Knititude

Raiding Junior's Closet

 Razziando l'armadio dei figli!

With two sons*, I always thought I would miss out on the joys of having daughters "borrow" items from my closet-- and perhaps returning the favor.

Con due figli maschi*, pensavo sempre di perdere le gioie di avere figlie, coloro che potrebbero prendere a prestito le cose dal mio armadio-- ed anche di perdere la possibilita' di prendere a prestito le loro cose.

 But maybe I was too quick to call Florin a "child's" vest; I was looking at it the other day, and thought, "I wonder if that would fit me."  And the result?  Not bad; not bad at all!

Pero', forse ero troppo affrettata quando chiamavo il Florin un gile' dei bambini; lo stavo guardando l'altro giorno, e pensavo, "Mi chiedo se quello mi starebbe bene."  Niente male; niente male affatto!

*I do have two grown stepdaughters, but somehow I doubt that raiding their closets would do anything to endear me to them (hi Carmen!).

*Ho due figliastre grandi, ma dubito che di razziare i loro armadi mi renderebbe caro a loro.

Florin Child's Sleeveless Vest

Pattern now available for purchase!

The unusual Coin Cable forms the lower hem and the back neck of this cabled sleeveless vest; the “coins” flow into the ribbed panels of elongated Firefly Cable which form the body. The cable twists are not only decorative; they also reinforce the point of the “V” neck and the bottoms of the armholes. Worked in the round to the armholes, this vest knits up quickly in a heavy worsted yarn—especially since finishing is minimal. Although the intended ease is 2 to 4”, the ribbed fabric skims the body contours, so the vest will not look baggy if you opt to knit a garment with 5 to 6” of ease. The refined details, handsome fit and coin trim earned the name “Florin,” from the gold coins minted in Florence, Italy in the Middle Ages.

Difficulty
Adventurous beginner to intermediate: skills required include working in the round, increases and decreases, reading charts, cable knitting, keeping accurate count of rows, short row shoulder shaping, and three-needle bind off. Skills NOT needed include picking up  stitches for edgings and sewing seams! There are no seams to sew (shoulders are seamed using three-needle bind off) and all edgings are worked along with the body of the vest! 

Gauge
18 sts and 24 rows = 4” in St st.
Approx 21 sts and 24 rows = 4” in Firefly cable. 
Check gauge on blocked swatch.

Sizes/Garment Measurements
                    XS     S      M       L        XL
Chest           19    23    26.5    30.5    34.5 inches
                   48    58    67       77       88 cm
Length         12    14    17       19       21.5 inches
                   30    36    43       48       55 cm
Cross back   7.5   8.5   9.5     10.5    11.5 inches
                   19    22    24       27      29 cm
Armhole       4      5     5.5      6       6.5 inches
   depth       10    13    14       15      16 cm

Materials
Heavy worsted weight yarn: 250 (325, 425, 550, 650) yds.  Shown in Adrienne Vittadini Trina (55% merino wool, 35% microfiber, 10%  cashmere; 71 yd (65 m)/50 gm): 4 (5, 6, 8, 9) skeins red #112 (size S) or orange #100 (size L)

Needles: U.S. Size 8 (5mm) circular needle, 24-30” long depending on size worked. Optional: straight needles for working back and forth after dividing for front and back. 
Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions: Markers; cable needle; stitch holders (1 small, 1 med); tapestry needle

Click here to buy pattern ($6.50), including charts, schematic, photos and written instructions.  After purchase you will be provided with a link to download the pattern file, in pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format.  As always, please email me with any questions or comments.

(For more photos, see here and here.)

Vest, anyone?

Thanks to my wonderful test knitter (hi Terry!) I now have Florins to fit both of my boys, and plan to have the pattern finished and ready for purchase by the end of the week!  For the first time I've also had the pattern tech edited (she didn't find any math errors, I'm pleased to say), and I'm really happy with the results.  Hopefully pattern purchasers will be too!

Florin Friday

Say hello to "Florin," the child's vest I've been working on!  I named it after the gold coin minted in Florence, Italy during the Middle Ages, both because of the "Coin Cable" trimming the hem and the back neck, and because of the vest's refined details-- to me, Florence conjures images of finely wrought gold, handmade marbled and printed paper, frescoes and bas reliefs...okay, so I'm getting a little carried away.  But this little knit is great fun, because the Coin Cable is not your average cable; and because the armhole and neck edgings are worked with the body, meaning very little finishing time; and because the heavy worsted yarn and in-the-round construction mean rapid progress!  I'm having a second sample knit up, and the pattern tech-edited (and I'm SO happy not to be doing all of that by myself!), and plan to have the pattern available for sale in September-- in plenty of time for holiday knitting.  Look for a coordinating hat pattern too!