Back to School Vest

I started this back to school vest in time to go back to school from winter break, however, I didn’t finish it until well after vest weather came and went. I have a love-hate relationship with this little guy. He fought me every step of the way but I think I managed to coax a vest out of him that mostly fits and looks somewhat like the photo in the pattern book.

yarn detail:
Moda Dea Silk ‘n Wool Blend in Pewter
85% wool, 15% silk
worsted weight
hand wash cold and dry flat
cost: 80 g / 138 yds @ $4.19

pattern detail:
pattern: “Back-to-School U-Neck Vest” by Stefanie Japel in Fitted Knits
needles: #5, 6 & 7 circular needles
gauge: it’s complicated
time: December, 2007 – April 4, 2008
total cost: $13.00
errata available

notes:

• Read all the blog entries on this vest to get a clear picture of the multitudes of problems I had here.
• Lesson learned #1: on my very first post dated 12/28 I noted that I didn’t like the texture of this yarn for the waffle pattern and that I was having a really difficult time with my gauge. These are the problems I struggled with through the entire sweater (apart from freak accidents). So what is the lesson? I should have aborted this project at the swatching stage until I found a yarn I liked and a gauge I was comfortable with.
• Lesson learned #2: in this pattern the bottom half was ribbing and the top half was waffle stitch, but the pattern only gave a gauge for the waffle part. The ribbing ended up being super tight so in the future I will remember to do my own little gauge swatch for multiple stitch patterns and do the math.