Minimalist mini vest

Here it is

As we continue living in Canary Islands, my need for knitted garments is minimal. On the other hand, I still have some balls of yarn bought years ago, purely because they were beautiful. The knitting process pleases and soothes me, so I keep making stuff I don’t need.

This time, I decided to make a one-ball project with the last remaning Schoppel-Wolle Laceball. At least I think, I may even say hope, it was the last one. As the name indicate, it is lace-weight self striping yarn, 100 grams per ball.

The project itself was extremely simple — knitting in rounds, ribbing 1x1, till I had very little yarn left. I divided the remains in two to make straps. I still have about 10 grams worth of yarn left.

Things I learned while making the project:

1. Cast off with i-cord, which you can see on the lower edge of the vest. Note to self — i-cord needs to have less rows than the ribbing has stitches, otherwise it creates a visible ruff effect. Maybe next time I will try to work out the correct ratio.

Casting off with a needle

2. Cast off with a needle, which I used for the straps. Creates very neat elastic edge. The edge is flat, unlike i-corded one.

Finished edge

Details were joined together with a crocheting hook.

Possible styling

As the vest is just a cylinder with some straps attached, it can be worn as a circular scarf.

And that’s all for now.

I still have a few balls of yarn left, so stay tuned.

Knitting pics on Shutterstock — here.

Renaissance ruff collar

I keep thinking up and trying out various types of 3D-knitting where the volume is created by the tendency of stockinette stitch to curl in and the reverse stockinette stitch — not unexpectedly — out. My previous attempt to utilize this property of the basic knitting stitches can be seen here.

This time I decided to do something a bit more complicated. I find the result interesting and reminiscent of a Renaissance ruff, but I think I need to a) overcome my dislike of knitting samples next time and b) generally work more on the idea. As with the previous version, it is reversible. Explanations to follow.