Vestvember revealed: The Dunedin Vest

I’m excited to finally share this with you! Like last year, I’ll ring in 2011 with a new pattern for you: My Vestvember project, the Dunedin Vest.

Sizes: Ten sizes; intended to be worn with 1-2” / 2.5-5 cm positive ease in the bust.

Final Measurements: Bust measures: 30.5 (32, 34.5, 36, 38.5, 40, 42.5, 46.5, 50.5, 54.5)”/77 (81.5, 87.5, 91.5, 98, 102, 108, 118, 128, 138) cm Length from hem to shoulder: 21.5 (22.25, 22.75, 23, 23.75, 24, 24.25, 24.5, 24.75, 25)”/54.5 (56.5, 58, 58.5, 60.5, 61, 61.5, 62, 63, 63.5) cm

Featured Materials: Madelinetosh Tosh DK (225 yds / 206 m per 100g skein). Shown in color Moorland, 3 (4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7) skeins or approximately 665 (734, 798, 854, 931, 990, 1050, 1162, 1276, 1392) yards/609 (672, 730, 782, 852, 906, 962, 1064, 1168, 1275) m in an alternate yarn.

Gauge: 20 stitches and 28 rows = 4”/10 cm in stockinette stitch, blocked. Recommended needle size of US 7/4.5mm.

Pattern Notes:

The Dunedin Vest is a V-neck pullover vest with panels of traveling twisted stitches. It is knit in pieces from the bottom up and then seamed together. The back neckline is knit separately in a squared shape using short rows. The hems are worked with perpendicularly-knit cabled bands except for the front cable panel, which is begun separately. Body stitches are picked up from the cable panels. The neckline and armholes are finished with a simple rolled edge. Vertical darts are used for waist shaping; in the front of the vest, they are worked within the twisted stitch panels themselves.

(All images in this page copyright splityarn. She’s awesome.)

The perpendicular hem will roll if not faced; instructions for picking up stitches and knitting a faced hem are provided, along with instructions for an optional plain hem that eliminates the cabled bands altogether.

The Dunedin Vest offers a balanced and curvy visual impression that will accentuate the wearer’s curves (or create some where there are none): The amplitude of the traveling stitch is smaller in the waist area, subtly increasing the impression of a smaller waist and larger bust/hips.

The somewhat wide V neckline combined with a perpendicular hem treatment make the Dunedin Vest a natural choice for proportional shapes, but with minor alterations Dunedin can flatter bottom- heavy and top-heavy shapes as well.

Bottom-heavy shapes should ensure the vest ends above the widest point of their hips, and may consider knitting the plain faced hem version of the vest.

Top-heavy shapes should ensure the vest ends at the widest point of their hips. Extremely broad-shouldered shapes may wish to narrow and/or deepen the neckline.

Vertical darts allow for extremely flexible shaping, customized to fit your body. Should you desire less waist shaping than specified, you can omit or decrease the shaping rows entirely on the front of the tank. Bustier women can accommodate their needs by performing more increases on the front of the sweater, and not in the back. These extra stitches can be decreased into the twisted cable panels.

As with all sweaters, carefully examine the pattern schematic to note potential modifications before you knit.

Madelinetosh yarn has its reputation for a reason. The beautiful color variations are subtle enough not to detract from the patterning of this vest, while at the same time adding a depth and texture that is unmatched in such a widely-available yarn. The firm twist shows off the cables well, and the spring of a pure will ensures the vest will keep its shape for years to come.

To keep the original feel of the design choose a 100% wool that has good memory and loft. Other fibers will add their own characteristics to the design. Do choose a yarn that will block, however, or the different pieces of this vest will pull in in odd ways and may not fit together properly.

Many thanks go out to Elizabeth Sullivan for tech editing, and Caro Benna Sheridan for taking the amazing photographs.

The Dunedin Vest may be purchased here or from my ravelry pattern store for US$6.00.

14 thoughts on “Vestvember revealed: The Dunedin Vest

  1. Looks like a grat knit, I will so be casting it on sooner rahter than later!

  2. Love it! I love the detail on the back the most. Also, this vest is BLOWING UP my Ravelry friends page. Kudos!

  3. That’s a beautiful design! I love the color on you, too.

  4. Wow, it’s really beautiful!

  5. It is wonderful, I love the shape and the patterns.

  6. Awesome design! I love that color.

  7. I’ve been waiting for this to appear and I’m blown away. I really love how you carry the desing on the bottom band around the sides, it really adds to it. It’s a wonderful fit and the color is great on you. Thanks for another fantastic design.

  8. I looks so pretty! I like the pattern and the colour you chose for the yarn!

  9. Amy, it’s lovely! Love the bottom band treatment. And gotta love that Madelinetosh!

  10. Looks awesome, great colour as well as pattern.

  11. What a nice vest! Love the color and the waist! Congrats!

  12. hi Amy! Gorgeous new vest! I love the color on you, it’s perfect with your red hair.

  13. Amy, this is stunning. The fact that you have engineered all of the converging stitches in ten sizes is mind boggling and inspiring. And I am crazy about the color choices you made.

  14. Beautiful! It is so cool seeing the finished project. I like the options/mods you’ve outlined.

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