This simple side-to-side vest is a cardigan variation of a modified drop shoulder sweater with a boat neck and no sleeves. The fronts fold down at the neck, giving a V shape to the neckline. Instead of knitting the entire back from side seam to side seam as in the Side-to-Side Classic Crew, I knitted the back in two halves, beginning with a provisional cast-on along the centerline. Each front is worked from the center, beginning with the overlapping seed stitch edgings, outward to the side seams. This way, the bind-off edges for the fronts and back are all aligned at the sides so they will behave similarly in the seams. For simplicity, the edgings are knitted as part of the front and back fabric. The fronts close with a single button at the top of the overlapping seed stitch bands.
Originally inspired by the armhole shaping of Mary Kaiser’s Daisy Stitch Vest (page 127), I designed this vest for the beginning knitter. It is just rectangles without any shaping. At the time, I had no idea how valuable this pattern would become. I’ve used it as a template for vests and jackets ever since (for example, the Autumn Vest on page 126). Now I don’t even have to think if I’m knitting with a worsted weight yarn…I just cast on 95 stitches and start knitting, and I know it’s going to work out.
I find that when I cast on at the center back and work in both directions, I can knit to fit much more easily than when I cast on at the side seam. Working from the center out lets me shape my armholes after I have knitted most of the body, so I can rip them out easily if they aren’t right.
I chose La Lana Wool Streakers because it has been a favorite of mine for years. I began my designing career with La Lana’s Forever Random Blends and any of them would look amazing in this vest.
The Fitter List for Rectangle Vest
Measure your body and allow for the appropriate amount of ease (see page 14) or measure a sweater that fits the way you like and enter the numbers below. Refer to your gauge swatch for your stitch and row gauges, then translate each measurement into numbers of stitches and/or rows as you go along. Note that the direction you knit the sweater pieces (up and down or side to side) will determine whether you follow the stitch or row numbers (you only need to fill in the appropriate blank).
Yarn name: La Lana Wools Streakers (200 yards/skein): Silverstreak, 4 skeins
Fiber content: 100% wool
Weight classification: Worsted (#4 Medium)
WPI: 11
Number of yards/pounds used: 800
Stitches per inch (in stockinette stitch): 4.33 Rows per inch: 6.5
Stitches per inch (in seed stitch and garter stitch): 4.25
Rows per inch: 7.5
Needle size: US size 9 (5.5 mm; straight)
Cast-on method: Provisional for bodice back; long-tail for bodice fronts
Bind-off method: Chain
Selvedge treatment: Garter stitch for lower border; chain stitch for shoulder edge
Sleeve increase/decrease method: NA
Seam technique: Mattress stitch for shoulder seams; crochet chain stitch for side seams
Bodice
Circumference: 39 inches
Width (excluding overlaps): 19½ inches; 116 rows
Cast-On Stitches (including selvedge stitches): 95 stitches
Length With Edging: 22 inches; 95 stitches
Length Without Edging: NA
Length of Lower Edging: 1¼ inches; 5 stitches
Armhole Depth: 10 inches; 42 stitches
Back Neck Width Without Edging: 8 inches; 48 rows
Back Neck Width With Edging: NA
Front Neck Depth Without Edging: 9 inches; 38 stitches
Front Neck Depth With Edging: NA
Lower Front Neck Width: 0 inches
Shoulder Width: 3½ inches; 21 rows
Sleeves
No sleeves.
Cardigan Variation: Width of Front Overlap: 1¾"; 12 rows. Length of Front Overlap: 13"; 56 stitches. Width of Center Front Garter Stitch Border: 8 rows.
Modified Drop Shoulder:
Across Front (or Back), between armholes: 15"; 90 rows. Width of Armhole Shaping: 14 rows. Back Width from Centerline to Shoulder: 45 rows.
Slit Along Side Seam: Length of Side Seam Slit: 3"; 13 stitches.
Boat Neck: Half Back Neck Width Without Edging: 4"; 24 rows
Tip Vest Map:
Indicate seed- and garter-stitch patterns on your sweater map by shading the appropriate areas with separate colors that represent individual stitch patterns.
Sweater Map for Rectangle Vest
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 17).
Work as for the Up-and-Down Classic Crew (page 17).
Work as for the Side-to-Side Classic Crew (page 18).
