Lana Grossa Slipover Vest Knitting Pattern

Lana Grossa Slipover in Inizio

What is Being Made

The Lana Grossa Slipover in Inizio is a sleeveless knitted vest designed as a contemporary accessory piece. This garment features a fitted silhouette with a distinctive cable detail at the center front, making it suitable for layering or wearing as a standalone piece. The design is available in three sizes: 36/38, 40/42, and 44, accommodating a range of body measurements.

Construction Method and Techniques

This slipover is constructed using a bottom-up, seamed approach, meaning the front and back pieces are knitted separately from the cast-on edge upward, then sewn together. The garment is worked flat on straight needles for the main body pieces, with the exception of finishing elements that may utilize a circular needle.

The construction incorporates full-fashion decreases for shaping the armholes, a professional technique that creates a neater, more finished appearance at the edges. The front and back pieces are shaped differently—the back is intentionally 4 centimeters longer than the front, creating a subtle design element.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The Slipover in Inizio employs several key stitches and stitch patterns:

• Rib Pattern (K1, P1): Used for the lower edge ribbing, which provides elasticity and helps the garment maintain its shape. The ribbing extends 4 centimeters from the cast-on edge.
• Stockinette Stitch (St st): Forms the primary fabric of the garment, created by knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows. This creates a smooth, classic knitted surface.
• Center Cable: A featured cable pattern worked over 11 stitches (increased to 13 stitches) at the center front of the garment. The cable is worked according to a provided chart, with rows 1–10 worked once, then rows 3–10 repeated throughout the length of the piece. This cable adds visual interest and textural depth to the front.
• Two-Stitch Selvage: Worked at each edge of the pieces to create neat, finished selvage edges that facilitate seaming. On right-side rows, the selvage is created by slipping one stitch purlwise with yarn in back, then knitting one stitch. On wrong-side rows, stitches are worked as they appear.

Materials and Tools

The Slipover in Inizio is knitted using Lana Grossa Inizio yarn, a premium blend consisting of 54% Merino wool, 18% Modal, 16% polyamide, and 12% cotton. This fiber composition creates a yarn that combines the warmth and elasticity of wool with the smooth drape of Modal and the durability of synthetic fibers. The yarn is worked at a gauge of 60 meters per 50 grams.

Yardage requirements vary by size: 350 grams (approximately 4,200 meters) for size 36/38, 400 grams (approximately 4,800 meters) for size 40/42, and 450 grams (approximately 5,400 meters) for size 44. The featured colorway is Flamingo/Marsala Red (color 105), a warm, sophisticated red tone.

Needles required include size 10 mm straight needles for working the flat pieces and a size 10 mm circular needle measuring 40 centimeters long for any circular sections. A cable needle is essential for manipulating the center cable stitches during construction.

Garment Specifications

The front piece is cast on with 53 (55, 57) stitches depending on size. After the initial ribbing, the piece is worked in stockinette stitch with the center cable pattern introduced on the right-side row following the ribbing. The front measures 32 centimeters from cast-on before armhole shaping begins. Armhole shaping is accomplished through full-fashion decreases worked over 6 right-side rows, reducing 1 stitch at each end per row. The front continues to the neck shaping point at approximately 52 (53, 54) centimeters from cast-on.

The back piece follows a similar construction but measures 36 centimeters before armhole shaping and continues to approximately 64 (65, 66) centimeters from cast-on, creating the intentional 4-centimeter length difference. After arm