Knit a Cozy Vest for Fall

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.]

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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

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