Get Your Fruits by Knitting the Fruit Salad Vest

I guess I’ve decided it’s time to start knitting vests, and while I typically think of vests as being for fall, this one is decidedly summery.

Vanessa Ewing’s Fruit Salad Fest is covered with all kinds of fruits. I see grapes, blueberries, strawberries, peaches and kiwi all stitched up in rows for a cute and colorful vest.

This one is worked in sock yarn and comes in nine sizes. The actual finished chest measurement of the vest ranges from 29.5 to 59 inches, or 75 to 150 cm. It’s meant to be work with 2 to 4 inches/5-10 cm of positive ease. And while it’s called a vest it doesn’t look like it has any shaping, which gives it little cap sleeves when worn.

There’s a bit of ribbing at the armholes and neckline, and the bottom has a split hem. It’s worked in the round from the bottom up and includes steeks. It’s not really a pattern for people new to colorwork thanks to all the charts and different colors used, but if you’re ready to take on a challenge this would be a fun one.

Speaking of colors, there are 13 involved in this pattern, but a few of them aren’t needed in a huge quantity, so this could be a use for some mini skeins or leftovers from other projects if you have them in the right colors. This isn’t one where you can substitute colors that easily since they are meant to be true to real fruits, but you could use a different background color, make your grapes green or red, or change the blueberries to another fruit if you have different colors on hand.

Any way you slice it, this looks like a super fun knit that is sure to bring a smile to your face whenever you wear it, and to others whenever they see it.

Check it out and grab a copy on Ravelry.

[Photo: Vanessa Ewing]

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The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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