In Which the Pirate is Cold.

Pirate-Husband has a vest. It is fleecy and green, and fits him perfectly, and keeps him warm. He and I went shopping this past weekend and I’d hoped to get such a vest for myself, except girl-shaped. But… no luck. Apparently only men can have warm clothing. Women can have warm outerwear, it seems, but nothing like fleece vests or flannel-lined pants or wool sweaters without going to specialty camping/outdoor stores. We saw some lovely wool sweaters in the men’s department, both fine- and heavier-gauge, but all of the women’s sweaters were made of cotton, unaffordable cashmere, or nasty acrylic blends.

Anyway, we went looking for this vest for me and we didn’t find it, so now I’m considering the possibility of knitting my own vest. This is quite possibly overstepping, as there are only so many hours in a day and I can only knit so fast, but I’m cold, and thinking about warm clothing makes me feel a little bit better.

Here are a few links to patterns on Ravelry that caught my eye, even though I’ve absolutely zero plans to buy yarn or knit vests right now:

This buttoned waistcoat from Drops looks as if it would be quite warm, but I think at 17 stitches to four inches it might be a heavier gauge than would be flattering on me. Maybe it would work if I wore something very fitted underneath. It does have the added benefit of being free, and the buttons are a nice touch.

Another free vest pattern, originally in Finnish but now translated to English, is Hilja. It has subtle shaping, so that it doesn’t just hang loosely off the chest and cause the wearer to resemble a deflated balloon. Those of us who are better endowed can surely appreciate that. It’s only available in one size – but it seems like that’s my size, so perhaps it won’t require too much adjusting for a proper fit.

Rustica is a little more sporty-looking. I like the pink-lined pockets a lot, but the body of the vest doesn’t seem to be as fitted. Perhaps if I had more experience with fitting garments, I might take this one on. Actually, no – if I knit a lot faster, I might make this vest. But it takes me so long to make things, I might as well face up to it: I like this, but it’s not what I really want if I only get to make one vest. I want something a little more smooth that I can wear to the office. Still, this is going in the favourites list.

The George Sand vest is thoroughly awesome, both for its namesake and for its use of Noro Kureyon in the colourwork. I am a sucker for both Kureyon and women who flout convention. If I had to choose right now to knit a vest, I think it would be this one.