Lana Grossa Vest Knitting Pattern

Lana Grossa Vest in Lala Berlin Fluffy Tweed

What Is Being Made

This is a knitted vest designed by Lala Berlin, featured as Design 12 from Filati About Berlin 06. The vest is available in three sizes: 36, 38/40, and 42/44, making it suitable for a range of body measurements. The finished garment features a structured silhouette with shaped sleeves and shoulder/overarm shaping for a tailored fit.

Techniques Used

The Lana Grossa Vest employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its finished construction:

• Bottom-up construction: The vest is worked from the cast-on edge upward, allowing knitters to try on the garment as it progresses and easily adjust length before binding off.
• Worked flat: Rather than in the round, this vest is knitted flat on straight needles, requiring seaming to join pieces together after completion.
• Seamed construction: Individual pieces (front and back panels) are knitted separately and then seamed together, creating clean, professional-looking seams along the sides and shoulders.
• Shaping techniques: The pattern uses strategic increases (M1R, or make one right) to shape the armholes and collar, and decreases (k2tog) worked while binding off to shape the shoulders and overarms for a contoured fit.
• Slip stitch patterning: A textured slip stitch pattern creates visual interest and depth throughout the garment.

Stitches Used

The Lana Grossa Vest incorporates fundamental knitting stitches combined into a cohesive stitch pattern:

• Knit stitch (k): The primary structural stitch used throughout the garment.
• Purl stitch (p): Used in alternation with knit stitches to create textural variation.
• Slip stitch (sl): Stitches are slipped knitwise with yarn in front (wyif) to create the slip stitch pattern, which adds visual texture and helps define the vest's aesthetic.
• Make one right (M1R): An invisible increase used to add stitches for shaping armholes, sleeves, and the collar.
• Knit two together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease used during bind-off rows to shape shoulders and overarms smoothly.

The slip stitch pattern is worked over a multiple of 2 plus 1, plus 4 selvage stitches. On right-side rows, knitters alternate knit and purl stitches. On wrong-side rows, stitches are slipped knitwise with yarn in front, alternating with knit stitches to create the characteristic textured appearance.

Materials

The Lana Grossa Vest is designed to be knitted with Lana Grossa Lala Berlin Fluffy yarn in the colorway Brown Mélange (col 110). Yardage requirements are 550 grams for size 36, 600 grams for size 38/40, and 650 grams for size 42/44. With a yardage of 130 meters per 50-gram ball, this provides ample yarn for the complete garment across all sizes.

The fiber composition of Lala Berlin Fluffy is carefully balanced: 42% pure wool provides warmth and elasticity, 21% polyamide adds durability and shape retention, 19% alpaca contributes softness and a subtle sheen, and 18% mohair creates a fluffy, luxurious texture. This blend results in a yarn that is both comfortable to wear and easy to care for.

The pattern calls for size 6 mm needles, which are appropriately sized to work with the Lala Berlin Fluffy yarn and create the correct gauge and fabric density for the finished vest.