anything but basic vest for kids

What do you knit for your summertime baby who has *very* specific ideas about what she likes to wear? You knit her a vest full of cables and bobbles and zig-zags in the brightest possible yarn, of course! This is the Anything But Basic Vest for Kids.

In some ways, this vest pattern was a long time coming. My son was born in the winter and my daughter was born in the summer. Over the years, that translated into me knitting new designs for my son much more than my daughter, a fact that did not go unnoticed by said daughter!

So she and I hatched a plan to create a garment for her that would work in both cold and warmer weather. What made this project different for me as a designer was letting my daughter guide me as to what kind of stitches, fit, and patterns she liked. After several swatches, we got it just right!

First up, the color and shape. I’ve worked with Catskill Merino many times over the years, and I knew that they offered the most neon hot pink yarn that would be perfect for my girly girl, so I grabbed a good quantity at NY Sheep and Wool in October last year. (Side note: I’m still marveling at the sheer serendipity of capturing these photos next to an azalea of the exact same color.) I also knew that the merino fiber would be soft enough, and durable enough, for my daughter to wear for all of her adventures. Because she’s known to “run hot,” as we like to say, we decided on a vest that would offer just enough warmth rather than a sweater with sleeves. I added the feature of stretchy rolled edges to all of the ribbing to make the vest even easier for little hands to put on and take off.

Funnily enough, I’d never worked with bobbles before, so we agreed that they’d introduce an extra oomph of texture into this new design. I used crocheted bobbles because I like how tidy they are, but they can be replaced by knitted bobbles or no bobbles at all. In fact, the back of the vest has all of the texture, minus the bobbles, because we agreed that bobbles might be uncomfortable to lean against 🙂

The pattern includes sizing for kids from 6 months to 10 years old and, as with all of my children’s designs, the vest includes a bit of positive ease so that a layer fits well underneath and there’s room for growing. The 4-6 year old size is shown here with just over an inch of positive ease, and the result is a cozy fit that isn’t restrictive. There’s also a panel of moss stitch under each arm where you could add some waist shaping, or even add or decrease a few stitches to tailor the size of the vest to your recipient. You can also shorten or lengthen the design without trouble as long as you’ve got sufficient yarn.

And I would be remiss if I forgot to say: this is NOT just a garment for girls! While my daughter’s vision and vest are perfectly pink, this is a unisex design that suits all children. One of my test knitters created a light green version that was just right for her young grandson, and I can easily envision this vest in royal blue, sweatshirt grey, dandelion yellow, or even a traditional ivory (if you’re that brave with kids hehehe).

We were so lucky that our photoshoot coincided with all the blossoms and sunshine of Spring, but this vest works equally well over longer sleeves in the Autumn or Winter. And if your child doesn’t have any skin sensitivities (or if you use a plant-based fiber), this can work beautifully as a summertime top all on its own.

All thanks to my daughter for being the catalyst in this project; I hope that I have captured her energy and zest for life in these stitches. You can find more details about the Anything But Basic Vest for Kids HERE.

To celebrate, the pattern will be 25% off through midnight (EDT) on Tuesday, May 28th, no coupon code required! Grab some vibrant yarn and spend the sunny days knitting a piece that’s anything but basic!

Happy knitting,

xoxo Danielle