Emma Vest

To celebrate the launch of this new design, Emma will be 20 % off for the first few days! No code needed, but the time is limited.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to go to Scotland for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. It was March, and the colors of Scotland made me understand the color palette of Shetland yarn. Seeing all the greens, purples, browns, blues, pinks and yellows in nature made me want to make a Scottish colorwork vest with an explosion of color. And that’s what I did. And after this very snowy winter and spring, I wanted to knit flowers to remind me that spring would really come after all. I included thistles, moss campion, bluebells, roses, and my favorite colorway of pansies (that I always put in flower boxes as soon as I can, often while it’s still snowing).

My husband loves his Scottish heritage and loves to share the poetry and music of Scotland with our children (and our children’s children). I named this vest Emma, after my husband’s great-great grandmother.

Emma is knit in the round, bottom-up with steeks for the armscyes and the neck opening. The vest is mostly worked with two-colors at once. Occasionally there are three different colors in a row. You can knit with three colors, or you can knit with two and add the third accent color with a duplicate stitch. There are instructions for scoop neck or v-neck variations, so you can choose which version is best for you. The steeks are secured with a crocheted edge and cut open and the cut-edges are tucked under the crochet edge for a tidy inside of the vest. After the steeks are cut, the shoulder seams are joined and then the stitches for the ribbing around the armholes and the neck are picked up, and the edging is finished with a 1x1 rib.

Notice that here are two different gauges. But only one gauge is used for the entire vest. Choose the gauge that corresponds to the perfect size for you.

I hope you love making this vest as much as I did. I knit it for spring, but I’m going to wear this year round.

Materials
Yarn: Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift: Shetland wool 25 g skein= approx. 105 m
A. Moorit 108 2 (2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3) x 25 g skein
B. Mist 180 1 (1, 1,1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
C. Ivory 343 2 (2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3) x 25 g skein
D. Moss 147 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2) x 25 g skein
E. Sand 183 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2) x 25 g skein
F. Red Currant 572 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
G. Fjord 170 1(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
H. Dog Rose 268 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
I. Bramble 155 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2) x 25 g skein
J. Camel 141 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
K. Natural White 104 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
L. Yellow Ochre 230 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
M. Granny Smith 1140 1(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
N. Pacific 763 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,1) x 25 g skein
O. Damask 567 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein
P. Lomond 322 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 skein
Q. Scotch Broom 1160 1 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 25 g skein

Gauge and Swatch
Gauge #1 24 stitches and 32 rounds = 4 inches or 10 cm with larger needle
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) circular needles in 32”/ 40” (80 cm/100 cm) for the colorwork. And US 2 (3.0 mm) circular needles in 32”/40 (80 cm/100 cm) for the ribbing on the body, armscye and V-neck or scoop neck
Adjust needle size as necessary to obtain correct
Sizes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
0-4 -inch or 0-10 cm positive ease

Note: There are 15 different sizes but to keep the instructions simple, and give a larger variety of sizes, each size has two potential measurements. The difference is obtained by changing the gauge. For example, Size 1 knit in Gauge 1 is 32” and Size 1 in Gauge 2 is 28 ½. Just determine which chest measurement is best for you, then follow the instructions for sizes 1-8 in the corresponding size in either Gauge 1 or Gauge 2. Note: Don’t be freaked out that there is a 32” size in both sizes. That is not a typo, it’s just the way the numbers worked out with two gauges.
Finished measurements with Gauge 1
Chest: 32 (36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60) inches or 80 (90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150) cm
Finished measurements with Gauge 2
Chest: 28 ½ (32, 35 ½, 39, 42, 46, 49 ¾, 53) inches or 71 (80, 89, 97, 107, 115, 124.5, 133)
Finished lengths for both Gauge 1 and 2
Length to underarm: 12 (12 ½, 13, 13 ½, 14, 15, 15½, 16) inches or 30.5 (32 ,33, 34, 35.5,38, 39, 40) cm
Armhole depth: 9¼ (9½, 9¾, 10, 10½, 10½, 10¾, 11) inches or about 23.5 (24, 24.75, 25.5, 26.5, 26.5, 27.25, 28) cm
Body ribbing: 1 ¼ (1 ¼, 1 ½, 1 ½, 1 ¾, 1 ¾, 2, 2) inches or 2.5 (2.5, 3.8, 3.8, 4.5, 4.5, 5, 5) cm
Total body length: 21 ¼, 22, 22 ¾, 23, 24 ½, 25 ½ ,26 ¼, 27) inches or 54 (56, 57.75, 58.5, 62.25, 64.75, 66.75, 68.6) cm

Skills used to make Emma
Long-tail cast on
Knitting
Purling
1x1 rib
Chart reading skills
Stranded colorwork in 2 colors
Stranded colorwork in 3 colors ( or work the 3rd color with a duplicate stitch)
Catching floats see tutorial on Scandiwork.com
Weaving in and out new colors (see the Nordic Knitting Primer for a tutorial, or scandiwork.com)
Steek securing and cutting.
Binding off
3-needle bind off
Picking up and knitting stitches