Amelia Vest in Adriafil Grape - Downloadable PDF

Amelia Vest in Adriafil Grape – Free Knitting Pattern (Downloadable PDF)

The Amelia Vest is a classic, elegant knitted slipover vest designed for women, worked in Adriafil Grape yarn. This free downloadable PDF pattern produces a relaxed, wearable layering piece with a shaped front, armhole shaping, and a distinctive knitted hipband. Available in three sizes — Small, Medium, and Large — the finished garment offers chest measurements of 98 (106) 114 cm and a length of approximately 61 (63) 65 cm, making it a comfortable, versatile wardrobe staple.

What Is Being Made

This pattern constructs a sleeveless vest (slipover) worked in separate pieces — a back, a right front, a left front, and a separate hipband — which are then seamed together during finishing. The design features a V-neck or angled front edge achieved through careful decreasing, shaped armholes, and a long garter-stitch hipband that wraps around the lower body for a neat, structured finish.

Garment Pieces and Construction

• Back: Cast on and worked flat, with armhole shaping introduced at the appropriate length. The back is worked until the piece measures 48 (50) 52 cm, at which point all stitches are bound off.
• Right Front: Cast on 55 (58) 60 stitches using No 5½ needles. After an initial knit row, the front edge is shaped by decreasing one stitch every other right-side row — specifically p2tog worked after the two edge stitches — repeated 24 times to create the angled front neckline. Armhole shaping mirrors the back. The right front is worked until the piece measures 51 (53) 55 cm.
• Left Front: Cast on and worked identically to the right front, but with all shaping reversed to create a symmetrical mirror image.
• Hipband: Cast on 26 (26) 28 stitches using No 5½ needles and worked entirely in garter stitch for 80 (82) 84 cm. This long strip is then sewn around the lower edge of the vest to create a neat, stable hem band.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting — all pieces are worked back and forth in rows rather than in the round
• Front edge decreasing — using p2tog on right-side rows to shape the angled V-front neckline gradually over many rows
• Armhole shaping — decreases worked at the beginning of armhole sections to sculpt the sleeve opening
• Seaming and finishing — shoulder joins and side seams are sewn together, with the hipband attached separately after knitting
• Edge stitch management — two dedicated edge stitches (k2) are maintained throughout the front pieces for clean, stable selvedges

Stitches Used

• Reverse stockinette stitch — the main fabric stitch, worked with purl on right-side rows and knit on wrong-side rows, giving the garment a distinctive textured, bumpy face
• Garter stitch — used exclusively for the hipband, worked by knitting every row, producing a flat, ridged, non-curling fabric ideal for borders and bands

Materials Required

• Yarn: Adriafil Grape, colour 64, in an aran/worsted weight — approximately 250 (300) 350 g depending on size
• Needles: No 4½ and No 5½ knitting needles (used for ribbing/borders and main fabric respectively)

Pattern Format and Sizing