The book in which this pattern is published is now out of print, but there is a revised edition of the book with an improved version of this pattern available. Look for “Box of Delights v2” for more info

While brainstorming things to put in this book, someone suggested a little box might be just the thing for a small project, not too much of a time commitment, good for practicing a number of techniques. I thought this was a good idea, but I think I may have strayed too far from the original concept. Still, I think it can be said that this box is unique in construction — searches online for knitted boxes invariably turned up boxes with no lids, or lids knitted separately. This box not only has a lid, but a seamless construction, shaping and an integrated hinge thanks to the lock stitches used.

For practicing techniques, this is an ideal small piece — it has cast-on, bind-off, increases, decreases, color-changing and lock knits and purls. However, it’s also designed to be sturdy and stand up on its own — so the fabric is tough and unyielding, for the most part. This is not something you want to hear about most knitting projects, but for a box it’s not a bad thing. The bad thing is that the way I make the fabric tough is by knitting it in bulky yarn on size 4 needles. The first couple of revisions broke at least one DPN, and required plenty of resting due to stress on my hands. All this because I don’t like to felt my double-knitting — I like the stitch definition. You may want to experiment with larger needles and felting — I’d love to see how it turns out.

Regarding the name, yes, this is named after the John Masefield book and my favorite bizarre BBC Christmas miniseries from childhood.