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!
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. Each skein 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
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 for purchase as a PDF download only.
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