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.]

Next Pattern:

If you’re looking for a fun project to play with brioche knitting, check out the My Buddy knitting pattern/recipe from Casuarinagirl on Ravelry.

This project doesn’t include a brioche tutorial, so it’s good to know the basics, including how to increase and decrease, but you can always practice on a swatch before you start the project if you want.

The design is meant to be flexible for the yarn you have and what size and shape of project you want to make, from a skinny neck scarf to a asymmetrical triangle or a more classic triangular shape.

The shape you end up with will depend on how often you increase (and then decrease on the other side). The pattern mentions increasing every fourth, fifth or six row (and the one shown increases and decreases every sixth row) but you can do it even more or less often depending on the shape you’re looking for an how much yarn you want to use.

You can work to whatever depth you would like, or use almost half of the yarn you have set aside for the project and begin decreasing.

When it comes to yarn, she used three strands of yarn held together to make a super fluffy shawl, but you can work it with whatever yarn and needles you like to make a wrap that’s all your own.

If you are new to brioche (or to increasing and decreasing in brioche) it might be a good idea to make a little scarf or head wrap first before diving in to the bigger pattern, just so you’re more comfortable with the technique. Or just give it a go; nothing about brioche knitting is that difficult. (But you might want to use a lifeline because I find brioche hard to rip out or fix mistakes in properly.)

You can grab the free pattern for the Buddy Wrap on Ravelry.

[Photo: Casuarinagirl]

Next Pattern:

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