Vee Neck Button Vest
 

Now that the hoodie is finished (tomorrow I'm sewing it up so should have photos soon) I'm going to knit a vest.

The Tension (gauge to you Yanks) is:

16.5 sts and 22 rows to 10 cm (4 inch) over stocking st, using 5.50mm needles. Cast on 25 sts, work 34 rows stocking stitch.

So I did this and my tension square (gauge) is almost that of the pattern.

I get 16 sts and 21 rows - what do I do?? I think I need to go to the next size SMALLER needles, correct?

I love knitting - it's such a cockamamy challenge!

love and light - your Aussie friend, David

:knitting:

Yes, you want to go to a size smaller needle. You want to fit more sts (16.5) into 4 inches than you're currently getting (16). See what the smaller needle gives you and if it's too many sts, you can adjust the number of cast on sts to give you the size vest you want.
You're close with the 5.5mm needles, only 5 extra sts over 40 inches which would be a little over an inch extra width. Don't worry about the row tension since the directions probably will have you knit for a certain length anyway.

Dear Salmonmac - as ever, thanks - I'd not even thought about adjusting the number of cast on stitches - such a blindingly obvious solution now I sit back and think about it.

Light, love and blessings to you gorgeous.

Now, back to my vest.

Dx

On The Back

so i now get to 'shape armeholes' and it's been symetrical until now, meaning that cast off stitches have occurred at the ends of each row to reduce sts from 95 to 85 but the next step says

then every foll alt row until 79 sts rem

but this means, surely, that it will decrease on one side only (just blindly follow the pattern yes?)

Every 'foll alt row' means every other row. Is that for decs or do they still want you to BO? You have to BO at the beg of a row, so it has to be every row. But usually armhole shaping is binding off for the underarms, then dec a stitch at the beg and end of every RS row for a set number of rows or stitches. So I suspect that's where you are.

Usually the decreases are still at the ends of each row, not just on one side only. (Bind offs, as Sue mentions occur at the beginning of rows and can be offset by one row.) Can you quote exactly what the directions say for shaping the armholes and the decreases thereafter?

so here's the pattern exactly as printed EXCEPT I've left off numbers not related to the size I'm knitting. (I'm up to the instruction just before Shape Shoulders).

BACK

Using 4.50mm Needles, cast on 113 sts.
1st Row - K2, *P1, K1, rep from * to last st, K1.
2nd Row - K1, * P1, K1, rep from * to end.
Repeat Rib (rows 1&2) until 16 rows.
Change to 5.50mm Needles.
Work in stocking stitch until work measures 41cm from beg, ending with a purl row.

SHAPE ARMHOLES -
Cast off 9 sts at beg of next 2 rows...95 sts.
Dec one st at each end of every row until 85 sts,
then in every foll alt row until 79 sts rem. [this puzzles me]
Cont without shaping untilnwork measures 68cm from beg, ending with a purl row.

SHAPE SHOULDERS -

Cast off 8 sts at beg of next 4 rows,
then 8 sts at beg of foll 2 rows.
Cast off rem 31 sts loosely.

Every other row (RS?) you decrease 1 at each end.

Does that make more sense?

How many times have I read the same thing the same way you did? Never mind, I don't want to know.

After the BOs you dec at the beg and end of every row until you have 85 sts. That would be 5 rows. Then on dec at the beg and end of every other row until there's 79 sts and you begin with the next RS row.

precisely, but won't that make it asymetrical??

:-(