Knitted Sebasco Vest

The story of this knitting project is very similar to the story of my Linden sweatshirt. Lately I've found myself wearing a ratty old knit vest that's too big for me. It's one of the first things I made when I took up knitting again after my kid left for college. That vest is pretty ugly and not very comfortable, on account of the yarn has mohair in it so it's scratchy on the neck. But, gee, a vest is a nice thing to wear around the house in those dark, chilly days of winter. Time to up my game.

I had a picture in my head of what I wanted for a new vest: open front, simple, and a collar that comes up the back of your neck. I'm someone who owns years of Interweave Knits magazines, plus a fair few books of knitting patterns. Seems like I'd see something that would fill the bill somewhere in that collection, right? But no. I ended up spending $8.00 for the Sebasco vest pattern, by Amy Herzog. I like Amy Herzog, though, and this pattern was just what I was looking for.

And then I tinkered with it while knitting anyway. But not much.

She uses something called the Daisy Stitch to trim the edges. I did a small swatch and decided that, though it's pretty, it was too much of a pain in the neck to do. So I just used good old seed stitch instead.

She also tells you to knit the vest in pieces and then seam them together before adding the neckband. I have never yet managed to seam a knit so that it doesn't look like a kindergartener did it, so I knit the vest all in one up to the arm holes, then divided for front and back to finish. I still had to seam the shoulders and that looks pretty crappy, but at least it's only a few inches.

It just took a few weeks to knit, even at my usual leisurely pace. I put it on before blocking to check the size and ended up wearing it all evening. The collar comes up at the back just right. It's so cozy warm. I love it.

Just like the Linden sweatshirt, this is a nice basic that's worth the price for the pattern. I can see myself making a couple more in different colors. I have a pretty solid yarn stash hidden away upstairs. I'm guessing I have the materials for another half dozen vests snugged up in my yarn closet already. It's an easy, soothing, straightforward knit with a nice product.

My Ravelry notes are here, if you're interested in a bit of the knitty gritty (ha ha ha).