Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Knit a Simple Striped Vest

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This pretty vest pattern has stripes that are different in both color and texture, which makes the knitting and the wearing of it a bit more fun. The Linden vest pattern by Noriko Ho was originally designed for the Puget Sound LYS Tour and was the featured knit pattern for The Fiber Gallery. Now it’s available for wider purchase and I think this will be a great project for transitioning into fall (or spring, as the case may be where you live).

The original design uses two different DK weight yarns. One is a pretty smooth superwash merino, while the other is a fuzzy blend of alpaca, cotton and merino. This gives the pattern stripes of texture as well as color without having to do any more work on your part.

Of course you could also make it all smooth, or all fuzzy, or even forgo the stripes and make a solid colored version in whatever kind of yarn you like or have on hand. Maybe you’ll want multiple versions of this simple V-neck vest. I know I probably would.

The pattern is worked flat in pieces from the bottom up. The design is meant to be cropped, but of course you can add more length if you prefer. It’s also intended to be worked with zero to 4 inches of negative ease for a snug fit.

It comes in nine sizes, ranging from a chest measurement of 30.5 inches to 62.5 inches (that’s 77 to 159 centimeters for our metric system friends).

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

Looking for more vest patterns? Check out this collection of easy vest knitting patterns, or here’s another roundup I did a few years ago of fun vest knitting patterns. Or just search for vests in the search bar at the top right of the page and you will find a bunch of individual patterns I’ve written about through the years as well!

Have you read?

Classic Dishcloth Knitting Patterns

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use. 

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make. 

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!). 

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn. 

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart. 

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern. 

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.