Booklet Progress: Project 10 Pattern Completed

I have been thinking a lot about this project for the new booklet. My fantastic cousin is helping me crochet it, and she has been such a trooper watching its development from the sidelines. That's why I'm extra excited to see her this weekend to give her a huge hug for helping me so much.*

Project 9: Men's Vest

Pattern Complete, Sample in progress

1. Why did you choose this project for your booklet?
I know its obvious from the title, but this is my men's project. Its a nice warm zip-up vest. Stylized for today's trends, but not so much that it wouldn't still look great years from now.

2. What was your inspiration for this project? I was going for that rugged look. The patches on the shoulders draw the eye up to the face. The vertical lines are just enough texture to keep the crocheter happy and the men happy that it isn't overpowering. The colors were totally picked by Mr. CBF. I am constantly wanting to put men in colors- like burgundy or hunter green. But my sources say, if you want to make them happy stick with the basics- gray. Specifically charcoal gray.

3. What drew you to this crochet stitch/square?
The shoulder patches have vertical lines as I said before to draw the eye up to the face. The main body stitch is my artistic version of what gravel looks like. The stitch pattern is jumbled and textured. The great thing with this pattern is that it does not add bulk to the fabric, which is mighty important with men’s garments. Men's clothes by nature are much larger then women’s, which means they take more fabric. More fabric means more weight, so to balance this I always try to find stitch patterns that don't add bulk- aka weight.

4. Did any of the project change while you were writing?
The main change, and the one that my cousin was so great waiting for me to do, is this project was originally going to be a sweater. I was thinking the same textured panels, but with a half-zip and long sleeves. The color I was envisioning was one solid oatmeal, instead of the tri-color I have now. Why did I change my mind, literally at the last minute? Well, remember that talk on weight? The yarn we are using is an aran weight, which is great for men's knitted clothes. But for crochet, it can get heavy fast, and too heavy. So I decided to chop off the arms, change the color scheme, and head to outerwear. Jackets and vests can be thicker, since they don't have layers going on top of them. I still think the sweater would be great, but its just not right for this yarn. And now that I designed the vest, instead of the sweater, I am completely in love with the project as is and wouldn't dream of changing it back.

5. What is your goal with this project?
My goal is a contemporary men's outerwear, that any man in your life will actually wear. Wish me luck that I struck it right!

Stay tuned to see the sneak peek to see how the project came out.

* We are meeting at the Knitting and Crochet Festival in Pittsburgh. I found out this weekend that my class is full, which I couldn't be happier about. If you are in the area, come to my lecture on Saturday. If you can't make that, at least stop me and say hi in the marketplace.