Play with Fisherman’s Rib in This Fun Long Vest Project

Brioche knitting has been popular for a while now, but I feel like maybe fisherman’s rib is starting to catch up in terms of seeing it more in patterns. They have a very similar look but a lot of people feel that fisherman’s rib is easier. (I do, too, and I know a lot of people love it because one of the most popular posts on my blog is a fisherman’s rib scarf.)

Both brioche and fishermans rib make a kind of thick, squishy fabric that might not feel appropriate for hotter weather, but the Yapa vest by Cecilia Lalanne and Maria Cano for Maos del Uruguay definitely feels like something you can wear when the weather is warm.

It’s worked flat in pieces from the bottom up, so you can make it any length you like, but I like this long version. It uses two different colors of their Alegria yarn, which is a fingering weight blend of merino wool and polyamide, which brings a little coolness to the party (as do these pretty candy colors).

The pieces include integrated I-cord edging, which makes the finishing that much easier. All you have to do is sew the shoulder seams together and join the sides as much or as little as you want. (As shown the color change and the armhole shaping mark the border of where the sides are joined, but if you don’t want such a deep armhole or split hem you can sew up more of it.)

The pattern comes in eight sizes ranging from a bust circumference of 34.5 to 56.5 inches, or 88 to 144 cm. It looks best with a few inches of ease and is shown here with 4.5 inches/12 cm of positive ease.

This is a free pattern available as a download on Ravelry.

If you need help learning how to knit fisherman’s rib, check out my post on the subject.

[Photo: Manos del Uruguay]

Fisherman’s Rib Scarf Knitting Pattern

Knit a Bunch of Comfort in this Fisherman’s Rib Blanket Knitting Pattern

Fisherman’s Rib and Brioche Stitch: What’s the Difference?

I guess I must have had this pattern on my mind, because I had chosen this log cabin blanket recipe to write about, promptly forgot about it and a couple of weeks later started knitting a log cabin blanket using all my pink yarn.

It might stay pink if it makes it to baby blanket sized, or I might add in some pastel green and blue, too, to make a bigger blanket. We’ll see. I’m also holding several strands of yarn together to make a kind of bulky yarn, which means it’s deeply satisfying how much yarn is used even as the project is still relatively small.

In Kristen Finlay’s version, DK weight yarn scraps (or fingering/sock yarn held double) are used to make a simple scrappy log cabin blanket that’s lighter weight than my version. Log cabin is a great technique for knitters of any skill level because it’s worked in garter stitch. The only not completely basic technique you need for log cabin knitting is picking up stitches.

If you’ve never worked a log cabin knitting project before, this is a good introduction, and it is really nice to use all your yarn scraps in one big project you’ll use for years to come.

If you use a lot of DK weight yarn you can keep building on it whenever you finish a project, or if you use more worsted weight you can do the same thing with it, it will just be a little bigger starting out than the pattern calls for. How big it gets is totally up to you.

I have really been enjoying working on my log cabin project, and it’s my current sitting at my desk and need a break knit (do you have one of those or is it just me?).

Ready to start your own log cabin blanket knitting project? You can grab the free pattern from Kristen Finlay on Ravelry.

Need more log cabin inspiration? Check out more log cabin knitting patterns.

[Photo: Kristen Finlay]

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