For the better part of 2020, I have been searching for a sweater vest. Vintage, new, European, hand knit, designer - I’ve had plenty of time at home to scour the internet, and I could not find what I wanted. I love wearing sweaters, but they don’t often play well with my voluminous sleeves. All that bunching is easily avoided if you only have a fuzzy bodice! When will RTW designers catch on? (I’ve been seeing them start to pop up from fast fashion brands, literally this week).

At some point, I mentioned this search to my mom, who is a talented knitter. She knit as a casual hobby on and off I think since she was in college, and then when I was getting my BFA in textiles at RISD, something wonderful happened: I was taking Machine Knitting 101, and purchased a used knitting machine on eBay for $100. She saw it and it was love at first sight. Before long, she owned multiple knitting machines, was collecting cones of yarn, and had surpassed me in her abilities to machine knit (she has since stopped machine knitting for various reasons, but at the height of it all, she had a ribber and a 4-color yarn changer! I’ll get some photos to share.)

She said, “Find me a pattern, and tell me what kind of yarn, and I’ll knit you a vest.”. Music to my ears! I had seen this vest on Instagram, and then tracked it down on Ravelry. The pattern is Petite Knit’s Holiday Slipover. I love all of Petite Knit’s sweater patterns - they’re timeless designs with a contemporary fit. Just right for wearing with my hand sewn wardrobe (and they would be just as at home in anyone’s closet, regardless of if they sew or not).

When I showed my mom, she seemed giddy, “Oh, big needles! That will be fast!” Ha! I noticed a lot of Ravelry reviewers said the same thing. And she did knit it very quickly! I think it just took her a couple of days.

We found an appropriate yarn by reading reviews on Ravelry (there are a lot, it’s a popular pattern), and selected Garnstudio Drops Air, which is 65% Alpaca, 28% Nylon, 7% Wool. It is super lightweight, deliciously puffy, and very warm.

She knit me a size Medium, which is where my measurements fall on the size chart. I think if I can convince her to make me another one, or if I knit one myself (I stopped knitting years ago, but I think I could manage this with her guidance), I would consider sizing down to Small - not because this is ill fitting or too big, but to give myself different styling possibilities. Could be fun to have a more “shrunken” version.

The first outfit I put together with this vest is a very Mom & Martha mix: my vintage McCall’s 3131 sewn up in Liberty Tana lawn that my mom gave me for my birthday earlier this year. I added my charm bracelet, and my maternal grandma’s charm bracelet. We went to visit my grandma a few years ago, and she gave the bracelet to me - I think she would have given it to my mom, but they both knew I’d wear it more.

I can’t give you a proper pattern review for this lovely sweater vest, however, I can tell you it’s a dream to wear. My mom said it was easy to make, and I find it easy to wear. I’ll let you know if I lose my mind and decide to knit one myself! XO, Martha