Bobby Vest in Rowan Alpaca Classic - ZB328-00002-DEP - Downloadable PDF

Bobby Vest by Lisa Richardson in Rowan Alpaca Classic – Pattern Summary

The Bobby Vest is a beautifully crafted knitted slipover designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. This intermediate-level pattern is worked in Rowan Alpaca Classic, a lightweight DK-weight yarn, and features elegant shaping, a classic armhole, a shaped neckline, and a delicate embroidered rose bud detail that gives the finished garment a distinctive, refined character.

What Is Being Made

The Bobby Vest is a sleeveless slipover — a fitted, pullover-style vest without sleeves. It is designed to fit a wide range of bust sizes, from 71–76 cm up to 152–157 cm, making it an inclusive and versatile pattern suitable for many body types. The knitted bust measurement ranges from 79 cm to 161 cm across the nine available sizes. The vest features carefully shaped armhole openings, a back neckline with shoulder shaping, and a signature embroidered motif. The sample shown in the pattern photography is worked in Willow 112, with a small amount of Soft Satin 116 used for the embroidered detail.

Techniques Used

• Armhole shaping: Stitches are cast off at the beginning of rows to form the base of the armhole, followed by gradual decreases worked every row and then every alternate row to create a smooth, curved edge.
• Back neckline shaping: The back neck is shaped by working across a set number of stitches, turning the work, and placing the remaining stitches on a holder. Both sides are then completed separately, with neckline decreases worked over two rows.
• Shoulder shaping: Stitches are cast off at the beginning of rows in stages to create a neat, angled shoulder seam.
• Long bobble (Noppe) embroidery technique: The rose bud leaf detail is created using a long bobble worked with stitches knitted four rows lower than the current row, as indicated by an arrow in the chart. This technique creates a temporary extra stitch that is decreased away on the following row, producing a raised, three-dimensional leaf effect.
• Embroidery: A small amount of a contrasting yarn shade is used to work the embroidered rose bud motif onto the finished fabric, adding a decorative handcrafted element.
• Working from a chart: The rose bud motif is worked with reference to a diagram, which includes directional arrows to indicate the placement of the long bobble stitches.
• Holding stitches: Stitches are placed on a spare needle or stitch holder during neckline shaping so that both sides of the back neck can be completed separately and symmetrically.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette stitch): The main body fabric is worked entirely in stocking stitch — knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows. The gauge is measured over stocking stitch.
• Long bobble (Noppe): A specialised bobble stitch worked by inserting the needle into a stitch four rows below the current row, creating the raised leaf of the rose bud motif.
• Cast off and decrease stitches: Standard cast-off methods and single decreases are used throughout the armhole and neckline shaping sections.

Materials

• Yarn: Rowan Alpaca Classic, a DK-weight yarn sold in 25 g balls. The main colour shown is Willow 112. A small quantity of Soft Satin 116 is also required for the embroidered rose bud detail. The yarn's alpaca content gives the finished vest a soft, luxurious drape and warmth without bulk — ideal for a sleeveless layering piece.
• Needles: 4.5 mm knitting needles are used throughout. The pattern specifies working with double yarn to achieve the stated tension.
• Tension/Gauge: 17 stitches and 25 rows to 10 × 10 cm over