Dad's Cabled Vest in Caron Simply Soft - Downloadable PDF

Dad's Cabled Vest in Caron Simply Soft – Pattern Summary

Designed by Ira Dearing, Dad's Cabled Vest is a classic, masculine knitted vest featuring elegant cable detailing on the front and clean stockinette construction on the back. This downloadable PDF pattern is available completely free and is rated intermediate difficulty, making it an excellent project for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and ready to explore cable techniques. The finished garment is a traditional slipover-style vest — sleeveless, with a ribbed hem and neckline — designed with a relaxed, wearable fit ideal as a gift for dad or any man in your life.

Garment Overview

The vest is worked in two main pieces — a Back and a Front — using flat knitting on straight needles, with a circular needle used for finishing the neckband. The back is worked entirely in stockinette stitch, while the front incorporates a cable panel for visual interest. Both pieces begin with a 1x1 ribbed hem worked on smaller needles before transitioning to the larger needles for the body. Stitches are increased across the final ribbing row to accommodate the body stitch counts before the main fabric begins.

Sizes and Finished Measurements

• Small: 40 inches / 101.5 cm
• Medium: 44 inches / 112 cm
• Large: 48 inches / 122 cm
• XL: 52 inches / 132 cm
• 2XL: 56 inches / 142 cm

The range of five sizes makes this pattern accessible for a wide variety of body types, and the generous finished measurements provide a comfortable, classic fit through the chest and torso.

Techniques Used

• 1x1 Ribbing – worked flat (back and forth) for the hem and in the round for the neckband finishing
• Stockinette Stitch (St st) – used throughout the back panel and as the background fabric on the front
• Cable Knitting (C3F) – a front-cross cable technique where 2 stitches are slipped onto a cable needle and held at the front of the work, then knitted after working the next stitch; this creates the signature twisted rope effect
• Armhole Shaping – involves binding off stitches at the beginning of rows followed by paired decreases every other row to create a clean, tailored armhole
• Shoulder Shaping – worked through a series of bind-offs at the beginning of rows, varying by size
• Stitch Holder Usage – back neck stitches are placed on a holder for later finishing
• Gauge Swatching – two separate gauges are given: one for stockinette and one for the cable pattern, both important for achieving the correct finished dimensions

Stitches Used

• Knit (K) and Purl (P) – the foundational stitches used throughout
• 1x1 Ribbing – alternating knit and purl stitches creating a stretchy, neat border
• Stockinette Stitch – knit on right side rows, purl on wrong side rows
• C3F Cable – a 3-stitch front cable cross that forms the decorative cable motif on the front panel

Materials Required

• Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Ocean (9759) – an aran weight yarn, 170g / 6 oz per skein, approximately 288m / 315 yards per skein
• Yarn Quantity: 2 skeins (S/M), 3 skeins (L/XL), or 4 skeins (2XL)
• Needles: One pair of US size 6 (4 mm) straight needles and one pair