119 Bench Street

119 Bench Street is a colorful, ornately patterned vest whose design was inspired by an antique wrought iron fence in front of a home on Bench Street in the historic city of Galena, Illinois. The vest is worked bottom up. It is knitted in the round from the ribbing along the lower edge to the armholes. From the armholes to the shoulders, the garment is worked back and forth. However, if you prefer, you may work the top half of the vest in the round with the use of steeks across the armhole and neck openings. The neck and armholes are finished with a twisted rib.

The pattern includes a complete set of charts for each size of both the front and back of the vest.

Sizes

1 (2,3,4) (5,6,7) with:

• actual bust circumferences 32 (36, 40, 44) ) (48, 52, 56) inches / 81 (91, 102, 112) (122, 132, 142) cm.
• finished bust circumferences 34.5 (39, 43, 47)(48, 52, 56) inches / 88 (99, 109, 119) (131, 141, 152) cm.
  

Yarn

Rauma Finull 50 g balls in the following colors:

404 Medium Grey Heather 3 (4, 4, 5) (5, 6, 6)
403 Light Grey Heather 1, (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 2)
455 Yellow Green 1 (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 2)
470 Dusty Purple 1 (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1)
427 Plum 1 (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1)
438 Dark Ocean Blue 1 (2, 3, 3) (3, 3, 4)
484 Teal 1 (2, 2, 3) (3, 3, 3) (3, 3, 3)

This is a great project to use up yarn from your stash -- testers are welcome to do so.

Sizes

1 (2,3,4) (5,6,7) with:

•  actual bust circumferences 32 (36, 40, 44) ) (48, 52, 56) inches / 81 (91, 102, 112) (122, 132, 142) cm.
•  finished bust circumferences 34.5 (39, 43, 47)(48, 52, 56) inches / 88 (99, 109, 119) (131, 141, 152) cm.

Pattern instructions include more detailed finished measurements.

• Knit and purl
• Three-needle bind-off
• German short rows
• Fair Isle style colorwork

• US 3/3.25mm circular needle
• US 2.5/3mm circular needle
• Stitch holders or scrap yarn, 
• Stitch markers
• Tapestry needle for working in ends

I would like testers to:

• create a Ravelry project page using the test code TEST-NC-L3N95W as the pattern name. This will link your project page to the pattern once it is released. If you need help, please ask.
• provide feedback on the pattern directions -- clarity, errors, etc
  
• report how much yarn you used for your vest
• photograph the vest (preferably modeled) by the finish date and upload the photograph(s) to the project page you created in Ravelry

Please check in occasionally to let me know how you are doing -- and contact me at any time if you have questions. Work in progress may be shared on social media throughout the test period.

The designer will run a giveaway and give a prize to one or more testers

This is my first pattern! I will randomly select one tester who has completed the vest by the end of the test period and provide the winner with a $35 gift certificate to the yarn store or yarn website of your choice. Each tester will receive a copy of the finalized pattern when it is released.

The designer has created the following milestones, in order to keep track of progress during the test knit. By marking off each milestone as you complete it, you can easily keep the designer up to date with your progress.