Denim V-Neck Vest

Caron Adult's Knit V-Neck Vest (CAK0432-008086M) — rewritten as Chris's step-by-step tracker

🧶 Drops Paris Recycled Denim · size 4/5XL · finishes 63″ around

How this vest is made

Two flat pieces — a Back and a Front — knit bottom-up in plain stockinette (knit a row, purl a row), then sewn together at the shoulders and sides. The Front splits at the chest into two halves that slope away from each other to make the V. At the end you pick up stitches around the neck and armholes and knit ribbed bands directly onto the edges. Skill level on the original: easy — and it genuinely is. There's no stitch pattern to track, no charts, no colorwork. The only counting that matters is the decrease rows, and every one of them has a counter below.

Your size: 4/5XL — and why

You measure 54″ at the chest and 60″ at the widest, and you don't like anything hugging. The widest point always decides.

Size	Finished chest	Verdict for you
2/3XL	55″	5″ smaller than your middle — it would stretch across the belly and ride up
4/5XL	63″	+3″ over your widest, +9″ at the chest — hangs clear everywhere ✓

The good news: unlike the Georgetown vest, this one's body is straight — 31″ across the hem, 31½″ across the chest. No taper to fight, so no modification is needed. Knit it as written and it drapes straight down. Every number on this page is already the 4/5XL number, so you never have to read the six-size strings in the PDF.

Materials, yarn math & gauge

Yarn: Drops Paris Recycled Denim (aran-weight cotton, 50 g / 75 m per ball — confirm on your ball band). You have 18 balls = 1,350 m.
Needles: the pattern calls for US 7 (4.5 mm) for the ribbing and US 8 (5 mm) for the body — or whatever gets you gauge. Paris usually knits a touch loose on 5 mm, so don't be surprised if you end up on 4.5 mm for the body and 4 mm for the bands.
Also: 1 stitch holder, a safety pin (for the V's center stitch), a removable marker, tapestry needle.
Gauge: 18 stitches × 24 rows = 4″ [10 cm] in stockinette on the larger needles.

The yarn math, honestly. The pattern's own two yarn options bracket the 4/5XL requirement at roughly 1,370–1,440 m. You have 1,350 m. That's right on the line — probably enough, but with no margin worth the name. Two ways to buy yourself real breathing room, and I'd take the first:

Knit the body to 15½″ instead of 16½″ before the armholes (the pattern's shorter "Her Version" length). That saves ≈60 m — about a ball — and it's the right call for cotton anyway: cotton has no memory and a heavy vest grows downward with wear, so a 15½″ body settles to about 16½″ after a few wearings. You get the length you wanted and the yarn margin. The steps below use this length.
Or buy 2 spare balls now while your dye lot exists. Cotton dye lots vary more than wool.

Either way, use the two weigh checkpoints in the steps — the Back is about half the vest, so weighing after it tells you everything while you can still act on it.

My gauge check

Knit a stockinette swatch on the larger needles, wash it and lay it flat to dry (cotton relaxes a lot in water — an unwashed cotton swatch will lie to you), then measure over 4″.

Stitches I get
Rows I get (optional)

Cotton, briefly. Recycled denim cotton behaves like a good pair of jeans: heavier than wool, no bounce, softens beautifully with washing, and it drapes rather than puffs. Two practical consequences — the ribbed bands won't grip the way acrylic ribbing does (a feature, for you), and the finished vest will be a substantial ~900 g garment that hangs handsomely. Machine wash cool, dry flat; never hang it wet.

Row counter

A general counter for anything you're counting. Everything on this page — counters, checkboxes, your gauge — saves to the project, so phone at the armchair and laptop at the desk stay in step.

Part 1 — The Back

With the smaller needles, cast on 138 stitches. Work the ribbed hem: Row 1 (right side): repeat [ K2, P2 ] until 2 stitches remain · K2 Row 2 (wrong side): repeat [ P2, K2 ] until 2 stitches remain · P2 Repeat these 2 rows until the rib measures 2½″ [6 cm], ending after a Row 2 — and on that last row, increase 3 stitches evenly across (an easy recipe: [ K34, make 1 ] 3 times, K36). 141 stitches Change to the larger needles and work in stockinette (knit right-side rows, purl wrong-side rows) until the piece measures 15½″ [39.5 cm] from the cast-on — the shortened length from the yarn note above; the pattern's full "His" length is 16½″ if you've bought extra yarn. Shape the armholes: cast off 12 stitches at the beginning of each of the next 4 rows. 93 stitches Decrease row (right side): K2 · slip-slip-knit (ssk) · knit until 4 stitches remain · knit 2 together (k2tog) · K2 Next row: purl. Repeat this pair of rows until you have worked 10 decrease rows in total. 73 stitches Work straight until the armhole measures 10″ [25.5 cm] from the first cast-off row, ending after a purl row. Shape the shoulders: cast off 9 stitches at the beginning of each of the next 2 rows, then 10 stitches at the beginning of each of the following 2 rows. Slip the remaining 35 stitches onto a holder — that's the back neck, and it becomes part of the collar later. Back done. 🎉 ⚖️ Weigh checkpoint: the Back is roughly half the vest. Weigh what's left — you want more than 8 balls' worth (400 g+) still in the basket. Less than that, and shorten the Front's body by another inch or order more yarn now.

