Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Back to School U-Neck Vest

I finally give you the U-neck vest in finished form. I also have to thank David for pictures. We seem to be getting better at him taking pictures of me. I always feel stupid, so I make weird faces. However, playing the piano gave me something else to think about, which helped a lot! I had this Classic Elite Skye Tweed in my stash for a year or more from a closeout sale at Fiber Nooks and Crannies. (Whenever Michelle destashes, my stash grows!) Anyway, I loved this tweed and really wanted to make a vest, but there were only 5 balls of it. So I embarked on this vest from Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits book.
I made some changes to conserve yarn. I cast on 144 st which was halfway between the 35 and 37" finished bust sizes, which for me should have produced about 2 inches of negative ease. I only knit 8" in the lower section instead of 9. I didn't do the last set of bust increases and I narrowed the straps a bit.
I also narrowed the neck and sleeve edgings quite a bit. I think I like them better this way anyway to be honest. I really like this vest. I think maybe the pattern is written a bit large, because FO fits perfectly, and I expected it to be a bit tight. My gauge is still right on, even after washing. The yarn softened up a bit after washing too. It was really stiff and harsh feeling to my hands while knitting it.
The one thing I don't love is the way the fabric bunches at the front of my arm. Partly this is because I should have made the sleeve opening longer, but I think it should also be written to bind off and/or decrease a little more there in the pattern.
Pattern: Back to School U-neck Vest by Stephanie Japel
Yarn: Classic Elite Skye Tweed, 5 balls
Needles: Size 8 Addi Turbo
Size:35-37", (3" negative ease)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks great, Brandy! I'm working on a shrug. Fitted items scare me.

turtlegirl76 said...

It looks great! This is in my queue. I really need to get on it! I love yours!