Vest and Slipover Knitting Patterns

This time of year I don’t have it in me to knit (or, most of the time, to wear) a full sweater, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still get cold from time to time. Having lots of vests and slipovers is a great solution, and they’re faster to knit than sweaters with sleeves. If you’ve never knit a sweater before, a vest knitting pattern is a great place to start.

If you’re very new to knitting, the Nexi Vest from Ceradia Studio might be a good place to start. It’s mostly garter stitch worked in one piece flat from the bottom of the front (which starts with an I-cord) up over the shoulders and down the back. There are optional short rows for bust shaping but you can keep it straight if you’d rather. The ties are crochet chains. The pattern come sin 10 sizes.

If you like the look of ties you can also try the Audrey Vest by Adelina Maižiut?, available on Ravelry. This is a longer vest worked in stockinette stitch with ribbed edgings. It’s worked in two pieces from the bottom up, so you only have to sew the shoulder seams. The tie is worked in double knitting. The version shown has three strands of yarn held together to make a DK weight, or you can use a sport and a lace held together or just a DK. The pattern comes in four sizes.

Nicole Sofie Knit’s Flora Vest has a tie at the front instead of the sides. It’s a basic cardigan style vest worked from the top down, starting with the back and then picking up stitches for the front. It comes in six sizes and includes I-cord finishing.

Ysolda Teague’s Clova Slipover (on Ravelry) is a nice classic vest pattern worked from the top down in worsted weight yarn. There are 14 size options. The upper back is knit first and shaped with short rows, then the upper front is knit with options for short row shaping at the bust.

Another one I love is La Tunique by Catherine Clark. This long slipover with pockets has a whopping 17 size options and is worked in DK weight yarn. It’s perfect to throw over anything and is worked flat from the bottom up with a split hem and a relaxed fit. You can find this one on Ravelry.

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Every knitter has a stash. Some of us have a neat little basket. Some of us have a “please don’t open that cupboard too quickly” situation. So a book called Knitting Stylish Stuff from Your Stash already feels like it understands the assignment.

Written by Erica Berntsen, this book is all about turning leftover yarn, odd skeins, and those slightly mysterious yarn purchases we were definitely going to use “one day” into stylish, wearable projects. The book includes 20 scrappy knitting designs and focuses on making the most of what you already have, with a practical zero-waste approach. It’s published by Landauer Publishing and runs to 168 pages.

What I like about this book is that it doesn’t treat leftover yarn as second-best. Instead, it leans into the charm of mixed colours, textures, scraps, and creative combinations. That’s where stash knitting becomes fun rather than just economical. You’re not simply “using things up”; you’re making something with personality.

The projects are aimed at knitters who want fashionable, useful pieces rather than another pile of tiny odds-and-ends projects that never leave the craft room. It’s a good fit if you enjoy relaxed, creative knitting and don’t mind experimenting a little with colour and yarn pairing.

This would suit knitters who:

have too much leftover yarn and want realistic project ideas
enjoy scrappy, colourful knitting
like sustainable craft projects
want stylish stash-busting patterns
prefer practical makes over fussy novelty projects

I’d say this is especially appealing for knitters who already have a little confidence and enjoy making creative decisions as they go. If you are the sort of person who likes everything to match perfectly, scrappy knitting might make you twitch slightly. But if you love a good “let’s see what happens” project, this book will probably be right up your alley.

For anyone working through this book, it’s worth sorting your yarn stash first by weight, fibre, and colour family. A digital kitchen scale is surprisingly handy for checking how much yarn you actually have left, and a few clear storage tubs or yarn bags make the whole process much less chaotic. The book itself is a natural Amazon book recommendation, and Mary Maxim is a useful place to look if you need extra yarn to pull a stash project together.

Knitting Stylish Stuff from Your Stash is a clever, practical, and refreshingly useful book for knitters who want to stop saving yarn scraps for “someday” and actually turn them into something wearable. It’s creative without being wasteful, stylish without being intimidating, and a lovely reminder that your stash probably already has more potential than you think.

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