Ribline Vest In Plenty
Over, under, in between… The extra layer to keep you warm or the sleeveless tank that lets you shed your jacket. Our Ribline Vest is a clothing chameleon, exactly what you need it to be as you navigate the day!
You start this one at the bottom, making a flattering split hem by casting on the front and the back separately. You work a tidy half-twisted rib, whose beautiful lines trace up the sides as you join to knit the body in the round.
After dividing again at the sleeves, you shape the front, then the back, and finally, rejoin to knit the collar in the round.
With its distinctive high twist, our 100% extra fine merino Plenty is a wonderful yarn for this crisp, stylish knit.
Plenty is ridiculously soft, so it’s a perfect choice if you’re wearing this vest on its own, and at the same time, its plump worsted-weight warmth ensures you’ll be cozy if you’re layering!
We love this gorgeous Sapphire Blue, but Plenty has over twenty colors to choose from, so choose your own gem and cast on!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Originally designed by Purl Soho designer, Adam Aronowitz.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoRiblineVest, and #PurlSohoPlenty. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- 5 (5, 6, 6, 7) (7, 8, 9, 9) skeins of Purl Soho’s Plenty, 100% extra fine merino wool yarn. Each skein of this worsted/aran weight yarn is approximately 139 yards/ 100 grams; approximately 605 (675, 750, 825, 895) (970, 1045, 1125, 1215) yards required. We used Sapphire Blue.
- US 7 (4.5 mm), 16-inch circular needles
- US 7, 24-inch circular needles
- US 7, 32- or 40-inch circular needles (depending on size you are making)
- Stitch markers, including one unique
- Stitch holders or scrap yarn
- A Ribline Vest Pattern PDF
GAUGE
18 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
19 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches in half-twisted rib stitch
SIZES
NOTE For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Size Tutorial!
37 (40½, 44, 47½, 51¼) (54¾, 58¼, 61¾, 65½)
To fit actual chest circumference of 31–34 (34–37, 38–41, 41–44, 45–48) (49–52, 52–55, 56–59, 59–62) inches, with approximately 3–6 inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 37 (40½, 44, 47½, 51¼) (54¾, 58¼, 61¾, 65½) inches
- Finished Length Fom Shoulder To Bottom Edge: 20¾ (21, 21¾, 22¼, 22½) (23, 23¼, 23¾, 24¼) inches
Sample: The sweater pictured here is size 40½, worn with 6 inches of ease.
PATTERN
The Ribline Vest Pattern is available as a PDF download only.
LEARN ABOUT PLENTY + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
You can’t overstate how amazingly enjoyable it is to knit with Plenty! As un-scratchy as wool gets, Plenty is the softest 100% extra fine merino wool in the world, and, a nice, plump worsted/aran-weight yarn, it also knits up quickly into a toasty fabric, un-prone to pilling… Plenty to love here!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of (mostly free!) Plenty knitting patterns and cast on!
More Worsted/Aran-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of worsted/aran-weight yarn (What does worsted-weight yarn mean, really? Our guide to worsted-weight yarn will answer your questions and more!)
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial!
More Yarns With Similar Fiber
- Shop merino wool yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our free knitting patterns and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
Could you please suggest an alternative yarn in cotton for this pattern?
Hi Ana,
Thanks for writing in! Tulip Cotton would be a great fit for this pattern. Like Plenty, it’s a heavy worsted weight yarn, you you’ll be able to match the gauge.
As always though, we recommend knitting a gauge swatch before casting on your project, especially when you are substituting yarns. You may need to size up or down your needles in order to get the correct gauge! In particular, cotton yarns tend to need a different needle size than wool yarns to achieve the same gauge, since the fibers behave very differently. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Beautiful pattern! I was wondering if you have a cotton or other fiber yarn you’d recommend, as I often have a reaction to wool. Thank you!
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for writing in! Tulip Cotton would be a great fit for this pattern. Like Plenty, it’s a heavy worsted weight yarn, you you’ll be able to match the gauge.
As always though, we recommend knitting a gauge swatch before casting on your project, especially when you are substituting yarns. You may need to size up or down your needles in order to get the correct gauge! In particular, cotton yarns tend to need a different needle size than wool yarns to achieve the same gauge, since the fibers behave very differently.
I also wanted to let you know that Plenty is 100% merino wool, and merino fibers are so fine that they bend to the touch, rather than sticking up and scratching. Most people who are sensitive to normal wool do not have the same reaction to merino wool. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
What an interesting design. I do feel that at least one photo of the neck shaping front and back with the model’s hair out of the way would be nice. I looked at the gray model where the neck was shown and it seemed to need some changes to tighten it up and smooth it out. Maybe the yarn in the blue one helped? I can’t tell because there are no pictures.
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for writing in! It sounds like you may be noticing the slight curl at the edge of the back neckline. Since that portion of the vest is mainly stockinette, it does tend to roll over a bit, since that’s the nature of stockinette. We like embracing that aspect of the stitch as a design feature, but if you’d like to tighten up the neckline a bit, there are options! You could either add a few decrease stitches or add some twisted ribbing along that edge, or try binding off a bit tighter. Hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili
Hello, This vest turned out lovely in a red merino yarn. I added a couple of inches to the length and it is perfect! I was wondering what the best way to block the beautiful ribbing up the side? Thanks for any thoughts!
