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!

One of my favorite things to make on a circular knitting machine is scarves, because they’re a great way to use leftover yarn and certainly faster than knitting by hand.

But if you pay attention to the colors you’re using and how you are using them, you can make fun knitting machine scarves that look like something different when you roll them up.

One of the first versions of this I saw was the sushi scarf, are there are a lot of variations on this one. For example this one from Flower and Anchor that uses five colors of yarn, or this one from Three Threads NE that uses four. These generally are made to look like California rolls, but you could change up the colors to make them different things if you like. Just make sure the outside of the “roll” is black or green to indicate the nori. I found another version on Pinterest if you’re looking for a free pattern, but there’s no image of it rolled up.

Another popular variation is making a scarf that rolls up to look like a mug with coffee, tea or another fun beverage inside. This collection of three mug scarf circular knitting machine patterns from Idaho Cottage Creation includes green tea, a pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream and a candy cane colored confection (which honestly reminds me of the Grinch since it has a green mug!). Again you can change the colors of the mug part and the drink part. The little handle looks like it’s crocheted on these, and it doubles as a loop you can thread the scarf end through when you wear it.

Again there’s a version of the green tea scarf on Pinterest with crocheted elements. I also found a latte done with a striped yarn and a red mug that’s pretty cute and gives you an idea what a different beverage would look like.

I also love this pumpkin pie scarf designed by Jodi Favish Saunier. It has a bit of crocheted edging to give it a fancy crust but you can omit that if you don’t crochet. These are all on Facebook but she also has a watermelon and lemonade pattern that are super cute.

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