Knitted vest

SIZES:
S - M - L - XL - XXL - XXXL

MATERIALS:
DROPS ALPACA from Garnstudio (belongs to yarn group A)
250-300-350-350-400-450 g colour 100, off white
And use:
DROPS KID-SILK from Garnstudio (belongs to yarn group A)
100-125-125-150-150-175 g colour 38, chalk

NEEDLES:
DROPS CIRCULAR NEEDLE SIZE 5 MM: Length 60-60-60-80-80-80 cm.
DROPS CIRCULAR NEEDLE SIZE 4 MM: Length 40 cm and 60-60-60-80-80-80 cm.
DROPS CABLE NEEDLE – for cables.
The technique MAGIC LOOP can be used – you then only need circular needle of 80 cm in each size.

KNITTING TENSION:
17 stitches in width and 22 rows in height with stocking stitch and 1 strand of each quality = 10 x 10 cm.
NOTE: Needle size is only a guide. If you get too many stitches on 10 cm, change to a larger needle size. If you get too few stitches on 10 cm, change to a smaller needle size.г

PATTERN: 
See diagrams A.1 to A.5. The diagrams show all rows in the pattern from the right side.

INCREASE TIP (evenly spaced):
To work out how to increase evenly, count the total number of stitches on the needle (e.g. 166 stitches) and divide by the number of increases to be made (e.g. 21) = 7.9. 
In this example, increase by making 1 yarn over after approx. each 8th stitch. On the next round work the yarn overs twisted to avoid holes.

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START THE PIECE HERE:

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VEST – SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE PIECE:
The piece is worked in the round, bottom up as far as the armholes, then divided and the front and back pieces finished separately, back and forth. Stitches are knitted up for the sleeve-edges and neck and these are then worked in the round.
The vest is worked with 1 strand DROPS Alpaca and 1 strand DROPS Kid-Silk (= 2 strands).

BODY:
Cast on 166-182-190-208-230-254 stitches with circular needle size 4 mm and 1 strand of each quality (= 2 strands). Knit 1 round, then work rib in the round (knit 1, purl 1) for 6 cm. Change to circular needle size 5 mm and knit 1 round where you increase 21-21-21-25-25-25 stitches evenly spaced – read INCREASE TIP = 187-203-211-233-255-279 stitches.
Continue as follows:
Sizes S-M-L:
Work A.1 over the first 16-20-22 stitches, purl 2, A.3 (= 8 stitches), purl 4, A.2 (4 stitches), purl 4, A.4 (= 8 stitches), purl 4, A.2, purl 4, A.3, purl 4, A.2, purl 4, A.4, purl 2, A.5 over the last 99-111-117 stitches.

Sizes XL-XXL-XXXL:
Work A.1 over the first 20-26-32 stitches, purl 2, A.2 (= 4 stitches), purl 4, A.3 (= 8 stitches), purl 4, A.2, purl 4, A.4 (= 8 stitches), purl 4, A.2, purl 4, A.3, purl 4, A.2, purl 4, A.4, purl 4, A.2, purl 2, A.5 over the last 125-141-159 stitches.

Continue this pattern. REMEMBER THE KNITTING TENSION! When the piece measures 27-28-29-30-31-32 cm, cast off for the armholes – make sure this is on an odd row in A.2/A.3/A.4 (this avoids cabling from the wrong side later): Cast off the first 3 stitches on the round, work the next 98-106-110-122-134-146 stitches as before (= front piece), cast off 6 stitches, work 77-85-89-99-109-121 stitches (= back piece) and cast off the last 3 stitches. Each piece is finished separately, back and forth. Place the last 77-85-89-99-109-121 stitches on a thread (= back piece) and work the first 98-106-110-122-134-146 stitches (= front piece).

FRONT PIECE:
= 98-106-110-122-134-146 stitches. Continue the pattern and cast off stitches for the armholes at the beginning of each row as follows: 2 stitches 2-3-3-4-5-6 times and 1 stitch 2-2-3-4-5-7 times on each side = 86-90-92-98-104-108 stitches. When the piece measures 49-51-53-55-57-59 cm, work the next row from the right side as follows: Work the first 25-23-23-25-27-28 stitches, work the next 36-44-46-48-50-52 stitches AT THE SAME TIME decrease 2 stitches over each A.2 and 4 stitches over each A.3/A.4, work the last 25-23-23-25-27-28 stitches (a total of 10-14-14-14-14-14 stitches decreased evenly over the cables). On the next row place the middle 18-22-24-26-28-30 stitches on a thread for the neck and each shoulder is finished separately = 29-27-27-29-31-32 stitches. Continue the pattern, AT THE SAME TIME cast off stitches from the neck every 2nd row as follows: 2 stitches 1 time and 1 stitch 2 times = 25-23-23-25-27-28 stitches. Continue working until the piece measures 51-53-55-57-59-61 cm, then decrease 2 stitches over A.2 and 4 stitches over A.3/A.4 = 19-19-19-19-21-22 stitches on the shoulder. Cast off when the piece measures 52-54-56-58-60-62 cm. Work the other shoulder in the same way.

BACK PIECE:
= 77-85-89-99-109-121 stitches. Continue the pattern and cast off stitches for the armholes at the beginning of each row as follows: 2 stitches 2-3-3-4-5-6 times and 1 stitch 2-2-3-4-5-7 times on each side = 65-69-71-75-79-83 stitches. When the piece measures 50-52-54-56-58-60 cm cast off the middle 25-29-31-35-35-37 stitches for the neck and each shoulder is finished separately. On the next row from the neck cast off 1 stitch = 19-19-19-19-21-22 stitches. Cast off when the piece measures 52-54-56-58-60-62 cm.
Work the other shoulder in the same way.

ASSEMBLY:
Sew the shoulder seams.

DOUBLE NECK:
Start at the one shoulder seam and knit up 80 to 90 stitches around the neck (including the stitches from the thread; the number of stitches must be divisible by 2) with circular needle size 4 mm and 1 strand of each quality (= 2 strands). Work rib (knit 1, purl 1) in the round for 12 cm. Cast off with knit over knit and purl over purl. Fold the neck double to the inside and sew down. To avoid the neck being tight and rolling outwards, it is important that the seam is elastic.

SLEEVE-EDGES:
Start from the right side at the bottom of the armhole and knit up 102 to 126 stitches around the armhole (number of stitches must be divisible by 2), with short circular needle size 4 mm and 1 strand of each quality (= 2 strands). Work rib (knit 1, purl 1) in the round for 4 cm. Cast off with knit over knit and purl over purl. Work the other sleeve edge in the same way.

Diagram

	= knit from right side, purl from wrong side
	= purl from right side, knit from wrong side
	= place 2 stitches on cable needle in front of piece, knit 2, knit 2 from cable needle
	= place 4 stitches on cable needle in front of piece, knit 4, knit 4 from cable needle
	= bobble: knit 1, 1 yarn over, knit 1 in same stitch (= 3 stitches), work 5 rows stocking stitch over these stitches, on row 6 knit all 3 stitches together = 1 stitch.