Knitted vest: a pattern for your measurements
A vest is the quickest “grown-up” garment: no sleeves, but the whole sweater construction — armhole, neckline and shoulder slope. The key is an armhole that is neither tight nor so deep it shows the shirt at the side.
How a vest is built
Front and back are worked bottom-up: rib, body to the armhole, then the armhole bind-off and gradual decreases, the neckline and the shoulder slope. After seaming, stitches are picked up around the armholes and the neck and finished with a rib band.
Worked example: vest
This is real output from the builder for size M (bust 92 cm, neck 35.5 cm, upper arm 29 cm, length 60 cm) at a gauge of 22 sts and 30 rows per 10 cm (4 in).
Key numbers
- Body cast-on
- 114
- Sts at bust (per piece)
- 114
- Rows to armhole
- 110
- Total rows
- 180
- Armhole: bind off
- 6 + 2
- Armhole: decreases every 2 / 4 rows
- 6 / 2
- Sts across shoulders
- 82
- Neck sts
- 42
- Shoulder sts
- 20
- Slope: steps
- 5+5+5+5
Finished garment
- Bust circumference
- 103.6 cm
- Ease
- +11.6 cm
- Length
- 60 cm
- Armhole depth
- 21.5 cm
- Shoulder width
- 9.1 cm
- Shoulder slope
- 2 cm
- Neckline
- Crew, 19.1 × 7.3 cm
- Yarn (estimate)
- 880–1130 m
Numbers for size M
- Cast-on (front or back): 114 sts, rows to armhole: 110
- Armhole: bind off 6 + 2 sts, then decrease 6 / 2 (every 2 / 4 rows)
- Armhole band stitches: —
- Yarn: 880–1130 m — about 60% of a sweater
Armhole and neckline
For a vest worn over a shirt, make the armhole 2–3 cm deeper than a sweater’s and finish it with a 2–3 cm rib band. The neckline is a V-neck (the classic over a shirt) or a crew neck. How to knit a V-neck.
FAQ
How much yarn for a vest?
A women’s size M in DK yarn takes 880–1130 m, about 10 skeins of 50 g / 125 m.
How much ease for a vest?
Over a shirt — 8–12 cm; a roomy vest over a sweater — 18–25 cm.
Vest, sweater vest or slipover?
Different names for the same garment. Some people call the buttoned V-neck version a waistcoat and the pullover version a slipover.