Two Easy Peasy Knitted Vests

When I got back into knitting nearly two years ago one of my aims was to knit a stack of vests for winter. Here in Brisbane it doesn’t get too cold in winter so vests are ideal as they keep your chest and back warm so you only really need a long sleeved shirt underneath. Perfect for workwear in the office.

I started off with good intentions and actually made a traditional vest – front, back, pick up stitches around the neck….you know what I mean.

And then in July last year I started another one. I’ve finished the back and am about a third of the way through the front. Using size 4mm needles and 8ply (DK) yarn just seems to take forever!!!

So it was with great excitement that I found the Keep Me Warm Vest on Ravelry. It’s knit in the round and doesn’t have any of that pick up stitches around the neck. Hooray!!

This is my first attempt….my Keep Me Warm Vest in mauve.

I’ve already worn it to work a couple of times and it’s kept me as snug as a bug in a rug! The yarn I used was bought on Ebay ages ago. It’s Moda Vera Mousse and it’s a 12ply (bulky) 70% wool / 30% soy blend. I used 4.5mm for the band and 8mm needles for the body of the vest. I was a bit worried the 4.5mm was too small and that I was going to have trouble getting it over my head but it worked out quite well as there is a bit of stretch in the band but not enough to make it saggy. I used seven balls of yarn.

My second Keep Me Warm Vest is called Autumn as it’s knitted in Moda Vera Spinnler which is a 12ply (bulky) 34% wool / 33% rayon / 33% acrylic blend. I used seven balls of this yarn. I absolutely fell in love with this yarn when I saw the colour.

All those lovely autumn shades. I featured this yarn in a previous post.

Despite the fact both these yarns are listed as 12ply (bulky) the Spinnler didn’t seem as thick so I used 6mm for the band and 7mm needles for the body of the vest and cast on 150 stitches rather than 140 stitches. I have a phobia about my vests being too tight and showing every bulge so I’d rather they were a smidge loose so I have freedom of movement. And you know how much I hate knitting tension squares. So far both these vests fit perfectly. They’re not supposed to be a dense knit either.

I am nearly finished my third vest which is knitted in an 8ply (DK) yarn but I have used size 6mm needles so the vest grows faster than when using the traditional 4mm needles. All I can say is I’d much rather spend about a week knitting a vest (which is how long it’s taken me…and that’s only knitting at night time) rather than over a year knitting a ‘properly constructed’ vest.

You can easily add some cabling into the front of the vest as well to jazz it up a bit. I may try that when I knit my next one in a solid colour.

I am so thankful I found the Keep Me Warm Vest pattern. Let me know if you decide to knit one of these vests too.

Until next time…

Melanie