Knitting In the Field : Mystery Vest
- vintagemegknits
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
Just like any yarn addict, I whip out my knitting needles at every chance I get—whether I'm lounging at home, sipping a latte at a cafe, people-watching in the park, sneaking a stitch during a movie, or even while pretending to work. My gig as an archaeologist can be a bit of a buzzkill though—turns out digging for hours on end isn't always ideal for my beloved yarny creations (dirt and knitting don't exactly make the best of friends). But hey, us crafty folks are nothing if not inventive, when needs must, we find a way. All hail the yarn gods who invented wool wash!
I recently had a stint of work down south in Victoria and of course took my yarn and several projects to work on. One of these was a bit of a mystery knit.
Back in the late 1990s, my Mum and my Aunt were tidying up my Nan's house to prepare it for rent to fund her stay in a very lovely hospice when we could no longer care for her in her own home. Somewhere during the tidy up, Mum came across a small stash of knitting paraphernalia and I was given a bag of knitting odds and sods, including a number of handwritten knitting and crochet patterns. These had obviously been copied from various knitting publications over time, many were not in my Nan's handwriting. Some had either the copier or the recipient's name but most did not.
This round of fieldwork, for a bit of fun and something other than socks, I chose to bring along what appeared to be a pattern for a vest and a quantity of vintage Patons Lambswool yarn, which the ball bands proudly proclaimed to have been "PATONISED for maximum resistance to shrinkage and piling".
I had a total of 14 one ounce (28 gram) balls of this vintage yarn, which I was assuming would be enough to complete a medium sized adult sleeveless vest. There were no yarn quantities or tension (gauge) noted, but the needle sizes recommended (Old UK No. 10 and No.7) suggested an 8ply or DK weight yarn, which suited the lovely vintage green Patons yarn I had brought along. Other than this I hadn't really done much other research into it.
When I got to the hotel I'd be staying in the next week or so, I took a closer look. It appeared to be a V-neck sleeveless jumper in simple 1 x 1 rib and a two row lace pattern. So I cast on and started the ribbed lower back band.
Over the next week I stole small quiet moments on site (smoko or lunch breaks) and lonely evenings alone in my hotel to work on the knit. While the lace pattern turned out to be a simple, easy to memorise two row repeat and progress was steady, it's never quite as much time as you think. Especially when you've been hand excavating test pits in hard ground and the days are hot as hades (most days were around 34 -36 Celsius). However by time I returned home eight days later, I had completed the back panel and most of the front.
After a couple of good nights sleep in my own comfy bed with the furry Diva snuggled at my feet, I managed to complete the remainder in just a few evenings. And I had more than enough yarn (the whole garment took around 260 grams/9 ounces). I do love the colour, so may come back and make a matching hat or some such at a later date.
I knit the garment exactly to the pattern, save adding a few decreases at the V-neck band so it will retain a V shape when worn, rather than a folded and more rounded neckline. The pattern as written was for a 38 and a quarter inch bust measurement, however after a gentle round of blocking, I found the lambswool would comfortably accommodate my front acreage, which is a size or two larger than the measurement given, minus a little of the positive ease (about 2.5 inches/6cm after blocking).
If you'd like to knit your own, I've provided some images of the original pattern above. For those who don't want to decipher old fashioned cursive, I've also typed the full pattern up (with some notes) into a PDF which you can download. It's one size only at this stage, but I'm sure it would be easily adjusted to fit a larger or smaller size.
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