October Pattern: The Scarecrow Vest!

Oh no! Would you mind sending me a photo or two via email? I'd love to see if I can diagnose what happened: info@squidneyknits.com ; I'm sure we can get this figured out between the two of us!

Hi Christine! Yes, I think you'd have no problem adjusting this pattern for a masculine fit! I would suggest to work the whole pattern with some positive ease (somewhere around 2"-3" should do) and not doing any shaping. You could also measure an existing garment your grandfather has that he likes the fit of, and base the finished measurements off of that. I hope this helps!

I knit most of this vest and tried it on before I knit the neckband. It fit. But, after I knit the neckband, I couldn't fit it over my head. The neckband is smaller than the armholes. I did the loosest bind off that I know. Any suggestions for how I can fix this? Thanks!

Ok, what do we think about making this pattern as a gift for my octogenarian grandfather? He's always chilly, and I am dying to try out this pattern. Since the pattern is fit to measurements, I would think it would adapt to a traditional masculine fit just fine, and I wouldn't have any weird bust/hip issues? But having never made something like this or followed a pattern written like this, I would love some other opinions :)

Hi Rachel! You're absolutely correct. So, as you continue increasing, you'll want to incorporate those new stitches into the stitch pattern. For example, if you were starting a K1, P3 row, you'd want to take your new stitch (presumably 1 st after the K column) and add that into the pattern, so it would look like K1, P4, and work it into the following rows as best as possible. Once you have enough increase stitches, you can work in a new repeat of the pattern. I hope that makes sense! There is more information about different ways to incorporate new stitches in the Studious tier, if you're interested! Please let me know if I can further clarify anything. :)

Hi Nessy! For this pattern, you cast on number is actually going to be determined by your waist measurement, not your high hip measurement. That being said, if your waist measurement is larger than your bust measurement, you would indeed be decreasing to get to your bust measurement. I hope this helps! :)

Hi. I'm knitting this vest and have a question about the increases in the body. The increases will throw off the pattern so it doesn't line up correctly. How are you ensuring that everything lines up properly as you add stitches to the side seams? Thanks! I'm enjoying this knit so far.

Hello, I’ve done my measurements and my high hip is 4” bigger than my bust as such, I take it where you say to increase to bust size I should be decreasing? Thanks Nessy

Thank you for all the help! I will try them all for the next project to see what feels like the easiest way way to calculate!

Hi Ida! This is a great question. To be honest, I think it will be the most simple in the long run to complete these charts in inches. However, it is still doable for cm! What you would do is take your cm measurement and times it by your gauge. When calculating gauge in cm, you are counting how many stitches you have per 2,54cm (the equivalent of 1 inch). Let's say you are getting 5 stitches per 2,54 cm. So, you would do 91,5 x 5= 457,5 . Now, you need to divide that by 2,54cm to get your stitch count. So, 457,5 / 2,54 = 180 (round to the nearest number). Therefore, 180 sts would be the stitch count for your B measurement! In order to complete your measurement chart in cm, you will need to do this extra step to get the right stitch count. Please let me know if I can be of any further help!

Hi Jenn, and sorry for the delay! So in this instance, the pattern is not instructing you to create increases on the fourth row. The "incorporating your increases into the pattern on the following round" means that you are going to work your new increase stitches into the textured pattern. When you create new stitches while doing a textured stitch, you need to work them into the stitch pattern so they blend in-- that's what this is telling you to do! I hope this makes sense, but please let me know if I can further clarify anything. :)

I don’t know if my brain has stopped working but when I try to calculate how many stitches to cast on I get A LOT of stitches and it can’t be correct. My B measurement is 91,5cm what am I supposed to multiple that by? Dose the calculation only work for inches?

Are the waist increases always supposed to happen in round 4 of the pattern? That would make sense, but I wasn’t exactly sure what you meant by “Continue in textured stitch pattern, incorporating your increases into the pattern on the following round?” Literally, I think this says to increase on round 1, since the previous thing we did was an increase on round 4.

Hi Stephanie! After you pick up and knit in the underarm bind off, you are going to pick up in the selvage edge stitch in 3 out of 4 stitches in a row. In other words, you're picking up in three stitches in a row, and then skipping the fourth. This video may help you in finding where to pick up the stitches: https://youtu.be/9A1ateS95qY Note that she has a 1:1 ratio (picking up in every stitch) whereas we have a 3:4 ratio. Let me know if I can be of any more help! :)

I am having a heck of a time trying to do the armhole ribbing - an amateur knitter here, and getting really confused on where to pick the stitches, especially at the slope from the underarm bind going up . Help???!!

