Pattern Scout
Escape from Sleeve Island
Vests are everywhere right now and I am smitten. There are so many great designs out there for any type of knitting and at every yarn weight.
I love them because they are cozy and warm without being hot and sweaty. They are faster to knit; no visiting sleeve island! They use less yarn; I can afford special yarns or fiber for vests.
They are four-season garments; vests can be worn alone or with a tank or tee in warmer weather.
To me they are a more relaxed knit—I feel more confident freestyling if my yarn isn’t quite right. They are fun to wear—the possibilities of layering color and texture are exciting.
My two latest vests both use handspun yarn.
The Last Word by Thea Colman
This is the vest that kicked it off for me. Thea has a great catalog of vests. I spun this from Shepherd’s Hey Farm roving that’s a blend of medium and longish wools. That combo gives the yarn and fabric and good combination of elasticity and just enough drape to help keep those yarn overs open.
Gan by Ailbíona McLochlainn
I just finished this. Don’t look too closely or you might see ends I haven’t woven in yet. Yes, I have a lime green front door.
I spun this from a Hipstrings Cormo/silk blend in the colorway 7 Ate 9. Cormo is a fine, crimpy wool (a fiber cousin to Merino) that makes a wonderfully squishy yarn. The silk helps with durability and adds a little shine.
My 2026 Vest Short List
Here are other vests that are on my ever-shifting list for 2026.
Walled Garden Vest by Sonja Bargielowska
The possibilities for this modular, worsted-weight, garter stitch vest span time and space. My planning mind goes to my leftover yarns, holding yarns together for marling colors, or those single skeins that are languishing in my stash.
Polina Vest by Teti LuTsak
Another thing I like about vests is that they lure me into techniques that aren’t usually my favorite. I’m not a big fan of colorwork, but this has me so excited. It’s DK weight—wouldn’t it be gorgeous in a couple of the new Jane colors? I’m thinking Earth and Clay, Aubergine and Caladium, or Celeste and Clay.
Grapefruit Pink Lady by Thea Colman
Because I loved The Last Word so much, I have to have another Thea Colman vest on my list. This one is what’s knocking right now. Will I answer? Or will she come out with a new pattern that will sweep me off of my feet? I’d like to make this out of a wool/flax blend yarn, for a little crispness.
Rockhound Vest by Wool & Pine
This is another design that will get me to knit with something I don’t usually use: fingering-weight yarn for a garment. A fingering-weight sweater in my size would take a long time, but a vest—not so much. This fine-line cable design is amazing, and you couldn’t get that look with a heavier yarn.
Vests That Aren’t Really Vests
Not all great vests are called vests, there are garments that are listed as tanks or tees but make great vests.
Collected Slipover by Tif Neilan
This scratches my hand-painted yarn itch. This would be great in one of the Atlas x Madelinetosh collabs, like Clue Board From 1984, or a beautifully handspun braid, with a rich neutral.
Forest Weave by Yumiko Alexander
This one has several variations. I think the short-sleeved version in any length would make a fantastic flow-y vest, especially if it was knit in linen, silk, or a blend of the two.
Lillesol by Isabell Kraemer
Clearly a fine-gauge textured vest is in my future. Lillesol has faux cables that beautifully wrap the neckline and the short-sleeve or sleeveless variation would make a great layer.
A Vest That Is Coming Soon
Riggies by Gudrun Johnston
Here’s one that’s not out yet, but I am very excited about!
I saw this in Gudrun’s Instagram and had to ask her about it. Her post got so much love that she’s releasing the pattern early in 2026. Even more exciting, she has a whole book of vests coming from Laine in 2026!
Will you be knitting vests in 2026?
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Love these! So versatile. Any great men’s vests?
Agreed! Vests are the best!! Thank you for this lovely list of vest inspiration!! As a quilter, I am of course drawn to the Walled Garden, but I love all of the others too!
Love sleeve island!
I too am a vestie! Dress up or down, but being comfy!
Love your green door!
Jillian, you temptress! I thought I had my 2026 plan vaguely laid out and now this!! Good thing the next few days will be a little slower so I can reassess. Thank you for providing such an interesting and diverse smorgasbord from which to choose. These are wonderful patterns that would not be on my normal path through Ravelry. Now, excuse me while I go find my eraser! Happy holidays!
The link for Collected Slipover goes to a hat called collected instead.
Shepherd’s Hey Farm is local to me; I’ve passed it many times going to Sugarloaf Mountain. I never realized till last year that they had fleeces and lamb. I haven’t gotten into spinning but if I did I’d start with their fleece since they’re only a few miles from me. I did purchase some Leicester Longwool yarn from another local farm, Stillwater Farms, which also has a brewery. That was my first time using longwool yarn and I really enjoyed the experience.