Hi Kristian,
Thanks for reaching out, and congrats on finishing your vest! We’d recommend wet blocking the finished garment, and laying it flat to dry. You may find that using pins will help lock the dimensions in correctly and create the neatest edges!
All the best,
Lili
Hello, can you tell me the difficulty of this pattern please? I love the shape. It looks like it’s an easy knit apart from the armhole shaping.
Many thanks!
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for reaching out! I’d say that this is a relatively easy pattern for a garment–it’s a good one to try if you’re new to garment knitting. There are a few specialized techniques used, but the pattern provides instructions for all of them. And we also provide tutorials for some! You can access those below, if you want to get a head start on these techniques:
Wrap + Turn Short Rows
Purl 2 Together (p2tog) + Slip Slip Purl (ssp)
I hope this helps, and as always, we’re here to answer any questions you may have as you knit!
All the best,
Lili
Hi! I am stuck in the “ SHAPE COLLAR” section. How many markers should I have at this point and where?? I am a little confuse and this is key to ensure decreases are done correctly here.
Hi Monica,
After the Joining Round of the collar, you should have 5 stitch markers in total! There should be one stitch marker on either side of the sections of twisted ribbing, and then one unique stitch marker to mark the beginning/end of the round in the center of the Back. Hope this helps get you on track for the decreases!
All the best,
Lili
I had the same question! In the Collar section, placing a marker is mentioned six times, not five. It is confusing! When it came time to tk2tog it was in the middle of the side because that is where the next marker would be.
Hi Jennifer,
My apologies! You’re correct, there should be 6 stitch markers at this point: One on either side of each section of ribbing, and one in the center of each section of ribbing. So sorry again for my mistake, and I hope this helps clear things up!
All the best,
Lili
I’m knitting this sleeveless pattern, and I’m wondering if I can add sleeves. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Norma
Hi Norma,
Thank you for writing in! Although that sounds like a lovely idea, I’m afraid these kinds of modifications are outside the scope of support we can offer at this time. I would recommend trying out different sleeve techniques to see what you like most!
All the best,
Gavriella
Hi,
Could I knit this in Hedgerow?
Thank you,
Hi JP,
Thanks for your question! You can definitely use Hedgerow for this pattern. We always recommend making a gauge swatch just to be sure you can meet the same size as the pattern and that you are happy with the fabric! Please let us know if you have any other questions!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Hi –
It looks like the yarn alternative you suggest, Tulip Cotton is being phased out, do you have another plant based yarn suggestion?
Thanks,
Zoie
Hi Zoie,
Thank you for writing in! Serif would make a wonderful alternative for this pattern. Serif is ultra soof 100% Peruvian Pima cotton yarn making it perfect for warmer climates! I hope this helps but please let me know if there is anything else we could answer for you!
Happy making,
Gavriella
Lovely pattern! Is there anyway to lower the neckline to extend it’s seasonal wear?
Hi Sandra,
Thank you for writing in! You could definitely lower the neckline on this pattern. We recommend trying it on once you begin the collar and from there you can decide how you like the fit and omit decreases to result in a wider neckline! I hope this helps but please let us know if there is anything else we can answer for you!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
To knit the gauge, it says for the rib the number of stitches is 19. Yet, the special instructions, for the gauge, is worked over an even amount of stitches. Also, should I knit the two patterns after each other or separately for the gauge? Thank you.
Hi Tina,
Thanks for writing in! While the gauge for the ribbing is 19 stitches = 4 inches, that doesn’t mean you’ll want to cast on 19 stitches for your swatch. Instead, you should cast on approximately the number of stitches that should make a 6 x 6-inch square, which you can round to the nearest even number. In this case, that would be 28 stitches! Once you’re done knitting your swatch, you can measure the gauge over the central 4 inches to make sure that it comes to 19 stitches within those 4 inches. And I would recommend knitting two separate swatches, one for each stitch pattern!
All the best,
Lili
Hello,
There is a description of the twisted knit 2 together stitch but no video. When the two are knitted together, is it through the back loops? Other sources on the internet don’t work the TK2TOG the same way you’ve described.
Hi Paulette,
Thank you for writing in! We did not knit those stitches together through the back loop but instead, knit them as you would a K2tog after orientating the stitches first. I hope this helps!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella
Hello, I am getting started and love doing the half twisted rib. It looks great but I am not happy with the edges. only one side has some lumps on the edge and it is disappointing. Perhaps it is when I end in a purl?? I am slipping the first stitches on each side knit wise with the yarn in back, correct??
THANKS for helping me with this
Hi Mercedes,
I’m so sorry to hear that your project isn’t turning out how you expected! Would you mind sending photos of the edges to us at [email protected]? That way, we can better visualize what’s going on!
All the best,
Lili
Just finished this in the denim color. I cast the front and back onto 40” circular needles from two skeins and knit them simultaneously. I did the same when separating for arms then switched to 16” circular for the neck. For me it helps with keeping the tension even throughout the project. I also made the side slits shorter so the body section was longer.
I’ve made the rib swatch for this sweater and I need to block it. Do I block it by getting it wet and kind of stretched out because the pictures of the sweater seems like it’s more of a visual ribbing rather than a cinching ribbing. Or do I block it just by getting it wet and letting it dry naturally without pinning it?
Hi Kimberly,
Thank you for writing in! We recommend letting the fabric dry out naturally. You can still pin your swatch into place, just skip the stretching!
All the best,
Gavriella