Looking for this crochet pattern

[Patti75]

Hi everyone! I'm kind of new at crocheting and I found a vest that I really want to make, its the Up Tempo vest by Carol Wolf that I just love but its been deleted on Ravelry and Pinterest. I'm so hoping one of you wonderful crochet people can help me out. Thank you.   

 

[Granny Square]

I've seen recent posts from her on Ravelry.  If you are a Rav member you can find her contact info there by looking for her in the Patterns section.  She may have decided to close her pattern selling business, and it would be against US copyright law and the rules of this forum to send you a copy if any of us had bought one.

However, that particular pattern shape would be super easy to achieve on your own, if you have a knitted garment that fits you and a means to measure it.  It's 1 rectangle for the back, and 2 rectangles from the front that are the same length as the back, and are each slightly less than half the width of the back.  Example, making up a not-too-unreasonable number, let's say the neck opening is 6" across, you'd make each front 3" less than half the width of the back.  It looks like it is made in something lighter weight than US #4 'worsted weight' yarn.  Sew the fronts to the back at the sides, then decide how deep you want the armholes and seam the sides.

I don't know what stitch pattern is used, you could google 'new stitch a day crochet' and find something you like.  I'm sure there are other stitch libraries online but that one is pretty comprehensive.

Edit, I tried to find a similar free pattern and didn't find one quite like this one.  I had a thought though, is for sizing to start with an existing garment for sizing, and experiment with tissue paper or old newspaper pages to make a paper pattern first, so you can 'wear' it and check the fit.

[Patti75]

Yes I am a Rav member and after a search it does look like she closed her selling business, but the pattern was for free. I also did a goggle search for up tempo vest and found that she did post on the crochetville back on April 4, 2012. She noted the vest is worked in two long strips then seamed together at the back and sides. She also noted that it was all done in HDC and that she used a L hook.

I want to make my panels at least 10" wide, so my question is, how many foundation ch would I do? Should it measure  10"?  Then would I hdc in the 4th chain from hook and hdc in each ch across, then turn? Then what?

Thank you so much for all your info. I like your sizing idea.

 

 

[Granny Square]

One nice thing about crochet in this sort of situation, is that you can make a chain a little longer than you need, turn, make your first row into the chain and stop short of the end where you think it looks right.  Later you can pick out the extra chains and weave in the end - it will not unravel from the slipknot end.  It's also handy when it tell you to chain over 100, I do count but always throw in a few extra because I'd rather pick out a few chains than end up short after making that first long row into the chain.

On the 'then what'...if you want to make it all HDC, then just turn and work HDC back and forth.   As far as the turning chain, I've never seen the advice to start an HDC in the 4th foundation chain from the hook -- this is what you would typically do for the taller DC stitch, and this would make a really large gap at the end of each row for HDC.  More typical would be to treat it like SC (turning chain of 1 chain, doesn't count as a stitch) or something between SC and DC (turning chain of 2, either does or doesn't count as a stitch).  

Here is a video, she is treating it like SC (turning chain 1, not treated as a stitch so you crochet into each stitch) which is the same thing I do (I make shortish stitches and think it's tidier, YMMV).  Another video showing starting into the 3rd foundation chain, so the turning chain is 2--and the 2 chains count as a stitch, so you skip the first stitch after turning and stitch into the top chain of the turning chain at the end of the row.

[Patti75]

WOW!!!  I didn't realize I could do a chain that way, you are so right in making a foundation a little longer than needed, can't wait to do this. 

Yes, I'm going to do the HDC, thank you so much for the video, I'll do the chain 1 and turn and HDC in each st.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful info, you are a God send. ☺️  

[Granny Square]

Aw shucks, thanks.  😊 

 

[Jennie G.]