Thanks for the heads up, Karen! Fixed!
Not to be a temptress but Shepherd’s Het has yarn too…
Funny…I’m so not about vests because of some not good visual memories from the 70’s….I think I’ll keep my reference as sleeveless or short sleeve pullovers and here we go! Thanks for the inspiration:)
Vests have been fun knits for me lately. Tori Yu has some great vest patterns. And I’m currently knitting on my Riggies Vest Test while I read this. It’s got such a great construction!
I cannot wait for the Riggies vest!
Any chance you can let it slip what the yarn weight is?
Hi! She knit her original Riggie in Jamieson’s DK.
I’m drawn to the V-neck vests, especially Rockhound. Luv cables
Jillian, what a wonderful post to open. On Christmas Day. Thank you!!
I now need to make a notebook of vest patterns. I always loved wearing them as a kid.
Jillian, these are just wonderful!
Yes , to vests!
Thank you for the inspiration.
Love vests! And the Riggies pattern looks wonderful.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I can handle avest.
Great finds, Jill. I already had many favorite vest patterns in my favorites list (not to mention five vests in my sweater cupboard), but several of these hadn’t crossed my radar. They’re in my sights now!
Indeed, this was a fun gift to open this morning! I have been spinning more and more (even did two skeins with fractal spinning) plus hand-painting yarn, so this does open up possibilities as wide as the sky! Planning projects is my specialty and now I can add vests to the mix! Also, thank you for calling a vest a vest. God jul! PS: vests are also a good reason now to try some of MDK’s incredibly beautiful new yarns, with impunity! (Impunity is the name of my muse.)
Thank you. I have been thinking a lot about vests for me and my grandchildren and the ones you shared are sharpening the thoughts.
Brightly colored doors like yours always make me think of one of my favorite “children’s” books. The Gammage Cup. I highly recommend the story to everyone.
I love the Gammage cup! I have a well worn copy from long ago!
Thank you so much. I just moved to a warmer location in California and vests will be so much more usable. I was able to save several of the patterns.
Thank you so much. Lovely Christmas present. I was able to save several.
Sorry for the repeat.
Happy Holidays! Right there with you. Started a cardigan vest right after a challenging (for me) sweater completion. Love your pattern suggestions! Thanks!
Hand spun
Your hand sounds vest is beautiful! I just finished Spill the Tea vest by Marie Green and am working on a vest for my husband.
I have the pattern for Walled Garden (which is not super easy to get but worth it). And I cannot WAIT for Gudrun’s vest book, Riggies has such a fab shape and intriguing use of garter stitch.
Nice selection of quick knits. Happy Holidays!
Just embarking on the vest/slipover journey. Thank Jillian for a great list. Several of these were already on my short list but now, thanks to you, my list is longer. So many projects, so little time.
I’m entranced by your recommendation of Forest Weave by Yumiko Alexander. I’m currently knitting her Agave pattern – just have the sleeves to go, lol. I bought the required linen yarn as a kit in her booth at VKL NYC 2025 and I’m planning to choose another project if she’s there in January.
This post is inspiring me to use up some of my hand spun wool!
Thanks
Thanks for all the vest suggestions, Jillian. I am a great fan and have already left sleeveless, a basic sweater pattern that is just the ticket – giving me warmth, versatility, liveliness and the joy of a quick knit. Looking forward to Gudrun’s book and love looking at your suggestions.
Thanks for another great post, Jillian! I may make one (or two or three) of these. I love the way Lillesol is like a modern tee with a lot of style. But I don’t know how to choose, super beautiful vests and all so different.
This year my knitting projects will include me and at the top of the list is a vest. I had planned to knit the carnivore vest by Amy Gunderson in Knitty but now….I don’t know….so many choices!
Very nice, but I get chilly arms, so find sleeves useful.
Also – sleeve island? Knit them two at a time on a circular needle. Takes a bit longer than knitting just the one, but they’re both done when you’re done, they’re the same length, the increases/decreases are in the same places (or missed in the same places) and they’re the right length for your arms. When you have a 22″ underarm seam, this Matters!
Love all the vests.
I instantly fell in love with the Walled Garden vest and knitted two! I also nought Polina in Teti’s birthday sale. The yellow Thea top is definitely going in my favourites! I have designed three vests myself. I abhor sleeves! One was to support Ukraine, one was a stashbuster and one was a gansey type pattern with a Manchester worker bee. Thankyou for these lovely suggestions.