This unisex vest is knit with traditional Fair Isle patterning. The vest is knit in the round from the ribbed hem upwards. Steeks are worked for the armholes and V-neckline. Once the body is completed, the shoulders are grafted together and the steeks are then cut open and finished using 2x2 ribbing to match the lower hem. If you are working your project with a traditional Shetland wool or other wool with some “tooth”, you may not need to do anything after cutting the steeks beyond tacking the edges down. If you are using smoother, slicker wool, a wool blend, or other fiber, you will wish to work either a row of crochet or sewn stitches in order to secure the cut edges before cutting.

Jane Austen’s Emma is my favorite of her works. I’ve always secretly cheered for the character of Robert Martin, the local farmer, whose marriage proposal Emma encourages her friend, Harriet, to reject, as he is “beneath her”. Not flashy or rich, but steadfast, Robert is able to marry his Harriet in the end. I chose an earthy palette of colors that reminded me lichen-covered rock walls, creeping thyme in a country garden, golden hay, weathered metal wagon wheels and barn wood. This piece could be worked up in any tweedy Shetland fingering-weight yarn.

Sample was knit in Brooklyn Tweed Loft (100% American wool; 275 yd 251.46 m]/50 g); #1380 Pumpernickel (dark brown) (MC), 2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3) skeins; #1486 Hayloft (yellow) (CC1) 2 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3) skeins, #1573 Foothills (gray-green) (CC2) 1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2), #1570 Fauna (CC3) 1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2), #1174 Embers (orange red) (CC4) 1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2), #1406 Nest (light brown) (CC5) 1 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2) skeins.