it to rest at the top of the decorative pot and have plenty of drainage below in the event of overwatering.  

Just a few notes on the project

Christmas cactus in a paper backed fabric covered tomato can

First, I use a safety can opener which slices the top off a can with a clean edge that is not sharp.  I highly suggest you get one of these for so many reasons – not only do you no longer end up with sliced hands trying to get the last olive out of the can, but you can also make great projects like this one without worrying about cleaning up sharp edges.  

Second, I knit this project flat and seamed it up because I couldn’t find my US size 8 double point needles.  If you want to avoid seaming, knit this in the round, just change the purl rows to knit rows in the pattern below.  

Third, I am a left handed knitter.  I managed to learn how to do everything as a mirror reflection of a right handed knitter.  I have included instructions below for both right and left handed knitters – please pick the set of instructions that works for you!

Finally, if you don’t know how to knit and are not interested in learning, I also made a few of these plant pots by covering the can with some paper backed fabric using double sided tape.  Just cut fabric or paper to the dimensions of the can. Apply double sided tape to the paper/fabric and begin to apply to the can, starting with one of the short edges, and slowly rolling the can along the covering until completely wrapped.  Ensure the edge at the end is fully secured with double sided tape, then just drop in your plant and enjoy!

Tomato Can to Knit Plant Pot Pattern

Here is where I started – not nearly as pretty as the finished project, but a violet which had been given up on is being revived!

You will need:

• 28 oz empty tomato can (opened with a safety can opener or with all sharp edges filed smooth – can be from any canned food, I have just been using a lot of 28-oz cans of tomatoes)
• Dishcloth cotton yarn in color of your choice (you should be able to get two plant pots out of a 2.5 oz ball)
• US size 8 knitting needles (or the size you need to get a dense but fluid fabric)
• 4” nursery pot with a plant in it

Cast on 57 stitches using a loose cast-on.

Work in the following pattern repeating all four rows until the piece measures 5¼ inches from cast-on edge (for me this was eight pattern repeats).

Right Handed knitters (stitches move from the needle in left hand to needle in your right hand)

Herringbone Stitch (from Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns)

• Row 1 (wrong side): Purl
• Row 2: *K2tog, k2, increase in next stitch as follows: place point of right-hand needle behind left-hand needle, insert point of right-hand needle from the top down through the (purled) head of the stitch below next stitch, and knit; then knit the stitch above; k2; rep from *, end k1
• Row 3: Purl
• Row 4: K1, *k2, increase in next stitch as above, k2, k2tog; rep from *.

Left Handed knitters (stitches move from the needle in right hand to needle in your left hand)

Herringbone Stitch (from Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns)

• Row 1 (wrong side): Purl
• Row 2: *K2tog, k2, increase in next stitch as follows: place point of left-hand needle behind right-handed needle, insert point of left-hand needle from the top down through the (purled) head of the stitch below next stitch, and knit; then knit the stitch above; k2; rep from *, end k1
• Row 3: Purl
• Row 4: K1, *k2, increase in next stitch as above, k2, k2tog; rep from *.

Finish on either a row 2 or 4 of the pattern and then cast off your stitches purlwise, allowing your cast-off row to pull tightly.

Sew up the seam to create a tube and sew in your ends.  Slide your can into the tube you have knit with the cast-on edge at the top of the can.  There will be a few extra rows of fabric, I allow these to wrap around the bottom of the can (the tighter your bind-off the more naturally these will curve around the bottom of the can).  This not only provides a clean edge at the bottom visually, it also gives a little buffer so the can won’t scratch any surfaces if you slide it around while watering or rearranging your plants.  Finally, pop your 4” nursery pot into the covered can and enjoy the pretty new home for your plant!

As a bonus, since these are knit from dishcloth cotton, they can be machine washed and dried in the event that soil or dirty water splashes onto them while washing!

Wishing you an afternoon of fun upcycling your recycling!