Knit a Cozy Vest for Fall

October 5, 2024 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I have probably told you this before, but I spent a long time not being a vest person. But when fall hits where I live, that’s all I want to knit, and most of what I want to wear.

Lion Brand Yarn technically calls this one a cardigan, the McInness Cardigan, to be exact, but I just see a long vest that’s open at the front and perfect for all your fall activities.

Take one look at this thing and tell me you want to wear anything else at the pumpkin patch or going apple picking. I didn’t think so.

This is a really easy project, worked in one piece back and forth in rows from the bottom up. The front bands are integrated into the sweater so there’s no finishing there. The pieces are divided at the shoulder seams and worked in three parts separately (each of the fronts and the back). The pattern calls for binding off and then sewing the shoulder seams together, but you could also hold all the stitches and either do a three-needle bind off or graft the stitches together if you’d rather.

The collar is then picked up and knit from the top of the garment, and the armholes are edged with applied I-cord.

The pattern comes in six sizes, with a finished bust measurement ranging from 36 to 56 inches, or 91.5 to 142 cm. It isn’t meant to close in the front so you can choose the amount of ease that works for you to have a good fit across your back.

This looks like a great project for TV knitting or if you’re traveling or watching sports in person or at home. It’s pretty in a solid color as shown but would also be great with stripes or using a multicolored yarn. It’s a great blank canvas that you can make your own in lots of different ways.

You can grab the pattern as a free download from Lion Brand.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn.]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Learn All About Ribbing (+ a Free Pattern to Try)

It might sound weird to you, but one of my favorite knitting stitch patterns is ribbing. I find it kind of fun to knit, because it feels mechanical after a while and I don’t really have to think about it, but it makes a texture that’s more interesting than stockinette stitch.

Over at Our Daily Craft I recently wrote a giant post all about knitting ribbing that includes most of what I know on the subject. There’s a fun variation on the cable cast on that is perfect for using with ribbing, tips on how to follow the stitch pattern, binding off in pattern and more.

I even talk about everyone’s least favorite part of knitting ribbing, which is what to do when you have to increase or decrease in ribbing (short answer: it’s going to mess up your pattern but it will also be OK).

I also share a few of my favorite ribbing patterns, because of course it doesn’t have to be knit 1, purl 1 or knit 2, purl 2 all the time. (In fact my favorite is probably 3×3. I find it super fun and love the texture of the fabric.)

You can check out the post all about ribbing here.

And if you’re ready to try an allover ribbed project yourself, check out my ribbed cowl knitting pattern. This one is fun because it starts out being knit flat and ends up in the round, so it opens up over your shoulder for easy wearing but is snuggly as a turtleneck at the top.

This one uses worsted weight yarn and is pretty quick and easy to knit. It’s a good one to try if you’ve never done a project in the round because you don’t have to worry about twisting the cast on since you’ll have already knit flat for several inches before you join. (Of course you could work the whole thing flat and make a seam where you want it to be closed, but knitting in the round is easier.)

Do you have a favorite rib stitch? I’d love to hear about it!

Practice Ribbing with this Hat and Mitt Set

Have You Tried This? Ribbing with No Purling

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply