V Neck Man's Vest

Knit a comfortable, masculine v-neck sweater vest with this man's vest knitting pattern. Vests are great transition garments as the months warm or cool.  Best of all, this vest is easy to knit.

Materials:

• Yarn: RED HEART® “Artesano™”: 4 Balls 4373 Moonstruck.
• Knitting Needles: 5mm [US 8] and 6mm [US 10].
• Circular Knitting Needles: 5mm [US 8] – 24”.
• 2 Stitch markers
• Yarn needle

Size: S (M, L, 1X, 2X)
To Fit Chest: 34-36 (38-40, 42-44, 46-48, 50-52)”.
Finished Chest: 36½ (40, 44½, 48, 52½)”

Gauge: 13 sts = 4”; 20 rows= 4” in Reverse St st.

Abbreviation:
ssk (slip, slip, knit) = Slip next 2 sts knitwise, one at a time,
to right needle; insert point of left needle into the fronts of
these 2 sts and knit them together from this position.

Note: To avoid color pooling, join a second ball of yarn and alternate working 2 rows from each ball.

Instructions:

BACK
** With smaller needles, cast on 62 (66, 74, 78, 86) sts.
Work in ribbing as follows:
Row 1 (Right Side): P2, * K2, P2; repeat from * across.
Row 2: K2, * P2, K2; repeat from * across.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 for ribbing for 3”, end by working Row 2. Change to larger needles and Reverse St st (P on right side rows; K on wrong side rows) until 17” from beginning, end K row. **

Shape Armholes
Bind off 4 (4, 5, 6, 6) sts at beginning of next 2 rows – 54 (58, 64, 66, 74) sts. Dec 1 st at each end of every P row 6 (7, 8, 8, 9) times – 42 (44, 48, 50, 56) sts. Work even until armhole measures 8 (9, 10, 10, 11)” end K row.

Shape Shoulders
Bind off 4 (5, 5, 5, 6) sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows, then 5 (5, 5, 6, 7) sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Bind off remaining 24 (24, 28, 28, 30) sts for back neck.

FRONT
Work same as Back from ** to **.
Shape Armholes and V-neck
Bind off 4 (4, 5, 6, 6) sts, P26 (28, 31, 32, 36) including st on needle after bind-off, bind off center 2 sts, join another ball of yarn, P to end. Work both sides at once.
Next Row: Bind off 4 (4, 5, 6, 6) sts, work to end – 26 (28, 31, 32, 36) sts on each side. Still working both sides at once, dec 1 st at each armhole edge every P row 6 (7, 8, 8, 9) times AND AT THE SAME TIME dec 1 st at each
neck edge every other row 5 (5, 7, 7, 7) times, then every other right side row 6 (6, 6, 6, 7) times – 9 (10, 10, 11, 13) sts each side. Work even on these sts until armholes measure same as Back to shoulder, end K row.
Shape Shoulders: Work as for Back.

FINISHING

Neckband: Sew shoulder and side seams. With right side facing and circular needle, begin at left shoulder seam, pick up and K40 (44, 48, 52, 56) sts down left front neck edge, pick up and K1 st from bound-off center sts, place marker on needle, pick up and K a 2nd st from bound-off sts, pick up and K40 (44, 48, 52, 56) sts up right front neck edge and 26 (26, 30, 30, 30) sts across back neck edge – 108 (116, 128, 136, 144) sts. Place marker for beginning of round. Work in K2, P2 ribbing to 2 sts before front marker, K2tog, slip marker, ssk, P1, work in K2, P2 ribbing to end. Working in established ribbing pattern, continue to work decreases before and after front marker every rnd 7 more times – 92 (100, 112, 120, 128) sts. Bind off in ribbing, removing markers.

Armbands
With right side facing and circular needle, pick up and K80 (92, 104, 104, 108) sts evenly around armhole edge. Work in K2, P2, ribbing for 6 rnds. Bind off in ribbing.

For more knitting ideas, visit Red Heart Yarn.