Betty Gilet in Adriafil Mirage and Stars - Downloadable PDF

Betty Gilet in Adriafil Mirage and Stars – Free Knitting Pattern Summary

The Betty Gilet is a charming children's knitted waistcoat (gilet) designed for ages 5/6 years. It is worked primarily in Adriafil Mirage yarn with contrast stripe detailing in Adriafil Stars yarn, creating a playful, textured fabric that combines two complementary yarn types from the Adriafil range. The pattern is available as a free downloadable PDF and is suitable for knitters with some experience of basic shaping and stitch pattern alternation.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a sleeveless gilet — a classic waistcoat style with shaped armholes and a front opening fastened with a single button. The garment is constructed in separate pieces (back and right front at minimum, with left front implied), then seamed and finished with a crochet edging. It is sized for a child aged 5 to 6 years.

Yarns and Materials

• Adriafil Mirage – 150 g in orange, shade no. 77. Mirage is a chunky-weight yarn that provides the main body fabric and the dominant colour throughout the garment.
• Adriafil Stars – 50 g in printed colour no. 47. Stars is a DK-weight printed or variegated yarn used in contrast stripe rows to add visual interest and texture variation.
• Knitting needles – size no. 4 (metric), used throughout for all knitted sections.
• Crochet hook – size 4.00 mm, used for the decorative reverse stitch edging finish.
• One button for the front closure.
• A tapestry needle for seaming and weaving in ends.

Techniques Used

• Casting on and binding off – standard methods for beginning and ending sections, including shaped armhole bind-offs.
• Armhole shaping – stitches are bound off at each end and then decreased every two rows to create a neat armhole curve.
• Stripe sequence – the pattern alternates 6 rows of fancy stitch in Mirage with 2 rows of stockinette stitch in Stars, creating a rhythmic two-yarn stripe pattern throughout the body.
• Crochet edging – the reverse stitch (also known as crab stitch) is worked in crochet from left to right as a decorative and neat finishing edge around the garment.

Stitches Used

• Elastic rib – used at the cast-on edge of the back (2 rows) to provide a neat, stretchy lower border.
• Knitted stitch (garter stitch) – a foundational stitch used within the pattern structure.
• Fancy stitch – worked over an uneven number of stitches in a three-row repeat: Row 1: knit all stitches; Row 2: * k1, p1 *, repeat to last stitch, k1; Row 3: repeat from Row 1. This produces a subtle, textured seed-stitch-like fabric that is the primary surface pattern of the gilet.
• Stockinette stitch (stocking stitch) – used for the 2-row contrast stripe sections worked in Adriafil Stars yarn.
• Reverse stitch (crochet) – described as working double crochet from left to right, this is the classic crab stitch edging technique, producing a twisted, corded finish along all visible edges of the garment.

Gauge

The stated tension is 19 stitches and 24 rows to 10 x 10 cm, measured in fancy stitch on size 4 knitting needles. Achieving this gauge is important for the gilet to match the intended sizing for a child aged 5 to 6 years. Knitters are advised to work a tension s