Don't feel silly, Lauren! Within the pattern, there are directions for the textured stitch pattern in the round (in the "body" section) and there are directions for knitting the stitch pattern flat once you split for the armholes. Be sure to follow the flat and in the round stitch patterns in the appropriate places and it should come out just fine! Let me know if you're having issues locating those two sections in the pattern. :)

Hi Hannah! My goal is to set up the first year of patterns to suit a myriad of skill levels. Some months may be a bit more challenging (though not impossible for an adventurous beginner!) while others will be simple yet effective designs that most skill levels could comfortably knit. If this helps, my plan is to have the first year of patterns be approximately half garments and half accessories. I am also happy to help out if something in the pattern doesn't quite make sense!

I have a potentially dumb question. I knit a couple swatches flat, and the pattern looks similar to the one on your vest. Then I realized I’m supposed to knit this in the round. I’ve done very little knitting in the round, and my pattern doesn’t look like yours if I knit in the round with no wrong side. I feel silly even asking, but I’m confused!

Hey there! I am very much a beginning knitter. I’ve just joined and I’m wondering if I’m a bit out of my depth? I’ve made scarves and a pair of mittens but never a garment like this. I’m eager to learn and am hoping I can pick it up.

Thanks Sydney. I actually left it with the larger needle. I’m getting nervous about using my waist measurement on my high hip with zero ease and rubbing anyway. That is my most self-conscious area and I don’t really want it accented.

Great question! This is actually an entire handout in the Studious Tier packet this month, but in essence: you'll want to use the stitches to the left and right of your new stitch as your guide to determine how to work in the new stitch. For example, if the stitch to the right of the new stitch is a knit column (as in, the K stitch for all four pattern rows) then you'd want to make your new stitch the one that would come after that in the textured sequence, and then continue with the regular textured pattern after it. It also may be helpful to place a locking stitch marker into the new stitch so you remember that area of the pattern is out of sync with the textured pattern repeat! The studious packet has a four page, in depth handout about this as well if it's still not making sense, but I hope this helps a bit!

You're so right! I will make that adjustment this week and update the PDF on this page. Thanks Jenn, and sorry for any ripping you had to do!

You may want to add to the pattern that we should start with the smaller needle. I know it’s in the needle section, but it should be in the cast on statement too, so we don’t miss it. (Ask me how I know. 🙄)

I’m so excited! I bought some cheaper yarn today but also ordered some online. Hopefully I’ll make it soon 🤞

I love Home Fires! It's one of my favourite shows. I wish there were more seasons! I thought this knit would fit in well on the set too x

I'm so excited to knit this pattern up and go through the current resources. Thanks Squid! Also, I've ordered my wool today - I've gone with Brooklyn Tweed Tones: Wallflower Undertone, and cannot wait to dig in!

Quick question! I got to my first increase in the textured stitch pattern but I’m not entirely sure how to incorporate the increases into the pattern on the next round. How do you adjust the first round of the pattern so the increase doesn’t offset it?

V

Hi Hailey, and sorry for the delay! This is a great question-- I was curious if this was going to occur for some folks! Your tactic is spot on: if you still need to continue decreasing 5" before the end, then you would separate for the v-neck and create a decrease on the armhole edge and neck edge, until you reach your N measurement. Let me know if I can be of any further help! xx

Hi Laura! It's a personal preference, but I find that the long-tail cast on has a nice, stretchy edge. :)

Is there a suggested method for the cast on or is it just up to personal preference?

I have a quick question! I'm currently on the front panel after separating for armholes. We're supposed to be decreasing on the outside edges until it reaches the "N" measurement. I'm not able to decrease that far before I need to start separating for the v-neck. Should I still separate for the v-neck, then just continue with the extra armhole decreases along with the v-neck decreases? I just want to make sure before I go ahead with it. Thank you for your time (and for the lovely pattern)!

If you find that in general, your gauge does not change between knitting in the round vs flat (some folks have a noticeable tension difference between RS and WS rows), then I think you'd be okay with doing a swatch flat. However, a swatch in the round is going to give you the most accurate gauge for the bulk of your knitting. I know that in the round swatches are finicky, but I think it's worth it in the long run! Alternatively, you could do a flat swatch and once you get started on the body of your garment, take gauge again and see if you're on track, though it's worth noting that blocking may shift that number a bit. I hope this helps!

Hoping Plymouth Galway yarn will be ok for this, my LYS didn’t have the others you mentioned. I’ve been meaning to knit a vest for a while now, so glad this was the first pattern! Wondering if you think just knitting a gauge swatch flat will suffice?

Hi Gunsa! Oh shoot, I must have missed a section! Are you referring to the yardage requirement portion of the pattern, or is there another section you're thinking of?

I’ve ordered some yarn from my LYS, and as soon as they restock Tones, I’ll cast on! I also picked out some plaid wool to sew a matching pleated skirt.

Thank you Sydney for this super cute vest!! I happened to have the perfect yarn for this in my stash (it was ment to be a knitted corset but reproposing is allways welcomed) I would like to comment a suggestion: As I am from Spain and here we only use metrical units it's very confusing seeing every bust size in inches. Could you write it in cm too? I don't want to sound picky but I think all european knitters will found it easier to understand.

