Mini Huxley Vest in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK PDF

Mini Huxley Vest in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK by Martin Storey – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Mini Huxley Vest is a children's knitted vest designed by Martin Storey and published by Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and is sized to fit children aged 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, and 11–12 years, with actual chest measurements ranging from 63 cm to 86 cm (24¾ to 34¾ inches). It is a classic sleeveless garment featuring shaped armholes, a divided front neck, and a shaped back neck, making it an excellent project for knitters looking to develop their garment-construction skills.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a children's knitted vest — a sleeveless, close-fitting upper-body garment worked in a combination of stocking stitch and a charted stitch pattern. The vest is constructed in separate back and front pieces that are shaped at the armholes and neck. The finished garment has a neat, tailored silhouette suitable for layering over shirts or worn as a standalone top. The pattern has been photographed in two colourways: Hunter Green 214 and Blue Haze 232 in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK, as well as Mushroom 454 in Rowan Summerlite DK.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting – both the back and front are worked flat on straight needles in separate pieces
• Armhole shaping – achieved through cast-offs at the beginning of rows followed by paired decreases on right-side and alternate rows
• Back neck shaping – stitches are placed on holders for the centre back neck, with each shoulder worked separately and cast off in stages
• Front neck division – the front is divided at the neck with stitches held on a holder, and each side is worked independently to mirror the shaping
• Working from a chart – a 48-row pattern repeat is followed using a stitch chart, with beg and end points indicated per size
• Stitch holders – used extensively to hold stitches at the neck and front division while working each section separately
• Circular needle use – a 3.25mm circular needle no more than 40 cm long is specified, likely for picking up and working neckband or armhole edging stitches
• Even stitch distribution decreases – decreases are worked evenly across a row when transitioning from the ribbed hem into the main body pattern

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (st st) – the primary background fabric of the vest, worked in knit on right-side rows and purl on wrong-side rows
• Charted stitch pattern – a repeating 48-row pattern worked over the body of the vest, with tension measured at 23 stitches and 31 rows to 10 cm over this pattern using 4mm needles
• Rib stitch – implied by the use of smaller 3.25mm needles for the cast-on and lower edges, typical of Rowan vest constructions for neat, elastic hems and bands
• Cast off and decrease stitches – including standard cast-offs for armhole and shoulder shaping, and single decreases (dec 1 st) at each end of specified rows for armhole tapering

Materials Required

The pattern calls for one of two DK weight yarns from Rowan, both in 50g balls:

• Rowan Alpaca Soft DK – requiring 3 to 4 balls depending on size, photographed in Hunter Green 214 and Blue Haze 232
• Rowan Summerlite DK