Noro Honeycomb Vest Knitting Pattern

Noro Honeycomb Vest

Project Overview

The Noro Honeycomb Vest is an intermediate-level knitting project designed as a classic pullover vest available in eight sizes ranging from Small through XXXX-Large. This garment is worked flat on straight needles and then seamed, making it an accessible project for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to tackle shaping and construction techniques. The finished vest offers versatile sizing with bust measurements from 37½ inches (95cm) up to 59 inches (150cm) and lengths ranging from 25½ to 27½ inches (64.5 to 70cm), accommodating various body types and style preferences.

Materials and Yarn

This project features Noro Geshi, a premium yarn that brings visual interest and texture to the finished garment. The pattern calls for either one or two 200-gram balls depending on the size selected, with two colorways used throughout: Noro Geshi in #2 (A) and Noro Geshi in #8 (B). The combination of these two colors creates the honeycomb pattern that gives the vest its distinctive name and visual appeal. Knitters will need one pair of size US 8/5mm straight needles for the flat pieces and a 24-inch circular needle in the same size for any ribbing or edge work, along with stitch markers to track pattern repeats and shaping points.

Construction Techniques

The Honeycomb Vest is constructed using a bottom-up, worked-flat, seamed method. This approach means the knitter begins at the lower edge and works upward toward the shoulders, creating separate front and back pieces on straight needles rather than working in the round. Once all pieces are completed, they are carefully seamed together to form the finished garment. This construction method allows for precise shaping at the armholes and neckline while providing the stability that seams offer to a garment's structure.

Knitting Stitches and Techniques

The pattern employs several fundamental and intermediate knitting techniques to create the honeycomb texture and garment shaping:

• Make One (M1) increases: Both knitwise and purlwise versions are used to add stitches within the fabric. The knitwise version involves inserting the left-hand needle from front to back under the strand between stitches and knitting into the back loop. The purlwise version lifts the strand between stitches and purls it, allowing for seamless increases that blend into the fabric.
• Slip, Slip, Knit/Purl (SSK/SSP) decreases: These decreases involve slipping two stitches knitwise (or purlwise) individually to the right-hand needle, then inserting the left-hand needle through the fronts of these stitches from left to right and knitting or purling them together. This creates a left-leaning decrease that pairs visually with right-leaning decreases for balanced shaping.
• Slip stitches: Stitches are passed from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle as if to purl without working them, a technique often used for selvage stitches that make seaming cleaner and easier.
• Selvage stitches: Edge stitches worked at the beginning and end of rows specifically to create neat edges that facilitate seaming the pieces together.
• Stitch markers: Contrasting yarn or purchased markers are placed on the needle to denote pattern repeats, shaping points, and design sections, helping knitters track their progress through the honeycomb pattern.
• Chart reading: The pattern uses charts to indicate the honeycomb stitch pattern, including "no stitch" spaces shown with shading where stitches have been decreased or not yet made. Knitters skip over these spaces and work only the stitches present on each row.

Pattern Structure

This intermediate vest pattern guides knitters through creating a garment with shaping at the waist and armholes, requiring attention to increase and decrease placement for proper fit. The honeycomb stitch creates a textured, visually interesting fabric that showcases the color variations in the Noro Geshi yarn, while the seamed construction provides a polished, professional finish suitable for a versatile wardrobe piece.