Berroco Spruce Hill Vest Knitting Pattern

Berroco Spruce Hill Knit Vest

What Is Being Made

The Berroco Spruce Hill is an intermediate-level knit vest designed by Åsa Buchta. This garment features a sophisticated cable pattern on the front and is available in nine sizes, ranging from 36" to 72" bust circumference, with finished lengths between 22½" and 26". The vest is shown in a size 40" bust measurement and is designed with approximately 2–4" of positive ease for a comfortable, relaxed fit.

Construction Method

This vest is constructed using a bottom-up approach with a combination of flat and in-the-round knitting techniques. The back and front pieces are worked flat from the bottom edge upward, then seamed together at the sides and shoulders. After the main body is complete, stitches are picked up around the neckline and armholes, which are then worked in the round to create the finished bands.

Stitches and Techniques

The Spruce Hill incorporates several key knitting techniques:

• Reverse Stockinette Stitch (Reverse St st) — forms the main fabric base with a gauge of 21 stitches and 32 rows over 4" when worked with the larger needles
• Cable stitches — featured prominently in the center front pattern, which measures 46 stitches across 8¼". The cable work includes techniques such as slipping stitches to a cable needle and holding them in front or back to create twisted, dimensional texture
• Knit and purl combinations — used throughout the pattern to create definition and structure, including ribbing elements noted as [p2, k2] repeats

The pattern requires careful attention to cable placement and timing, making it suitable for knitters with intermediate experience who are comfortable managing multiple techniques simultaneously.

Materials

The Spruce Hill calls for Berroco Fika yarn, a hand-dyed fiber available in 100-gram hanks. Depending on size, the project requires between 3 and 6 hanks of yarn; the sample shown uses color #7051 Cake. The pattern recommends alternating skeins every 2 rows to minimize visible patterning variations inherent to hand-dyed yarns.

Needles required include U.S. size 4 / 3.5 mm and U.S. size 6 / 4 mm straight or circular needles, selected to achieve the specified gauge. A 16" circular needle in size 4 / 3.5 mm is needed for the neckband and armband ribbing worked in the round. Additional notions include a cable needle, waste yarn for holding stitches, and stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and construction points.

Finishing Details

Gauge is measured after blocking and is critical for accurate fit; the pattern specifies 21 stitches and 32 rows equal 4" in Reverse Stockinette Stitch using the larger needles. The center front cable pattern should measure 8¼" across when worked to gauge. Proper gauge checking before beginning ensures the finished vest will meet the intended measurements across all nine sizes.