The Vest Is Yet To Come!

Today I made Michael his houndstooth wool knit vest.

I don't want to say it came out better than my long-sleeve sweater, but the second time working with this sweater knit, I felt much more on top of my game.

For a pattern, I used a different view from Simplicity 9993 -- a long-sleeve V-neck sweater.  I just left off the sleeves, lowered the armhole a bit, and added a waistband.



I had more than enough houndstooth; in fact, I probably still have enough for a couple of dog coats.

The big challenge on a V-neck is, of course, making a perfect V on the neckband and attaching it.  I did not want to make a neckband with an overlap at the front like I've made on knit jersey shirts; I wanted a true V.  I used the Simplicity pattern piece, made a sample to test it out, and proceeded.





Before attaching the neckband, I interfaced the front of the V on the sweater, since I'd have to clip into it, 5/8" deep.  I used a weft weight knit interfacing I had on hand.







Then I carefully, carefully stitched on the neckband. 

Here's what it looks like from the inside (this is the underside of the neckband).  The gray at the center point is the corner of my neckband; the black is the interfaced part of the V on the sweater itself.



And from the outside.



For the armhole bands, I measured the armholes and cut the bands about 2-3" smaller.  As with the neckband, I attached the band to the sweater with my sewing machine and then serged over the stitch line.





At the point where the I serge off the circle edge, I add a bit of Fray Check.



Here's Michael with just one armband attached.  I took another inch off the bottom before adding the waistband, which is relatively wide.  Cute, no?



The waistband goes on like all the other bands.  After it's attached and serged, I gently press (with steam) the seam allowance up, which is the way it naturally wants to lie.





There's a bit more pressing of seams and edges to be done, but so far, so good.

You'll notice on this sweater (and the long-sleeve one from the other day) that I do not stitch around the rib knit bands (as one usually would on a cotton jersey shirt).  It isn't necessary (the seam allowances steam quite flat) and it wouldn't look very professional on a wool sweater, imo.



I think I need a break from knits for a couple of days and no doubt you do too.

Have a great day, everybody!