POTM

Project of the Month: Gondor Vest

Sweater vests – or slipovers – are the perfect spring knit for the West Coast, where the weather refuses to be pinned down. Staff member Meghan knit up a Gondor Vest in our new Imperial Yarns Denali, a super soft 50/50 blend of alpaca and merino. Nice and cozy, but a sport weight so you won’t be sweltering if the sun does deign to appear!

About the Pattern

A fairly new pattern from Norwegian designer Helene Arnesen of Fabel Knitwear, the Gondor is a simple 1940s-ish ribbed sweater vest with impeccable waist shaping. It’s written with fingering+mohair in mind, but works very well in a nice puffy sport weight.

An easy knit, this bottom-up vest is all 1×1 rib, mostly in the round, with stitches to pick up for the arm holes and neckline. The shoulders can be seamed or three-needle bound, and the rolled neckline is whip-stitch down at the last step.

Meghan knit a size 2x and only used just shy of four skeins of the Denali, so it could be a great pattern choice for a garment in a spendier yarn! Because it’s all ribbed the fit is pretty flexible, as you can see by this XS mannequin looking not-too-bad in a 2X vest!

While Meghan doesn’t love knitting ribbing, she finds it very beginner-friendly; as her partner says “it’s like you’re knitting a tuque forever.” With such ease, Meghan found the resulting vest lovely and will be making another before autumn!

About the Yarn

Denali was a treat to work with! Meghan found that it did stick just a tad on wooden needles, but once she switched to metal needles, project flew by. Not too splitty and not even remotely scratchy or stiff.

The blend of alpaca and merino yields a nice puffy yarn with the perfect balance of drape and recovery. From fingerless gloves to a big cozy sweater, it’s a great choice for projects large and small!

Specially milled without harsh chemicals or extreme temperatures, it’s comfortable, soft and pure. All Imperial Yarn Products are Proudly, American Grown, American Made.

Fibres: 50% Premium American Alpaca, 50% Climate Beneficial Certified Wool Gauge: 26 stitches = 4 inches (10 cm)
Needles: 3.5 mm (US 4) Weight: 2-ply Sport (2)
Length: 50 g / 195 yards (178m) Hand wash cold. Lay flat to dry.

SHOP HERE

Learn more about Imperial Yarn and their Climate Beneficial Wool HERE

And don’t forget to check out Helene’s other designs on her on RAVELRY and WEBSITE

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Not Your Mama's Yarn Store

X