I love this cute vest! And the color is perfect. I'm also a fan of the Trouble with Harry... Perfect knitting movie!

Hi Katrina! The waist ribbing is worked with 0 inches of positive ease to get that snug fit below the waistline. However, if you look at the section that comes right after the waist ribbing, you're instructed to increase ten stitches evenly around the waist-- this is where that two inches of ease comes in! Does that clear it up? :) Let me know if I can answer any other questions!

Hi Anna! Since this vest is primarily knit in the round, I would suggest doing the swatch in the round as well. There is a swatch-in-the-round hack in the gauge handout which helps the process go by much quicker! Hope this helps. :)

I couldn't resist casting on!! I am also new to this way of reading / tailoring a pattern to fit, so I just would like a little point in the right direction.... with the ribbing section the pattern mentions 0 inches of positive ease, however the 'suggested ease' on page 2 shows the sample was knit with 2 inches of positive ease at the waist - just wondering if this is to account for the stretch created by rib? Please help :)

So happy to be a part of this group! I just laughed at the part on the pattern about "weave in those pesky ends..." I LOVE weaving in ends! So much so that I do it for my knitting friends... :-)

I’m new to vintage knitting and am so excited to knit up this pattern!

I’m so excited for this pattern! I’ve been looking for a cute vest to knit and this will totally fit the bill! I’m still a little new to knitting so I wanted your advice on swatching. Would you recommend swatching in the round for this pattern? Thank you!

Great question-- yes! This was actually on my to-do list this week. I wanted to make sure that I could list it on there as a pattern but link it to the patreon, which I think is a possibility. I'll write again when it's up on ravelry! :)

Ooh, that will be gorgeous!!

So excited to get my yarn and cast on! Question: are you going to be listing this in the Ravelry database? Even though it's not for sale through their platform. I'm happy to add the entry of you're ok with it and not planning on doing it yourself. I've been a volunteer editor on there since 08...

Knitbelove

I'm definitely shopping other people's destashes on Ravelry for bargains...

Knitbelove

I made sure to get some yarn for this at the NYC Yarn Crawl this weekend! I went with BT Shelter in Meteorite and I'm so excited!

I loooove that color of Barn-- great choice!

I just took out a mortgage LOL and bought special yarn treat for this first project, Susan Crawford Barn in berry picking! We here in nz upside down on seasons but will have fun and time pairing with intended dark gray wide legged pants me made for next fall!

I’m trying to shop my stash but this just looks so perfect in the mustard, I may have to buy something new! So excited to cast on!

Check out Lark by Quince & Co. They have loads of colors and I think their yarn is lovely.

I know! I've just watched part of season one before I got distracted, so I'm at least glad there's Season 2 to be new for me - but sad that there isn't more!

Will you give more information on how to choose the correct yarn? I really struggle understanding what specifically I'm looking for beyond worsted weight yarn. The yarn recs are great, but some are slightly too pricey for me and others are out of colors I'm interested in. Thank you!

I have some new Northbay Fiber Heritage for this!!! I’m so excited for bests this season! And excited to be a part of this community❤️

I’ll be using Vivacious DK in Sea Glass - the color reminds me of old Girl Scout uniforms!

Love this vest, and it's just as well since a vest is my next project. Had a pattern but I'm going to switch it up to this! I'll be casting on in my favourite but discontinued wool - Georgian Bay Fibre's worsted weight yarn in a deep forest green. I love your sample so much though I may have to knit one up to match.

Home Fires was so good! Sad it ended :(

I have just been rewatching Home Fires and was thinking I needed to add a vest to my slowly growing vintage wardrobe. This will do very nicely! Now I've just got to find some yarn ;)

Gorgeous! I’ve got some Kelbourne Woolens Germantown in navy that has been waiting for the perfect pattern!

Ria V

Absolutely love this! Super excited to knit it.

I totally understand that is a little scary at first, but I will be here to help walk you through it! Once you do it a couple times, it becomes second nature. This is how I've been doing my own garments for 7+ years, and I'm always so happy with the fit! <3

This is so great! I love the addition of movie/tv suggestions.

Kim Campbell

Yay! I can’t wait!

Look forward to knit this <3

Nicole Zander

I'm casting this on in Rosie's Bespoke Colors Adriatic Sea (once I buy it, of course).

I think this would be amazing with Little Fox Fennec!

I'm not usually a vest kinda gal, but you make me love this! Can't wait to cast on!

Thanks for the tv and film suggestions too!

Wow such a cute teacher. I legit love you dear friend!

Im excited and nervous to start. Instructions are definitely different from what I have seen so far as a new knitter but I am very eager to learn!

I can't wait to get started!

Ooh, I love it!