How to Design a Vest Knitting Pattern

I talked the other day about how much I am enjoying vests lately. Another reason I’m liking them is that they give me an excuse to knit something sweater adjacent without actually knitting sweaters, since I have about 24 knit sweaters and don’t really need more right now.

I recently designed a completely basic, bulky V-neck sweater worked in two pieces from the bottom up as a way to teach people how to design a basic garment for themselves.

This vest fulfilled a dream of mine because I’ve always wanted to make something with Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick‘s Hudson Bay colorway, and I happened to be at my local Joann (before all the bankruptcy sales started) and there were exactly three skeins of this colorway, all of the same dye lot, so I figured that was a sign that I needed to take them and make something.

Three skeins isn’t a huge amount of yardage (about 318 yards) so I thought a vest would be a great choice. And it worked out perfectly that I could make the vest I wanted in the right size for me and used almost exactly all the yarn (I think I have about 2 yards left). And that was with only doing a round of single crochet around the neckline and slip stitches around the armholes because I didn’t have enough yarn to do ribbing.

I love it just as it is, though, and the process the post walks you through could be used to make a vest of any size and in any gauge that you want. But to be honest I kind of want to knit another one exactly the same in a different colorway, and maybe with some ribbing next time.

If you’d like to knit your own vest or just see how I made mine, check out the post over at Our Daily Craft. I think this is a great way to learn the basics of designing on a small scale and an easy way to build knitting confidence.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

Twist Your Stitches for a Fun Vest Knitting Pattern

Knit a Vest with Cabled Details

A Beyond-Basic Vest to Knit for Fall or Spring

Next Pattern:

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]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?