The Cocoa Casual Vest is the perfect extra layer of warmth for kicking through fallen leaves on a cool autumn day. Then it will easily transition to some girlfriend time at the coffee shop. The neutral color will go with just about anything, but then you have that little extra pop of style from the super-cool fringed belt!
This pattern is great for beginners as it uses only basic stitches. You will be making three rectangles and sewing them together. The length is 34” from top to bottom, and the back panel is 22” wide. The size is easily adjustable by increasing or decreasing the size of your panels.
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If you like this pattern, you may also like the Grey Grannies Vest or the Vintage Mod Vest. And if you’d like to receive an email whenever there’s a new post, you can find the sign-up box below. I never sell your info or use it for anything else. Promise!
Materials:
Caron Simply Soft Tweeds Yarn in Taupe – 3 skeins
Caron Simply Soft Yarn in Soft Blue – 1 skein (you will use very little of this and only for the belt)
Hook size I/9 – 5.25mm
Stitch Markers
Tapestry Needle for sewing panels together
Abbreviations:
Ch – chain
Sc – single crochet
Dc – double crochet
Ss – slip stitch
Sp – space
St, sts – stitch, stitches
Gauge:
16 dc sts = 5”
8 dc rows = 5”
Notes:
1. Turning chains don’t count as stitches.
2. I recommend using stitch markers to mark your rows. For example, every 10 rows place a marker at the end. The markers will help you line up your panels when it’s time to sew the panels together.
3. The vest is 34” long from top to bottom. Each front panel is 10” wide, and the back panel is 22” wide.
4. The belt is 61” long (not counting the fringe which is 6” long at each end) and 1 1/2” wide. When crocheting the belt, you can leave long tails when you change your yarn color and let it blend in to the fringe – no weaving in the ends!
Instructions:
Front panels – make two
Chain 35
Row 1: Dc in 4th from hook and in each chain across to the end. Turn, ch 2. You should have 32 dc stitches not counting your turning chain.
Row 2: Dc in very first stitch at the base of your turning chain, and in each stitch across. Count to be sure you have 32 stitches not counting your turning chain. Turn, ch 2.
Rows 3 – 52: Repeat row 2. Tie off and weave in ends.
Back Panel
Chain 68
Row 1: Dc in 4th from hook and in each chain across to the end. Turn, ch 2. You should have 65 dc stitches not counting your turning chain.
Row 2: Dc in very first stitch at the base of your turning chain, and in each stitch across. Count to be sure you have 65 stitches not counting your turning chain. Turn, ch 2.
Rows 3 – 52: Repeat row 2. Tie off and weave in ends.
Construction:
Lay back panel out flat with right side facing you. Lay the two front panels on top with the wrong sides facing you. (You want the right sides together.)
Line up the panels along the sides and top – this is where those stitch markers come in handy. There should be a gap of about 2” between the front panels; they don’t meet in the middle.
Sew the front panels to the back at the shoulder seams.
Starting at about 8 inches from the bottom, sew up the sides about 17 1/2”. You want to leave about 8 1/2” – 9” for the armholes.
Turn the vest right side out, and turn the collar back to make a shawl collar. The collar should stay in place, but if you’d like, you can stitch it back in a couple of spots to hold it in place.
Belt:
With Taupe, chain 180
Row 1: Turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook and across.
Row 2: With Soft Blue, turn, ch 2, hdc in first st and in each st across.
Row 3: With Taupe, turn, ch 1, sc in first st and in each st across.
Row 4: With Soft Blue, turn, ch 2 hdc in first st and in each st across.
Row 5: With Taupe, turn, ch 1, sc in first st and in each st across.
Tie off. You can weave in your ends or leave them as part of the fringe.
Cut six 12” lengths of the Taupe yarn, and four 12” lengths of the Soft Blue yarn for each end of the belt. (You’ll need a total of 12 lengths of Taupe yarn and 8 lengths of Soft Blue yarn for the fringe.) You’re folding these in half so a 12” length of yarn will result in a 6” long fringe.
Fold a piece of yarn in half and use your hook to pull the loop partway through the end of the belt where you want to place the fringe. Pull the two loose ends through the loop and pull tight. (To see photos of how to add the fringe, scroll down to near the end of this post.) Repeat with each piece of yarn. I like to match up the fringe colors with the colors of the rows, but you can place the fringe however you like.
Mark where you want to place your belt with stitch markers. You’ll be weaving the belt directly through the dc stitches. Starting at the back, push the belt through from the right side to the wrong side of the vest, about 3 dc stitches over, pull the belt back through creating a little belt loop. Repeat at the side seams and on the front panels. I created belt loops about 3 inches away from the front edge on the front panels. Feel free to place your belt wherever you want.
