The week Nikolai spent on crutches is certainly not something I wish to repeat (especially the doctor’s bills), but the sedentary lifestyle we were forced to adopt was perfect for lots and lots and lots of knitting.
My aunt came into town for a visit the day Nikolai got his cast on, and while she entertained the boys, I entertained myself with her knitting!
My aunt had been slowly knitting and knitting and knitting on a seamless yoked sweater for her mom for over a year, and being the impetuous and impatient knitter that I am…
In 3 days re-knit the yoke, steeked the front, knit on the button bands, and wove the armpits. My aunt got to weave in the ends which was just fine with me!
It ended up that there were 300gms of wool left over from my aunt’s sweater. She very kindly gave me the extra yarn and I knitted a little vest for myself.
Check it on Ravelry here.
I’m calling it “Hobble” because it was knit entirely during the time Nikolai was in a cast. I wore it to the doctor the day the cast came off.
Yarn: Donegal Tweed by Tahki, royal blue tweed, 3 skeins. Wool of the Andes by Knitpicks, Beryl Heather, 1 skein.
Needles and Gauge: US sz. 6 /4.0 mm yielding 4 sts per inch.
There was no pattern involved, it’s just a simple pullover V-neck vest with garter stitch edgings. I’ve been interested (fashion-wise) in longer styles lately, as they seem to both look good, and keep your butt warm. I was also interested in experimenting with the visual impact of a hip-level decoration.
I chose the simple diminishing zigzag pattern because it was appropriate to my stress level during my son’s week on crutches.
Because I have very little personal shaping, I like finding garment styles that create an impression of shape. The actual difference between my hip and chest measurements is only 4 inches, but this style seems to make the most of what (little) I have.
Edgings: Ribbing seems like a logical choice for this type of simple vest, but I didn’t want anything clinging around my hips. I chose garter stitch because it looks so wonderfully clean, but it also suits rustic tweedy yarns so well. I toyed with the idea of knitting the whole yoke in garter stitch a la Cobblestone, but this yarn was too bulky in garter, and the silhouette needed to be sleeker.
At the armpit split I bound off 8% and then decreased by another 5% on each side of each armpit. I decreased by binding off 2 sts each time I was at the underarm, which results in pretty good 45deg angles. When picking up and knitting the garter stitch edges I did a half-miter at each corner which turned out beautifully.
The V-neck: I wanted this to be quite deep and rather more dramatic than anything I normally wear. Before splitting the front to begin the V-neck I worked the center stitches in garter stitch for several rows before binding them off. I decreased for the V-neck by one stitch every 2nd row, then worked straight to the shoulder where I wove the fronts to the backs.
I makes me feel tricky to make seamless garments.
The neckband was worked back and forth in garter stitch, starting and ending at the center front. At the end of each row I worked the last stitch together with one of the BO stitches. In retrospect I would leave the neck edging loose and sew it down, as I think a neater, more symmetrical result could be achieved.
All in all, I’m very pleased with this vest. I think the shape and style suit me pretty well, aside from being very functional! The thing that pleases me most about this vest is how well the shoulders fit. I really dislike wide-shouldered garments, the narrow fit is just divine.
I’ve already worn this several times. Oregon finally got summer, but I still like some wool when the wind picks up!
Chasing Bunny 
