Atacama (sleeveless) Jacket Vest Knitting Pattern

Atacama (Sleeveless) Jacket by Martin Storey

What is Being Made

The Atacama (Sleeveless) Jacket is a knitted sleeveless vest-style garment designed by Martin Storey. This downloadable PDF pattern creates a fitted, tailored jacket without sleeves, suitable for layering or wearing as a standalone piece. The garment is available in nine sizes, ranging from chest measurements of 71-76 cm (28-30 inches) up to 152-157 cm (60-62 inches), making it accessible for a wide range of body types.

Knitting Techniques and Construction

The Atacama is classified as an intermediate-level knitting project, requiring solid foundational skills. The garment is constructed using a combination of essential shaping techniques that create a professional, tailored silhouette. Key construction methods include:

• Armhole shaping: Created by casting off stitches at the beginning of rows followed by decreasing one stitch at each end across multiple rows and alternate rows to form smooth, fitted armholes
• Shoulder shaping: Accomplished through strategic casting off at the shoulder edges in multiple stages, allowing for proper garment structure and fit
• Neckline shaping: The back neck features a shaped design with decreases worked at the neck edge while simultaneously managing shoulder seams, creating a refined neckline finish
• Fitted construction: The pattern uses decreasing techniques to create a garment that follows body contours while maintaining structural integrity

Stitches Used

While the PDF excerpt focuses on shaping instructions, the Atacama employs fundamental knitting stitches typical of intermediate garment construction. The pattern utilizes knit stitches as the primary fabric structure, with casting off (also called binding off) used extensively throughout for shaping armholes, shoulders, and necklines. Decreasing techniques are employed to shape the garment edges smoothly and create the fitted silhouette characteristic of this design.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

The Atacama (Sleeveless) Jacket is designed to be knitted in Rowan Summerlite DK, a 50-gram yarn weight classified as DK (double knitting). The pattern offers color options including Cecily 477, Pickles 475, and Duckling 476 for the sleeveless version, allowing crafters to choose their preferred colorway.

Two needle sizes are required for this project:

• 3¼mm needles (US size 3): Used for ribbed or textured sections that require a tighter gauge
• 3¾mm needles (US size 5): Used for the main body fabric at the garment's standard gauge

The use of two needle sizes is a common technique in knitting to create contrast between elastic ribbing and the main fabric body, ensuring proper fit and garment structure throughout the Atacama design.

Sizing and Fit

The pattern provides detailed measurements for each of the nine available sizes. Actual chest measurements of the finished garment range from 93.5 cm (36¾ inches) to 175.5 cm (69 inches) at the underarm. Each size includes specific stitch counts and row counts for accurate construction, with armhole depths and back length measurements provided to ensure proper proportions across all sizes.