Use a provisional cast-on (Glossary, page 134) at the center back and work each half to the side seams, adjusting for a boat neck (page 38) and modified drop-shoulder shaping (page 40), and working the edgings along with the bodice (page 44).
Determine the number of cast-on stitches that will be worked in the edging pattern. For this vest, I wanted about 1¼" in garter stitch for noncurling edges at the hemline and neckline. At my gauge, this translated to 5 stitches. As I knitted the first row, I placed markers 5 stitches in from each edge to remind me to work those stitches in garter stitch. I worked garter stitch at the shoulder-line edging for one-half of the neckline opening, then discontinued the garter stitch at the shoulder line but continued it at the hemline all the way to the underarm panels.
Stand in front of a mirror and use a ruler to measure the desired horizontal width of your neck opening, keeping in mind that the neckline of the bodice fronts will fold back at this width. I chose an 8" width, which corresponded to where the curve of my neck met my shoulders. Because the back is worked in two pieces from the centerline, work to one-half this width, or 4". Discontinue working the 5 edging stitches at the neck edge and work these stitches in stockinette stitch until the piece measures 1" less than half of the across-front measurements (to account for modified drop shoulder shaping, page 40).
For the final inch before the armhole, work the stitches that correspond to the armhole depth in seed stitch to make a noncurling edging on the armhole. At the same time, work the 5 stitches immediately below the armhole in garter stitch to correspond to the garter edging at the hem edge (I worked 42 stitches in seed stitch along the armhole, 5 stitches in garter stitch right below the armhole, 42 stitches in stockinette stitch, and the last 5 stitches at the hem edge in garter stitch).
Using the chain method (Glossary, page 131), bind off the armhole stitches (all of the stitches that were worked in seed stitch for the last inch) and leave the remaining stitches live for working the underarm panel.
Work the remaining stitches in garter stitch until you reach the desired one-half bodice width. Because the row gauge for garter stitch is different from that for stockinette stitch, use the actual measurement of the piece instead of relying on your row gauge to determine when you’ve come to the right width.
Return the provisional stitches to your needle and remove the waste yarn to work the other half of the back in the opposite direction, matching the neck, armhole, and side panel. Double check that you have the same number of stitches as you cast on for the first half. If you are short a stitch, pick up an extra stitch into the second stitch at one side. If you have an extra stitch, work a decrease (k2tog or ssk) at the boundary between the garter-stitch edging and the stockinette-stitch body.
Using the bodice back as a guide, decide where you would like the base of the neckline to fall. The fronts will fold over from this point to the shoulder line, giving the appearance of a V neckline. The base of the V will mark the top of the center front overlap. I wanted the overlap to extend 13" above the hemline, which translated to the 56 stitches I cast on for the overlap.
Knit the front in two pieces, each from the center front to the side seam. Working the left front first, use the long-tail method (Glossary, page 133) to cast on the desired number of stitches for the front overlap. Work the 5 stitches at the lower edge in garter stitch to match the lower back edging, and work the remaining stitches in seed stitch for 1¾" for the front overlap.
Use the long-tail method to cast on the number of stitches to bring you to the total desired bodice length. You should now have the same number of stitches as you cast on for the bodice back. Working the first and last 5 stitches in garter stitch as for the back, work the remaining stitches for the front edging in seed stitch for 1¼". Work the next 2 rows substituting stockinette stitch for the seed stitch between the edgings (this helps the front neck edges to fold over). Knit the following two rows in garter stitch to create a garter ridge on the right side. Then work the rest of the bodice front to mirror the same side of the bodice back, ending by binding off stitches at the side seam edge of the underarm panel.
In preparation for working the right front, determine where you want to position the button on the left front. Place your button at the desired point on the left front overlap—about ½" down from the top edge of the overlap and about ½" in from the cast-on edge is a good placement. Make note of the number of rows and stitches to the button placement so you can make a buttonhole on the right front to match. Knit a swatch if necessary to determine the right size buttonhole for your button (see Alina’s Tip for Button Placement, page 59).
Knit the right front as a mirror image of the left front, adding a buttonhole as desired.
Join the shoulder seams with a mattress stitch (Glossary, page 138). Join the side seams with a crochet chain stitch (Glossary, page 134) so that the seam allowance is on the right side of the garment.
Work as for the Side-to-Side Classic Crew (page 27). Sew button to left front opposite buttonhole.