Part 2 — The Front

The Front starts out identical to the Back, then splits at the chest to make the V. The two halves are worked one at a time.

Work exactly as the Back — cast on 138, rib to 2½″ increasing 3 (→ 141), stockinette to 15½″, cast off 12 at the beginning of 4 rows (→ 93) — and then work the decrease row + purl row pair 7 times in total (three fewer than the Back). 79 stitches

Left front half

Split for the V (right side): K2 · ssk · K33 · k2tog · turn You've used 39 stitches and made two decreases — one at the armhole edge, one at the new neck edge. Leave the remaining 40 stitches (39 plus the center stitch) waiting on a spare needle. 37 stitches on this half Next row: purl. Then: Right-side row: K2 · ssk · knit until 2 stitches remain · k2tog Wrong-side row: purl Work that pair twice (so three decrease rows total, counting the split row). 33 stitches Armhole edge is finished now — keep it straight. Decrease 1 stitch at the neck edge only, on the next right-side row and every following right-side row, until 22 stitches remain (that's 11 decreases). Then decrease 1 stitch at the neck edge on every 4th row until 19 stitches remain (3 decreases). Work straight until this armhole measures 10″ — matching the Back exactly — ending after a purl row. Shoulder: cast off 9 stitches at the beginning of the next row · purl 1 row · cast off the remaining 10 stitches.

Right front half — the mirror image

With the right side facing, slip the center stitch onto a safety pin (it becomes the point of the V and gets knitted into the band later). Join the yarn to the remaining 39 stitches. Everything mirrors: the decreases now start at the neck edge and end at the armhole edge. Right-side row: ssk · knit until 4 stitches remain · k2tog · K2 Wrong-side row: purl Work that pair 3 times in total. 33 stitches Reset the two V-neck counters above, then repeat the same neck shaping: 11 decreases at the neck edge on every right-side row (→ 22 stitches), then 3 decreases on every 4th row (→ 19 stitches). Work straight until the armhole measures 10″, this time ending after a knit row. Shoulder: cast off 9 at the beginning of the next row · knit 1 row · cast off the remaining 10. Front done. 🎉

Part 3 — Bands & making up

Sew the right shoulder seam only. The left one stays open so the neckband can be knitted flat. V-neckband set-up. With the right side facing and the smaller needles, working from the left front neck edge:

Pick up and knit 42 stitches down the left front neck edge.
Knit the 1 center stitch off the safety pin — hang a removable marker on it. Every row from here decreases on both sides of this stitch, which is what folds the band neatly into a V.
Pick up and knit 43 stitches up the right front neck edge.
Knit the 35 stitches from the back neck holder.

121 stitches Row 1 (wrong side): repeat [ P2, K2 ] 19 times · P2tog · P1 (the center stitch) · P2tog · then repeat [ K2, P2 ] to the end Row 2 (right side): repeat [ K2, P2 ] until 3 stitches before the center stitch · K1 · P2tog · K1 (center) · P2tog · rib to the end Row 3 (wrong side): repeat [ P2, K2 ] until 2 stitches before the center stitch · k2tog · P1 (center) · k2tog · rib to the end Work rows 2 and 3 twice more, then cast off in rib, decreasing either side of the center stitch on the cast-off row as before. Keep it loose — the neck has to go over your head. Sew the left shoulder seam and the neckband seam in one line. Armbands (both alike): with the right side facing and smaller needles, pick up and knit 102 stitches evenly around the armhole edge. Beginning and ending with a wrong-side row, work 7 rows of [ K2, P2 ] rib. Cast off in rib, loosely. Sew the side seams and armband seams. Mattress stitch gives the neatest join on stockinette edges. Weave in the ends, wash cool, and dry flat — patted to 63″ around, never hung. Then wear it over everything. 🎉

Project photos

Progress shots and the finished vest — photos upload straight from your phone and stay with the project.

Page settings

Checking sync…

Clears every checkbox and counter. Photos are kept (delete those individually with the ✕).

Original pattern: Adult's Knit V-Neck Vest © Caron / Yarnspirations (CAK0432-008086M).
Rewritten for Chris — size 4/5XL, knit in Drops Paris Recycled Denim.

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