Morocco Vest

Morocco – just the name conjures up images of spicy foods, colorful clothing, and a warm Mediterranean breeze. Here it is translated into a colorful striped vest to brighten up long summer days. Only one ball of each color is required, so it can be made with those leftover or random balls of yarn in your stash. The back is knit in a circle, which is then divided into sections for the front, sides and bottom. Stitches are picked up to create striped bands along the front opening and armholes. It is very quick to knit and the only finishing required is sewing the side seams and weaving in loose ends, so before you know it you will have a versatile vest to wear with any summer outfit. It can be worn open or pinned closed at the front, as shown in the photo.

SIZE
XS [S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X] (shown in size S)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 32 [36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56] inches
Length at center back: 20 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32] inches

MATERIALS
6 different colored balls of worsted weight yarn, each ball at least 100 yds. The colors I used are: black, charcoal, purple, cherry red, red with metallic gold, and orange.


1 set US #10/6mm double-point needles
1 40 inch US #10/6mm circular needle

notions required
tapestry needle to weave in ends
waste yarn
stitch markers

GAUGE
13 sts/17 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
For the back and fronts: alternate colors every 4 rows.
For the mitered bands: alternate colors every 2 rows.
When alternating colors, knit the first stitch with both the old color and the new color to avoid the color stair stepping.

PATTERN
Back
Using DPN, CO 8 sts. Divide onto the needles as follows: 2 sts on first ndl, 4 sts on second ndl, 2 sts on third ndl. Join in the round and place marker.
Round 1: kfb in each st. (16 sts)
Round 2: *kfb, k1* 8 times (24 sts)
Round 3 and all odd rounds: k
Round 4: *kfb, k2* 8 times (32 sts)
Change to next color, and continue to alternate colors every 4 rounds.
Round 6: *kfb, k3* 8 times (40 sts)
Round 8: *kfb, k4* 8 times (48 sts)
Continue in this manner, increasing the number of stitches between each kfb, for 34[39, 43, 47, 51, 56, 60] rounds. 152[168, 184, 200, 216, 240, 256] sts. Switch to circular ndl when necessary.

Divide into fronts, sides, and bottom:
Continuing in same color as last round, k9[10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16]; BO 20[22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32] sts; k9[10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16]; BO 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts; k38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64]; BO 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts. Cut yarn and pull through remaining st on the right ndl.
Place the section of 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts on waste yarn (this is the bottom). Place the left front section of 9[10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16] sts on another piece of waste yarn.

Right Front:
With RS facing, begin working in St st, alternating colors every 4 rows. Work even until right front is 5.5[6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5] inches, ending with a WS row.

Increase rows:
Row 1: (RS) K until last st, kfb.
Row 2: (WS) kfb, P to end
Repeat the last two rows 4[4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7 ] more times. 19[20, 23, 24, 27, 31, 32] sts.
Work even until the front is 13.5[15, 16.5, 18, 19.5, 21, 22.5] inches. Place sts onto a piece of waste yarn.

Left Front:
Place 10 sts from waste yarn onto ndl. With RS facing, begin working in St st, alternating colors every 4 rows. Work even until right front is 5.5[6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5] inches, ending with a WS row.

Increase rows:
Row 1: (RS) kfb, K to end.
Row 2: (WS) P to last st, kfb.
Repeat the last two rows 4[4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7 ] more times. 19[20, 23, 24, 27, 31, 32] sts.
Work even until the front is 13.5[15, 16.5, 18, 19.5, 21, 22.5] inches, ending with a WS row.

Mitered Border:
Place marker, pick up 47[53, 58, 64, 69, 74, 80] sts along left front opening, placing marker at the corner of the front opening and neckline; pick up 20[22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32] sts at back neck; pick up 47[53, 58, 64, 69, 74, 80] sts along right front, placing marker at corner of front opening and neckline; place 19[20, 23, 24, 27, 31, 32] sts from right front onto the ndl; place marker, place 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts from back onto ndl; place a different colored marker to mark the beginning of the round. Join for working in the round. 191[212, 233, 254, 275, 299, 320] sts.

Round 1: *k to marker, yo, pass marker, k1, yo* to end of round.
Round 2: *p to marker, pass marker, k1* to end of round.
Work these 2 rounds 5 more times, alternating colors every 2 rounds. BO sts loosely.

Sew side seams:
Starting at the bottom, sew the side seams, leaving 7[7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10] inches open for the armhole.

Armhole binding:
The armhole binding can be worked either with the DPNs, or with the circular ndl and the magic loop technique.
Pick up 46[48, 52, 56, 58, 62, 66] sts around the armhole and join for working in the round.
Round 1: k
Round 2: p
Repeat the last two rounds 5 more times, alternating colors every 2 rounds. BO sts loosely.

FINISHING
Weave in all loose ends. Sew the center of the circle on the back close if necessary.

Uh Oh - Ran Out!

What happens when you are working on so many projects simultaneously that you run out of stitch markers? Well... you make more.

Mother's Day Gift

I finished the sweater I was making for my mom for Mother's Day, and I am quite pleased with it. It was so much fun going through my big stash and picking out a group of yarns for this sweater. The big challenge was finding yarns that didn't have any wool in them, since Mom is allergic to wool. Since it is a gift, I didn't want to use too much acrylic that would just look cheap. So what did I come up with? An off-white bamboo, soft acrylic tan, silk pink, and pink/purple/green boucle. I ran out of silk, so I couldn't make the sleeves as long as I had planned to. But the end result turned out very nice. It has a nice drape and weight that makes it good for spring weather.

Ravelry secret swap

I spent my lunch break today shopping for my secret swap partner on Ravelry. I usually get excited shopping for yarn for myself, but its somehow even more exciting shopping for someone else. Trying to have a different mindset, thinking of what she would love to knit and what colors would get her creativity going. It was fun! Now I have to think of the little extras to put in the package.

I've been busy with my spinning wheel, so maybe some handspun will appear in the package. Do I feel like my yarn is worthy enough to give to someone else? Hmm.. we'll see.

I'm wearing the project I submitted to Knitty for summer and have gotten quite a few comments on it today. I hope that is a good sign!

Finished!

I just finished my project for Knitty. It turned out great! I am happy with it. Now is the hard part... crunching all the numbers and grading up all the sizes. I like math, but sometimes grading hurts my brain.

I ordered a spinning wheel yesterday and a lot of handpainted roving to go with it. It's a Kromski Sonata, completely foldable and easy to carry to my class. I can't wait to start spinning at home!

It's in the works!

I have another leftover yarn pattern in the works. I am planning on submitting it to Knitty for the summer issue, but if it doesn't make the cut I will post it here for everyone's enjoyment.

I'm in Love.....

With spinning!! It took a few minutes to get the hang of the spinning wheel, but after I figured out how to get my feet to do one thing and my hands to do another it was pretty smooth sailing. Very relaxing to watch that big lump of wool spin into a very soft yarn. I have about half a bobbin of yarn, so maybe tonight I can fill it up and learn how to ply. I have already started looking for a spinning wheel of my own. I am thinking about an Ashford Traveller.