Knit The Pocky

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

KNIT THE POCKY (R8x32) 2C (4C set) Turnbull RSCDS Book 11

1- 8 1L+2M advance and retire, turn 2H (Skip Change of step)
9-16 1M+2L advance and retire, turn 2H
17-24 1s followed by 2s (who first dance up) lead down middle and 2s lead back to 1st place followed by 1s who end in 2nd place
25-32 2s+1s dance R&L

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Knit The Pocky - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Knit The Pocky - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

This seems to be a traditional old dance: for the music that goes with it dates back to 1757. But who devised it and when, I don't know.

What the intriguing title means is much debated. "Pocky" in Scots can mean various things: fingerless gloves, a bag, a hat, a fishing-net, or a swindle! - So it might mean "Burst the bag", "Mend the fishing net" or "Turn out your pockets" to find a few little coins (e.g. to buy a wee dram!). Or various other things. Take your choice...

(Dance information by Sir Christopher MacRae, KCMG)

Knit The Pocky
"Girl Making Net At Port-Rhu, Douarnenez" Jules Breton (1827-1906), Oil On Canvas, c. 1878

Image copyright Jules Breton [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'Knit The Pocky' page