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The Ballard vest is named after the cozy and hip neighborhood in northern Seattle. It is known for its Nordic roots, the sandy beaches at Golden Gardens Park, the Sunday farmers market, and an extensive craft brewery scene.
The Ballard vest is knitted seamlessly top-down. It is knitted with an allover cable and rib pattern. The vest is started at the back neck. Then stitches are picked up for the shoulders and worked as the front of the vest. The front and back are joined at underarm and the body is then worked in the round. The hem is folded double in the end. The neckband and sleeve edgings are worked as i-cords.
For the stitch patterns to show best, I recommend choosing unicolor or slightly tonal colorways. For a summer version I would recommend a cotton, silk, viscose or linen blend, for a warmer wintery version choose yarn with high wool content. The Ballard vest is worked in DK weight yarn but you can also knit it by holding one strand of fingering weight yarn together with a strand of silk mohair.
The length of the body is easily modified to suit your own body measurements. I recommend trying the vest on every now and then while working on it to make sure you get the perfect length for your style. Note: You can easily modify the body shorter for a cropped look. For a cropped vest I would only work 15-20 cm / 6-8 inches for the body.
Sizes
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1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8, 9)
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Finished bust circumference: 77 (86, 95, 106, 121) (130, 141, 150, 161) cm / 30.25 (33.75, 37.5, 41.75, 47.75) (51.25, 55.5, 59, 63.5) inches including the intended positive ease of 0-2.5 cm / 0-1 inch for sizes 1-4 and 5 cm / 2 inches for sizes 5-9
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Length from hem to underarm (adjustable): 28 (28, 28, 28, 30) (30, 30, 32, 32) cm / 11 (11, 11, 11, 11.75) (11.75, 11.75, 12.5, 12.5) inches
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Upper arm circumference: 40 (42, 44, 46, 48) (52, 56, 60, 62) cm / 15.5 (16.5, 17.5, 18, 19) (20.5, 22, 23.5, 24.5) inches
Note: Please be aware that adjusting the lengths of the garment will also affect the amount of yarn needed to finish the project.
Yarn
Note: If you wish to work the vest with fingering weight yarn and mohair, you will need the given yarn amount for both yarns. Work the whole vest holding the yarns together.
450 (500, 550, 600, 660) (730, 800, 880, 920) m / 490 (540, 600, 660, 720) (800, 880, 960, 1010) yards of DK weight yarn.
Sample: 4 (4, 5, 5, 6) (6, 7, 8, 8) skeins of BC Garn Allino (50% linen, 50% cotton; 125 meters / 137 yards per 50 g) shown in the colorway 08.
Needles
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3 mm / US 2.5 circular needles with a cable of 40 cm / 16 inches for the neck and sleeve i-cords
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3 mm / US 2.5 circular needles with a cable of at least 80 cm / 32 inches for the hem
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3.5 mm / US 4 circular needles with a cable of at least 80 cm / 32 inches for the body
Gauge
22 sts and 28 rows = 10 cm / 4 inches of Main chart on larger needles, after blocking
Notions
- 6 stitch markers
- 2 locking markers
- cable needle, if using
- waste yarn
- tapestry needle
- blocking tools
