Get Simple Style with this Easy Vest Knitting Pattern

I love Japanese knitting patterns. Of course not every designer from that country has the same style, but in general, many Japanese knitting patterns have a spare but stylish look, with just enough details to make them interesting to knit and wear.

Take this vest knitting pattern, UraUe by Natsuko Iida. It’s a pretty, relaxed vest worked in half fisherman rib and stockinette. The neckline is shaped with short rows. It has a bit of a high-low split hem and is reversible. It includes an optional cowl you can wear over the vest to make it look like a turtleneck, or wear it separately.

Best yet, this pattern, which is available on Ravelry, has been designed to work with DK weight or super fine yarns. Both patterns are sized from XS to 4XL, a chest measurement up to 63 and 64.5 inches, respectively. It’s intended to be worn with 5-9 inches of positive ease.

If you want to explore Japanese knitting patterns more, I have a couple of book reviews on Japanese knitting stitches: Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida and Japanese Stitches Unravled by Wendy Barnard. These books offer stitch patterns that you can incorporate into any project you like.

There are translations of Japanese knitting pattern books available on the market, which are a good way to practice with Japanese knitting patterns. Typically Japanese patterns don’t include a lot of (or really any) written instructions, instead presenting the pattern as a chart. Techniques are explained in a section at the back of the book, and detailed schematics of the pattern show you how to build your project.

It’s quite different from the way patterns are usually presented in the west, but it’s fun to trust yourself to understand them (because you probably already know what you need to know to knit them). If you need more prompting to try Japanese knitting patterns, check out this post from Skein with 10 reasons to love Japanese knitting patterns.

If you’ve ever worked with them I’d love to hear about your experience!

Next Pattern:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply