Classic Elite Yarns Hiawatha Vest Knitting Pattern

Classic Elite Yarns Hiawatha Knit Vest

Garment Overview

The Hiawatha is a drape-front cardigan vest designed by Tonia Barry and originally published in Silhouettes 1404. This versatile knit vest offers two distinct construction options: a closed back version for a traditional silhouette, or an open back version for a contemporary, fashion-forward design. The vest is worked primarily in stockinette stitch and features elegant shaping through strategic increases and decreases.

Construction Technique

The Hiawatha is constructed using a bottom-up and top-down hybrid approach with seamed construction. The garment is worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, allowing for precise shaping and seaming. The back piece options provide flexibility in design preference: the closed back is worked as a single continuous piece, while the open back version consists of left and right halves that are each worked from the top down. Both front pieces are worked from the bottom up, creating a logical and manageable knitting sequence.

Stitch Techniques and Pattern Details

The primary stitch used throughout the Hiawatha is stockinette stitch, which creates a smooth, classic fabric ideal for showcasing yarn texture and drape. The pattern incorporates two specialized increase techniques:

• LLI (Lifted Left-Leaning Increase): This increase is created by inserting the left-hand needle tip from front to back into the stitch below the first stitch on the right-hand needle, lifting that stitch onto the left-hand needle, and then knitting into the lifted strand. This technique adds one stitch and creates a left-leaning directional increase.
• LRI (Lifted Right-Leaning Increase): This mirror increase is worked by inserting the right-hand needle tip from back to front into the stitch below the first stitch on the left-hand needle, lifting that stitch onto the left-hand needle, and knitting into the lifted strand. This creates a right-leaning increase that adds one stitch to the garment.

The pattern also employs knit two together (k2tog) decreases to shape the armholes and create the fitted silhouette. A decorative edge detail is created using double-wrapped stitches, where yarn is wrapped twice around the needle and then slipped as if to purl on the following row while dropping the extra wrap, creating an elegant selvage edge.

Back Piece Options

Closed Back Version: Cast on 88 to 143 stitches (depending on size) using the long-tail method and work in stockinette stitch for approximately 23 inches from the cast-on edge, ending with a wrong-side row before binding off all stitches. This creates a traditional, fully-closed back.

Open Back Version: The open back is divided into left and right pieces, each worked from the top down. The left back piece begins with a cast-on of 74 to 120 stitches and incorporates a complex pattern of decreases and strategic increases. The pattern alternates between rows that decrease one stitch at the side edge (using k2tog) and rows that maintain the stitch count by pairing an LRI increase with a k2tog decrease. This creates a tapered, shaped back that narrows toward the lower edge, with the straight selvage edge positioned at the side seam.

Sizing and Fit

The Hiawatha is offered in six sizes with corresponding stitch counts ranging from 88 to 143 stitches for the closed back version. The sizing accommodates various body measurements while maintaining the proportional drape and fit of the vest design.

Materials

The Hiawatha is designed to showcase Classic Elite Yarns products. The pattern is worked with yarn and needles appropriate for the selected yarn weight, though specific needle size and yardage requirements are referenced in the complete pattern documentation. The vest benefits from yarn with good drape qualities to enhance the cardigan front styling.