Dandelion Waistcoat in Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino (DE) - RB002-00003-DEP - Downloadable PDF

Dandelion Waistcoat by Erika Knight in Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino – Pattern Summary

About This Design

The Dandelion Waistcoat is a sophisticated, fitted knitted waistcoat designed by Erika Knight and published by Rowan under the reference RB002-00003-DEP. This pattern is part of the Bloom collection and is presented here in its German-language edition. It is available as a downloadable PDF, making it instantly accessible for knitters who are ready to cast on straight away. Rated as an intermediate difficulty project, this waistcoat rewards knitters who already have a confident grasp of shaping, band construction, and working multiple stitch types simultaneously.

Sizing and Fit

The Dandelion Waistcoat is designed to suit a wide range of body sizes, covering five size options based on actual bust measurements:

• 81–86 cm bust, yielding a knitted bust measurement of 98 cm
• 91–97 cm bust, yielding a knitted bust measurement of 108.5 cm
• 102–107 cm bust, yielding a knitted bust measurement of 119 cm
• 112–117 cm bust, yielding a knitted bust measurement of 129.5 cm
• 122–127 cm bust, yielding a knitted bust measurement of 140 cm

The generous positive ease built into each size gives the finished waistcoat a relaxed yet structured silhouette. The body length to the armhole is worked to approximately 43.5 to 45.5 cm depending on the size chosen, ensuring a flattering drop across all sizes.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a knitted waistcoat — a sleeveless, vest-style garment intended to be worn over other layers or as a standalone piece. The design features integrated front and back bands that are worked separately and then joined to the main body pieces during construction, creating neat, professional-looking edges at the front openings and armscyes. The armhole shaping is clearly marked with row markers, and the shoulder finishing is achieved using a dedicated needle for a clean cast-off edge.

Techniques Used

The Dandelion Waistcoat calls upon a range of knitting techniques that place it firmly in the intermediate category. Knitters working this pattern will use:

• Flat knitting on straight needles for the main body sections
• Ribbing worked across the front and back bands, maintaining a consistent 9-stitch rib border on each side throughout the body length
• Stocking stitch (glatt rechts) for the central body panels, creating a smooth, classic fabric
• Band joining — a technique where the separately knitted bands are placed against the body piece and stitches are worked together in pairs, integrating the band cleanly into the garment in a single row
• Armhole shaping using decreases at both ends of the work, with row markers placed at the beginning of the armhole to aid accurate shaping
• Decreases including k2tog (rechts zusammenstricken), p2tog (links zusammenstricken), p2tog tbl (links verschränkt zusammenstricken), and the pattern's special abbreviation Mumw, which involves slipping a stitch, bringing the yarn to the front, and working a specific manoeuvre to create a neat, directional decrease or decorative detail
• Circular needle technique used for specific finishing stages, such as picking up and working neckband or armhole edgings
• Shoulder cast-off using an additional needle to achieve a firm, even bound-off edge at the shoulders

Stitches Used

The stitch vocabulary of the Dandelion Waistcoat is clean and well-defined, making it approachable for intermediate knitters while still offering enough variety to keep the project engaging:

• Stocking