Steek Exposure Therapy

Overcome your fear of steeking with this stash-busting colorwork vest! A clear tutorial with photos and videos walks you through steeking and finishing the armholes and neckline, building skills you can carry into other projects. If you’d rather skip the scissors for now, the vest can also be knit back and forth—no steeks required.

This pattern includes a detailed schematic, tutorial links to specific skills, a construction plan, contextual explanations of what you’re knitting, and adjustment notes to help you fit the garment to your body.

Sizes

(1, 2, 3) (4, 5, 6) (7, 8, 9)

These sizes are intended to fit actual body measurements of:

Upper chest circumference (measured around armpit level): (77.5, 85.5, 93.5) (102, 110, 118.5) (126.5, 134.5, 140) cm/(30.5, 33.75, 36.75) (40.25, 43.25, 46.75) (49.75, 53, 55) in

Full chest circumference: (71-76, 81-86, 91.5-96.5) (101.5-106.5, 111.5-117, 122-127) (132-137, 142-147, 152-158) cm/(28-30, 32-34, 36-38) (40-42, 44-46, 48-50) (52-54, 56-58, 60-62) in

The vest has a finished full chest circumference of (82, 90.5, 101) (111.5, 122, 132.5) (143, 151.5, 162) cm/(32.75. 36.25, 40.5) (44.75, 48.75, 53) (57.25, 60.75, 64.75) in.

Choose a size based on your upper chest circumference with consideration for full chest circumference. This pattern was designed to have 4-12 cm/1.5-4.75 in positive ease in the full bust, but can handle up to 2.5 cm/1 in negative ease. Sample shown is size 3 worn with 11 cm/4.25 in positive ease on a 90 cm full bust.

Knit, purl, basic decreases, reading a basic chart, picking up stitches, binding off, two-colour stranded knitting; tutorial links included for Cable Cast-On, Kitchener Stitch, and steeking/finishing the armholes and neckline.

Below-gauge-size needle should be one size smaller than your gauge-size needle.
For reference, gauge was achieved with a 4 mm/US 6 needle. Below-gauge-size needle used was 3.75 mm/US 5.

80-100 cm/32-40 in gauge-size circular needles for working Colourwork Chart

Below-gauge-size needles for working 2x2 Rib

Scrap yarn or spare needle/cable for putting stitches on hold

7 stitch markers, including 1 unique BOR marker

Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

3.5 mm/E-4 crochet hook for steek reinforcement

Small scissors for cutting the steek

Measuring tape

Vest completed by deadline with linked Ravelry project and photos of the finished object, active participation in the test chat.

A copy of the finished version of the pattern

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.