Finished object file: Mini Moto Vest | Cascade Ecological Wool

A few months ago I knit a Moto vest* for myself as part of a Woolful KAL and I love it so much. I wear it pretty much everyday as I find it perfect for layering. I love it so much that I decided to make a mini version for Miss L. 

I finished this project a few weeks ago but have been so busy that I haven't had a moment to take some proper photos of Miss L wearing it but wearing it she has been and a lot too. We have even received many comments about it and some people have even noticed that we are wearing matching vests.

I knit the Mini Moto with some left over Cascade Ecological Wool. This yarn is a bulky weight Peruvian wool that has minimal processing and is naturally coloured grey. It is a beautifully squishy yarn that has a lot of warmth in it. I am not certain but I suspect that it is a woollen spun yarn.

I cast on 46 stitches on 6.5mm needles to give a width of 6.5" wide. I knit the same 2X2 rib pattern as I did for my adult version until the scarf part was 36" long and made the back 8" wide by picking up 30 stitches from the middle of the back at a rate of 3/4 rows. You can find my Ravelry project notes here.

When I first put it on her I found the collar a bit too bulky around Miss L's petite little neck and it didn't quite sit well on her shoulders. It was not staying on too well on it's own so I grabbed a large safety pin stitch holder and pinned the front together. This gives it a quaint little touch that is reminiscent of that style of tartan skirt that used to be pinned together by a large safety pin. I remember wearing one of those skirts when I was little and love the retro look of it.

It is a perfect little vest to throw on Miss L when it's a bit chilly in the morning or when we are about to leave the house to pop over to church. I just know that we will get plenty of wear out of it and could make another one in the future because it is such a handy piece to have in the wardrobe.

*You can read about the adult Moto Vest from this post here.

Finish object file: Moto Vest for Woolful KAL

No shots of me wearing it yet because I'm just no good with selfies.

In my last post I wrote about my progress on Shelli Wescott's Moto Vest and today I'm pleased to say the vest has been finished, blocked and worn. 

I took on this project as a quick knit after I finished all the projects I listed for March on my making list. Ashley Yousling's Woolful blog was hosting a knitalong with this pattern and I wanted to take on the challenge and join in for my first knitalong.

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this and I also enjoyed looking at the other finished objects as they were posted on the Ravelry discussion thread and instagram (via #woolfulKAL). Each person who has knit this vest has done it with their own flair. Though the pattern was originally designed for bulky yarn Shelli also posted many mods for different yarn weights on her Knitterly blog. Other ways that it could be adapted were the length of the vest, the width of the back and even doing away with the K2, P2 rib and knitting an entirely different stitch pattern.

The length of this vest falls at the hips beautifully.

I knit scarf styled front to about 52" long and went for a thinner back that was about 8" wide. In my last post I mentioned that I wanted to make the bottom of the back wider by doing some increases but with Miss L being very sick this week and needing a lot of attention I went with the mindless knitting option and kept it at the same width. Once I seamed the back together with the front it pulled the ribbing out wider anyway and I found that pleasing enough.

In my humble opinion, the combination of 1 strand Isager Alpaca 2 and 1 strand of Sport weight RRHY worked really well. I like the marled effect that the grey alpaca yarn gives to the handdyed blue yarn.  Gladly, I think the colour is very wearable with jeans and many of the tops in my wardrobe.

This spot of 'me' knitting was very satisfying and I am pleased to be adding this item to my handmade wardrobe. I want to be making more items for my wardrobe in the near future and trying to wear more handmade in the everyday too.

Now, onto my April knitting - read my making list post to see what I've got set out for this year. I've got a few birthday presents to whip up this month for family members and as we approach winter I look forward to knitting some warm woollies for them.

On my needles now - Moto Vest

Moto Vest on my needles 

Today I've got a little sickie in the house so no 'What to knit Wednesday' post today but I thought I could quickly share my current project.

A couple of weeks ago when I posted about the Dragon Aviatrix that I made for Sir S I briefly mentioned at the end that I was taking some time for a bit of 'me' knitting and had cast on the Knitterly's Moto Vest for the Woolful March KAL. The pattern is for a beautiful trans-seasonal open cardigan styled vest that is knit with bulky yarn. I was hoping that it would be a quick knit since I started mid-March after I had finished the birthday knits for the kids.

It has truly been a nice feeling to be knitting for myself for this project. The last object I finished for myself was months ago; even before I started the gifts for last Christmas. As much as a love knitting for others, and it was the desire to knit for my baby that motivated me to rediscover the craft in the first place, I do recommend a bit of 'me' knitting as necessary in the making schedule. Knitting something for yourself can be a form of therapy. It can bring pleasure and excitement to your day when you work with beautiful materials that you have hand selected for yourself, on a project that you are personally crafting for yourself.

So, for this Moto Vest, I have selected some sport weight/ 5 ply superwash merino that was hand dyed by Red Riding Hood Yarns in the 'Gone Girl' colourway and I paired it with a grey fingering weight/ 4ply alpaca/wool blend from Isager. By holding one strand of each yarn I am creating a thicker yarn that will knit up quicker and the grey paired with the blues of the RRHY gives the piece a marled look. It was a total experiment and I wasn't sure if it would work out but as I kept going I really liked the effect.

'Gone Girl' Sport weight RRHY and Grey Alpaca 2 Isager yarn

When I saw the pattern for this project I noticed that it has a very similar shape to a vest that I bought last winter from Metalicus. It is a beautiful drapey cardigan vest that can be worn right way up and upside down to give two different looks. This is a favourite piece from my wardrobe despite it being store bought and containing only a small percentage of wool. As I knit this vest I am drawing inspiration from that vest. The Moto Vest designer, Shelli Westcott herself has knit this pattern multiple times and made it differently each time. It is such an easy pattern to adapt and change to the knitter's liking.

Wearing the vest right way up

Now wearing it upside down and open

Upside down buttoned up gives it a snuggly cowl like collar

I have just started on the back section after knitting the scarf to 52" in length which will give me a vest slightly shorter than the Metalicus one. I want a narrower back between the shoulder blades but am toying with the idea of adding some increases as I work further down to widen the bottom. I haven't quite worked out how I will do this but I'll explain all my MODS in a finished object file later on.

Now I'm off to give my little sickie a cuddle. Happy knitting, friends. Tell me, what's on your needles right now?