How I Knitted My Elsi Vest Using the Pattern by Milena Pauliina
The Elsi Vest is the first larger project I’ve knitted from another designer’s pattern. Milena and I are virtual friends—we had a long video call about a year ago, and we’ve been in regular contact ever since. That’s why I’m all the more excited to finally wear her design made with our yarn!
I chose our natural Natuu in the color Tempesta (I love it) and paired it with kid mohair Nuvia Sinner Soul. My swatch came out perfect on 3.5 mm needles. Milena’s knitting pattern is really brilliantly written. It’s clear—I never got lost, and there wasn’t a single moment of uncertainty. I also love the way it’s written. So far, it’s undoubtedly my favorite.
Process
The vest is knit from the top down. After a provisional cast-on, the back is worked first, then the front, and from the underarm onward it’s knitting in the round. No short rows (oh, yes)!
I knitted exactly according to the pattern, with just a few small changes. I wanted the armhole a bit deeper (I was knitting size 2), so I made the section before the armhole increases one cable repeat longer. Another tiny change was that I worked all the cuffs on 2.5 mm needles (they could have been on 3 mm) and finished them with a standard bind-off instead of the tubular bind-off recommended in the pattern. I’m not a big fan of it… These cast-on and bind-off methods are great in many cases, but to me they’re a bit overrated and the final aesthetic and practical result (elasticity) often doesn’t live up to the ideal. Plus, Elsi Vest has a 2 × 2 rib, so for me that’s one more reason why I went with the classic bind-off. And I admit—the decisive factor was sheer laziness! Binding off nearly 300 stitches with the sewn method is beyond my current psycho-physical strength… 🙂
The originally recommended yarn is thinner, so I knew I’d have higher yardage and that my version of the vest would be heavier. For my size 2, I used just over six skeins of Natua (a little more than 300 g) and three skeins of Nuvia (just under 75 g).
And the result?
I’m absolutely thrilled because the vest looks fantastic, fits beautifully, and is soft and delightfully cozy. Everyone’s praising it! I beam every time I look at it or put it on, and I’m certain it won’t be the last one I knit.
What would I do differently next time?
Since the originally recommended yarn is merino, which tends to stretch more when blocking than our alpaca yarn (especially when knitted together with mohair), I would have made the vest just a tiny bit longer. Another minor change would be to knit the selvedge stitches not in every row in stockinette, but on right-side rows in knit and on wrong-side rows in purl. That has no functional significance—I just personally prefer it and like how it looks on the wrong side more. I wouldn’t make any other changes. Both the pattern and the vest are absolutely amazing, and I can’t help but recommend knitting it, whether with our (hopefully!) yarn or any other yarn.
Wishing you happy knitting 💘
Marie
