Bury in Mode at Rowan Softest Alpaca - Downloadable PDF

Bury Vest by Quail Studio in Mode at Rowan Softest Alpaca — Pattern Summary

The Bury pattern, designed by Quail Studio and published under the Mode at Rowan label, is a classic knitted vest worked in the luxuriously soft Softest Alpaca yarn. This downloadable PDF pattern produces a sleeveless, pull-over-style vest with a neat ribbed hem and neckband, a clean stockinette body, and carefully shaped armhole and neck openings. It is rated advanced beginner, making it an ideal next step for knitters who have mastered basic knit and purl stitches and are ready to tackle simple shaping techniques.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a fitted vest worked flat in two separate pieces — a back and a front — which are then seamed together. The vest features a ribbed lower border and matching ribbed armbands and neckband, giving it a polished, structured finish. It is sized to fit a wide range of chest measurements, from 71–76 cm (28–30 in) up to 152–157 cm (60–62 in), with actual garment chest measurements ranging from 91 cm (35¾ in) to 171 cm (67¼ in), offering generous positive ease across the size range. The sample shown in the pattern photography is worked in Linen 015, a warm neutral shade of Softest Alpaca.

Construction and Techniques

The vest is constructed using a traditional flat knitting approach, with the back and front worked separately on straight needles before being joined by seaming. Key construction techniques include:

• Ribbed borders: The lower body begins with a 2x2 rib (K2, P2) worked on smaller 5mm needles for approximately 5 cm, creating a firm, elastic edge that sits neatly at the hip.
• Stockinette stitch body: After the rib, the work transitions to larger 5.5mm needles for the main body, worked entirely in stockinette stitch (knit on right side, purl on wrong side), which gives the fabric a smooth, clean face.
• Armhole shaping: Stitches are cast off at the beginning of rows to create the armhole openings, with the shaping worked symmetrically on both sides of the body.
• Shoulder shaping: Shoulders are shaped by casting off stitches in stages at the beginning of rows, producing a neat, angled shoulder seam.
• Front neck shaping: The front is divided at the neck opening, with each side worked separately. Stitches are cast off and then decreased gradually to create a smooth, rounded neckline.
• Back neck stitch holder: Centre back neck stitches are placed on a stitch holder and later picked up to work the neckband, a common technique that keeps live stitches ready for finishing.
• Armbands and neckband: Once the body is seamed, stitches are picked up around the armhole and neck openings using a 5mm circular needle and worked in the round in 2x2 rib to create tidy, professional-looking bands.

Stitches Used

• 2x2 Rib (K2, P2): Used for the lower hem, armbands, and neckband. Ribbing is elastic and helps the garment hold its shape at the edges.
• Stockinette Stitch (st st): The primary stitch pattern for the body of the vest, creating a smooth knit surface on the right side.
• SSK (Slip, Slip, Knit): A left-leaning decrease used during neck shaping. The pattern specifies the technique explicitly: slip two stitches as if to knit, insert the left needle into the front of the slipped stitches from left to right, and knit them together. This produces a tidy, mirrored decrease.
• Standard cast-off: Used at armholes, shoulders, and neck to bind off stitches cleanly.

Materials — Yarn and Needles

The pattern calls for Softest Alpaca by Rowan, a chun