This is very close to the pullover pattern that was so popular back in the 1980s because it was made all in one piece.  It starts at the side with a chain long enough to go from the waist in front, over the shoulder, and down to the waist in the back.  You work your first few stitches in ribbing (sc in the back loop), work down the length of the chain in your pattern stitch until the same number of chains is left for the ribbing and work them in ribbing.   You will be working back and forth from side to side, hard to explain.  Work until you have 1/2 of it done, then work the next row until you are almost to the center of the piece, work a chain the length of the neck opening, skip that number of stitches, and work in pattern across the rest of the row.  The next row is worked as above, working into the neckhole chains also.  Work until you have the same number of rows on each side of the neckhole.  Then fold the piece in half across the shoulders, sew up the side seams leaving room for the armholes.  Work a round of sc around the armholes and the the neck.  That's the pullover.  For the vest you would make the center chain long enough to go all the way down the front, turn and work back in the chains as established.   We had made up our own version in my shop, but I doubt I could find our handwritten and sketched pattern in my now-closed shop.  Here is the Leisure Arts version that came out shortly after ours.   https://www.ebay.com/itm/Quick-Crochet-Vests-Leisure-Arts-417-/273609853187   It's the blue one.  I don't remember if there is ribbing at the bottom of this one, but it would be easy just to change the first and last, say, 8 rows to ribbing. 

[Patti75]

Hi Jennie G, That is a really adorable pullover and I love the fact that I could make a vest also. The problem is I'm not intermediate,   I'm still in the easy crochet stage. I might give it a try but it will be very challenging for me. Could I use any yarn? What size hook would I use? 

Thank you so much Jennie, I greatly appreciate it ☺️ 

[Granny Square]

There is a 'necessary evil' that comes with making a wearable.  It's a gauge swatch.  But it is really, really, important.  If you skip it for anything that needs to fit, you are going to be sorry, and will have done a lot of work for nothing unless your gauge exactly matches the designers', which is a bet with poor odds.

Also, I wouldn't advise a beginner to 'wing' a pattern from scratch, normally.  But this pattern is dead simple.  I was envisioning it as 3 rectangles, but I have seen things made as 1 long rectangle with a slit instead (example, a ruana, which is the same thing but without side seams).  I personally wouldn't choose to do it that way because (1) I believe a shoulder seam would provide more structure - a garment hangs from the shoulders and you don't want them to stretch out of shape, you want them to be sturdy.  (2) My imagination of how the slit would behave might be off-base (I'm thinking it would ride up the neck), but I think it would be more comfortable with a bit of a width at the neck opening.  Again, that's just me.

Back to the gauge swatch.  So, you need to pick a yarn and a hook you want to work with.  Now...make a gauge swatch about 6" wide.  The height won't matter because the pattern is simple and you can just add rows to make it the length you want, but you'll want to make at least a few rows for stability.  Now, measure the number of stitches in the center 4", including fractions.  Calculate the width of 1 stitch--example, if there are 16 stitches exactly, that's 4 stitches per inch, or 0.25" per stitch.  Another example, if there were 16.5 stitches, 4 divided by 16.5=.2424" per stitch.  Let's say you wanted this cardigan to be 24" across.  24 inches divided by .25" per stitch=96 stitches for the first gauge; 24 inches divided by .2424" per stitch is 99 stitches.  So the 24" was my made up measurement for the back, you'd have to either divide that by 2 if you want the slit neck or recalculate for the 2 side pieces if you want a gap to accommodate the neck. 

Just eyeballing the photo, it appears it might be done in a lighter weight than worsted (US #4 or 'medium) but you could use whatever you want.  Here is a (USA) guide for what hook range might work best for what size yarn, but there's no yarn police and a lot depends on your personal tension and how you want the fabric to turn out.

[Patti75]

Hi Granny Square, Yes I have run into that 'necessary evil' (LOL) a time or two....not anymore... I will always do a gauge swatch, so very important if you want your apparel to look right.

Thanks for the paragraph about the gauge swatch, very good info. Wow my vest might turn out good with all your fabulous pointers you have given me.

Thanks Granny Square