A Winter's Night Vest By Jenna La Due
I wanted to make my 6 year old (now 7) son a fair isle vest. When I asked him about colors and theme, he told me that he really wanted a vest where Santa was flying over a sleepy village under a full moon. The challenge for me was how to make a tasteful Christmas sweater vest? I liked the idea of a snowy night scene. The project needed to be a combination of stranded and intarsia knitting. I did a gauge and got out my graph paper and drew a scene. This project has not been test knitted, these are my notes on my son's vest. Yarn: Fingering weight. I used Knit Picks’ Palette. Colors listed according to numbers on chart: (1.) Cream or white, one skein (2.) Silver (medium grey), one skein (3.) Marble Heather (dark grey,) one skein (4.) Black, two skeins (5.) Midnight Heather (black/blue), one skein (6.) Navy, one skein (7.) Blue, one skein (8.) Blue Note Heather(dark blue), one skein Vest is 26" (66 cm), my son is skinny and has a 23" (59 cm) chest. Vests are more fited since they can be worn under jackets. Finished length is 17"' (43 cm). It can fit a large 4 year old to thin 7 year olds! Vest is knit in two pieces, front (intarsia) and back (stockinette). I found that I had two different gauges. The front gauge is: 30 stitches over 36 rows = 4 inches/10 cm. The back gauge is: 25 stitches over 38 rows = 4 inches/10 cm. Skills to complete this project: Intarsia, stranding, twisting in colors so that the stranding is no more than 3 or 4 stitches long, corrugated ribbing, duplicate stitch and S2KP. Front: Cast on 100 stitches in black (4) in smaller needle. Row 1: P2 Black (4), K2 Blue Note Heather (6), continue 2 x 2 rib for the entire row. Rows 2-15: See rib chart for colors. Change to larger needle and start Row 1 of Winter's Night chart. Knit odd rows, purl even until chart iscomplete.
Notes:
1.) Once I had the chart printed out, it helped me to draw a grid with red ink every ten rows, vertically and horizontally. I then put a stitch marker every 1Oth stitch on my knitting. It helped me to know which stitch I was actually on. Stars can either be knit in or duplicate stitched in later. I chose the latter. Santa and Reindeer may also be added into the vest to make it more “Christmas Eve'. I used this chart: Santa Clause with reindeers chart by Sandra Jager, also on Ravelry. (I have greyed in the corners where her chart can fit into my Winter's Night chart.) Back: With smaller needles, cast on 88 stitches in black (4), knit rib chart. Change to larger needles and black yarn. Knit in stockinette stitch until piece measures the same length as the front to arm holes (for me it was 12"/31cm (this includes the ribbing). Cast off 5 stitches next two rows. Then one stitch the next 4 rows. Continue knitting for 5-1/2"/14 cm. Cast off first 24 stitches, place neck 40 stitches on stitch holder and cast off last 24 stitches. Finishing: Seam sides and shoulders together. Weave in all loose ends. Neck: with smaller needle, start at right shoulder, pick up 41 stitches, place marker. Pick up on stitch in the center of the \*V', place marker. Pick up 41 stitches along the left side of neck, 40 stitches along the back (remove stitch holder and transfer to needles). Total: 123 stitches. Starting at the top of the right side of neck, K1, P1. Continue in rib pattern for one round. Rounds 2-7, continue in rib pattern to one stitch before marker, slip stitch, slip off marker, slip stitch back on the left needle, replace marker on the right, slip 2 stitches, remove 2nd marker, knit 1 stitch, pass the 2 slipped stitches onto the knit stitch (S2KP), place marker, finish round in rib pattern. Round 8, bind off loosely in rib pattern. Armholes: With smaller needles, starting at lower seam, pick up 30 stitches up the back side and 30 stitches (total 60 stitches). Starting with a K1, P1, continue in rib for 4 rows. Row 5: bind off loosely in rib pattern. Weave in loose ends.
