A 1970s design
The Kings Road Vest
rewritten for your size, yarn and gauge
A close-fitting, waist-length vest (tank top) from the end of the 1970s, knitted all over in a big, bold two-colour houndstooth. A deep ribbed waistband holds it in, the armholes are cut in deep so it sits well over a shirt, and a wide V-neck runs right down to the underarm, finished with a mitred ribbed band.
- Fit
- Close-fitting, about ½–2 in (1–5 cm) of ease at the bust; waist length
- Skill level
- Intermediate. A two-colour houndstooth in stranded colourwork, knitted flat.
- Sizes
- US 4 to 24 (UK 8 to 28, EU 36 to 56): 32 to 52 in (81 to 132 cm) bust
- Knit it
- Your choice when you make your pattern: flat, in pieces, as the original, or in the round to the underarms, with no side seams.
- Yarns
- Fingering / 4-ply, Sport, DK / light worsted
- Original yarn
- Fingering (4-ply), at about 28 sts and 30 rows to 4 in (10 cm) over the houndstooth. For the closest match to the photo, use a yarn that knits to this gauge.
- Gauge
- Your own, from 22 to 32 stitches per 4 in (10 cm)
- You get
- Your complete pattern straight away, to read on screen, print or save, plus an email link back to it
Worsted (Aran) and thicker yarns aren't offered: the strands carried across the back of the houndstooth get too long, and a two-colour vest in thick yarn would be stiff and bulky for such a close fit.
£5.95Make it in my size
What you'll get
- Every piece written out in full for your size and gauge
- Row counts with the length to check against, so you always know where you are
- Row-by-row planners for the tricky bits, where shaping happens on both edges at once
- Drawings of each piece with your measurements, and full making-up instructions
Every design is chosen by a knitter and checked against its original pattern. If you get stuck, email us and a real person will help.
This one needs a swatch. Please measure your gauge over the houndstooth itself (a swatch in both colours), not plain stockinette. Stranded colourwork knits up tighter, and the original's gauge is given over the pattern. A yarn label's gauge is for plain stockinette, so it won't give the right size here. Here's how to measure your gauge.
