A cheeky little vest...

So I finished this one a while ago, but wasn't really inspired to take pictures of it until this afternoon. It's the Back-To-School U-Neck vest from Fitted Knits, and although I didn't love it at first, my heart has definitely warmed to it since it flew off the needles back in November. Maybe it's the red. Maybe I was just feeling ugly the first time I wore it, and so I thought that it looked bad and unflatterng. Or, maybe I've just accepted the fact that I really like vests.


I wore it to work this afternoon, and felt very sassy running around the building with my walkie-talkie, red vest, pearls, and black kitten-heel flats. A word about those, though - I've managed to go through all of my clean socks, so I was wearing a) flats, b) with no socks, c) in weather that clocked in at a whopping 18 degrees Fahrenheit. I really need to learn how to embrace the knitwear love, or else I'm going to freeze my butt off.


So the specs on this project:
Yarn: Cascade 220
Yardage: A little less than 3 balls, so probably about 600 yards.
Needles: Size 8 Addi Turbo, as well as size 7 for the armholes and neckline (I think?).
Mods: I made a couple of very slight modifications to the pattern. I wanted the bust increases to match, so I think I shifted one of the increases over to the left. It didn't make a huge difference; I just cast off a different number of stitches for the neckline, and the numbers matched up again. I also didn't purl as many rounds when I picked up for the neckline and armholes and used a tighter gauge, as I had heard from a friend who knit the same vest that the neckline didn't have enough structure on larger needles.


The end result? I got several compliments on this one today, at least two from non-knitters. This particular vest feels like it needs a button-down shirt underneath, but I wear them pretty frequently anyhow. I love the color. Overall, it's a great basic handknit and layering piece, especially in the Midwestern winter!