This little vest is about the most useful garment I can think of!
Use it at it’s own, with bare arms, or under a coat or cardigan.
OR, as a layering piece worn over a nice shirt, a tee, a blouse…
It’s feminine style could be dressed up or down, to match whatever mood you’re in!

Design
The front is embellished with lots of lace and cables.
All patterns are repetetive, and could easily be memorized.
Please note The centred pattern is extended for the larger sizes, so that there will not be too much stockinette on the sides.
The vest has split, and buttoned, fronts and back at the lower bottom. The slits (as well as the buttons) are optional.
There is no waist-shaping (but there is room on the sides to make some shaping). The rounded neckline is fairly deep, a little bit like a tee. Hems and edges are worked in rib-pattern.

Construction
The vest is worked bottom-up in a SEAMLESS construction.
The lower bottom of front and back is worked in separate pieces,
Work is joined, and lower body is continued in-the-round to underarms, where work is split and upper front and back are worked in separate pieces.
Shoulders are joined by the 3-needle bind-off method (or grafting).
Neckline and armhole edges are worked from picked-up and live sts.

Sizes
Sizes 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8: Finished chest circumference: 93/99/103/110/116/122/128/134 cm = 36/39/40.5/43/45.5/48/50/53”.
I recommend a bit of ease, but this depends a bit upon the style you are aiming for.

Materials
I recommend a fingering weight yarn that works up to gauge.
Yarn: I recommend that you use a fingering weight that knits up to gauge to make the vest. To show off all the lovely patterns I wanted to use a yarn with great stitch-definition. I ended up trying Lichen and Lace’s 1 ply Superwash Merino Fingering weight yarn, colourway Pewter. This proved to be a great choice, as the yarn knits up evenly and gives a really nice stitch-definition. This yarn comes in skeins of 100 gr/3.53 oz and 360 m/400 yards. You will need approximately 720/780/840/900/975/1050/1125/1200 m = 790/850/915/980/1062/1144/1225/1308 yards of this specific yarn. Please remember that amount of yarn might vary from brand to brand, as well as from knitter to knitter. Needles: dpns, circular, and straight needles, 3 mm/US2.5.
Needle size is a suggestion. Use needles to achieve gauge.
Notions: 8 buttons, 11 – 13 mm/0,4 – 0.5” across (optional), removable stitch-markers, a row-counter, separate holders, blunt tapestry needle, blocking tools.

Gauge
28 sts and 40 rows/rounds in stockinette sts (and the stitch-patterns) = 10 x 10 cm/4x4”.

The pattern
All measurements are given in cm’s as well as in inches.
All patterns are charted, as well as written out, row-by-row AND round-by-round.
There is a schematic.
Skill level: intermediate.
There are no complicated sts involved, and the patterns are repetetive and fairly easy to memorize.