Knit an Easy Hooded Vest

April 21, 2025 by Sarah White

I have probably said this before, but I went through a phase when I really didn’t like knit vests. But I’ve come to appreciate them as a perfect transition garment, a layer that gives a little warmth where and when you need it but that’s easy to take off (and maybe even toss in your bag) when you don’t need it.

Vests are a fun way to play with color and pattern and somehow feel less serious than knitting a whole sweater. And they’re a great practice for people who aren’t ready to knit garments with sleeves (though I promise sleeves aren’t hard!).

I love vests with fun details like the Mila Hooded Vest from Irene Lin. It has the hood, as mentioned, but it’s also a cardigan style vest with big buttons that add a design element and fun patch pockets because everything is better with pockets.

This vest could double as a jacket over a sweater or sweatshirt, or wear it all day over a lighter layer.

It’s worked from the top down, with the fronts and back worked separately until they are joined at the underarms. The pockets are added after the rest of the knitting is done.

Mila uses worsted or aran weight yarn and comes in six sizes. The actual body circumference of the garment ranges from 40.25 to 63.25 inches, or 102 to 161 cm. It’s shown worn with about 7.5 inches/19 cm of positive ease, but you can determine how much ease you want depending on what you might wear it over.

I love how the darker brown buttons provide a little contrast on the lighter brown version shown here, but on the pattern page there’s also a black version with black buttons if you don’t want them to stand out as much. Or pick a totally contrasting color for extra whimsy.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Irene Lin]

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Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.