Knit a Super Simple Vest

I love a project that’s great for beginners but also gives people who might have more projects under their belts (read: more stash) to use what they have in a fun and creative way.

The Bernat Beginner Change Your Stripes Knit Vest is a super simple, boxy, garter stitch vest worked in stripes of different colors. As shown it uses four colors, but I will never stop saying you can use as many colors as you like on a project like this. This might be a great time to pull out a magic ball and use all the little random bits you have in your stash. (It calls for super bulky yarn but you could also mix it up by holding two strands of worsted weight together to use even more stash.)

As written you change colors after two rows, which makes sense because that gives you one garter ridge, so if you wanted to keep the look more uniform you could choose odd balls where you have enough to knit at least two rows (or four rows if you want the front and back to match).

This piece is literally just rectangles finished with a bit of garter stitch to form the armholes and then sewn together.

And while this would be a super fast stash buster if you’re the sort of knitter who needs such a thing, this pattern is perfect for beginners, too, because it has tons of pictures to help you figure out how to change colors and manage your yarn without cutting it every two rows. (This is actually a super helpful thing to know and past me would have loved that knowledge when I knit a baby blanket with tons of color changes and cut the yarn each time.)

Grab the free pattern and any supplies you might need from Yarnspirations.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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