Provincial Waistcoat – done!
I am struggling between wanting to do a photos-only post and a long, detailed rant about all the problems I faced in this quick and beautiful, but quirky as hell knit. If you’re as delighted as I am that it’s done, the photos are for you. If you’re planning to knit this pattern, do look at the detailed pattern notes below.
Here is the waistcoat lying flat on its back:
See the lovely shaping all along the back:
With me encased in what has turned out to be a forgiving corset:
Pattern: "Provincial Waistcoat" from Interweave Knits, Winter 2006, designed by Mari Lynn Patrick. (I knitted the smallest size, 30")
Yarn: Queensland Uruguay Chunky in Teal, 73 yds per skein (I used 7 skeins total)
Needles: size 9 bamboo (and size 8 bamboo for 10 rows of the waist)
Gauge: It’s a long painful story. But somewhere in the neighbourhood of 5-5.25 spi.
Modifications and notes:
- First of all, this pattern is quite complex, but amazingly enough, there are NO errors, at least in the smallest size that I made. Hooray for that!
- A lot of people have found that their waistcoats turned out too big. I too started with the 40" inch bust size, then moved down to 35" one, and finally knitted the 30" – with nearly 9 inches of negative ease! The ribbing pattern makes it stretch LIKE THE DEVIL, so when you’re picking a size, do not be afraid to pick the smaller one.
- You can figure this by gauge, you say? Well, the pattern mentions the gauge (18/4 inches) to be measured over "body pattern," even though this changes rather a lot over the waistcoat, thereby changing gauge too. It’s bloody difficult to figure out where exactly to measure it. Mine was eventually 20-21 over 4 inches, and it still worked out alright with the stretch.
- I made one major modification, following Landshark: I didn’t change the waist rows to the 1×1 ribbing, but continued in the pattern and just used a smaller needle for those rows.
- Also, I added two rows to the buttonband to keep it from gaping. I might change the buttons later if I find nicer ones (these have been lying around for ages.)
- The Queensland Uruguay chunky is mighty soft and wonderful to knit with but I hope it won’t pill.
- Much as I like the fit of the waistcoat, it adds bulk and makes me feel (and look) heavier. I will definitely make this pattern again, but with DK or Light worsted yarn, and make a larger size. I would certainly recommend that to others thinking of making this – the pattern stretches, it’s true, and therefore the bulk is flattened out, but with a thinner yarn it will also be less heavy.
- All in all, I enjoyed it quite a bit – but some indication in the pattern of the amount of negative ease to be expected would have saved me quite a bit of annoyance.
UPDATE: I thought I’d add a quick clarification for anybody who’s planning on making this waistcoat – your negative ease might well turn out to be less than 9 inches depending on the yarn you choose; a springy 100% wool is the best as a guarantee, I think. The great thing about the pattern is that since it’s all in one piece, you can slip it to a string periodically and try it on around you to make sure it is stretching and fitting you well.
Also, as I’m finding out, larger buttons help keep the buttonband in place – due to the stretch these smaller ones aren’t proving as useful.
Oh, it’s totally cute!! I think it actually looks good on you… all that shaping is very, er, emphasizing of the feminine.
Hmmm… I’ve been thinking of trying a vest in the near future. This would be a cute one. Hmm, again.
But, hey, where’s your hair?!?!
Very nice! It looks great on you!
It looks totally amazing! And neatly done, too.
Oh and btw, I always used to think your friend’s name was pronounced like “sushi” as in spud-”sayshi”…only realised a few weeks ago that it was “spud says hi” duh!
I LOVE your vest…it looks great on you!!!! Jane
Oh, it really looks wonderful on you! Lovely color.
That is adorable! Even with 9″ of negative ease – WOW!!!!! The color is beautiful – like a Wedgewood blue….
clap clap… another FO that looks fabulous!
Thanks for posting all of your notes on this project. I’ve been intrigued by this pattern for awhile and I just can’t decide if I should go ahead and knit it for the challenge even though I might not get much wear out of it but after seeing your finished version, I think I definitely could wear this to work with the right shirt underneath. Your version looks great!
The vest is beautiful and looks brilliant on you! Nicely done.
Aaaah, so you _are_ 16 inches at the waist? Looks like a very flattering fit on you.
Well done! I can see why it would be annoying not to know that 9″ of negative ease were required. It looks quite flattering to me, too.
It looks great on you! Thanks for the notes about your experience with the pattern.
Oo, it looks fantastic!! I love the shaping and the color. It looks so good on you.
I really, really like the way this came out. I don’t think it makes you look heavy at all!
Too bad the pattern was so screwy, but I do find that sometimes overcoming a challenge makes me treasure the FO all the more!
Lovely!! Makes me want to try one. Just like I tried the hat (on circular needles) and gave up almost immediately!
You look mighty cute in it. For some reason though, I expected it to be longer…then I saw it was a waistcoat! Duh!
very nice! i love the detail of the coat and your struggles in making it. you did a fantastic job!
Gorgeous! And it looks so fantastic on you!
That looks great! Congratulations. It looks so nice, I’m tempted to make one too. Your knitting is exquisit and the color you did it in is just gorgeous. Really beautiful. Happy Weekend!
I just found your blog. I was intrigued by this in the magazine, but couldn’t fathom how it would really look on me. Yours looks wonderful, and thanks so much for all of the really helpful suggestions!
Congrats on another finished object. Lovely color-pattern combo. This so makes me wish I could knit!
Wow! Very flattering and hey, you look as if you’ve lost weight as well. Come on! Am I to be the only plumpy historian around?
It looks wonderful on you! You did a fantastic job!
The colour is lovely! And I think it is something that has to be worn on a human body to show how beautiful it really is. You wear it very well!
ah, finished!! It really looks fabulous on you — worth all the trouble. Thanks for the great notes, too.