Knitting a Sweater Vest: Free V-Neck Pattern in S–XL

Knitting a sweater vest is the perfect next step after your first sweater: you only knit a back and a front, with no sleeves at all, and along the way you learn how to shape armholes and a V-neck. In this free pattern you’ll knit a women’s sweater vest in sizes S to XL, in stockinette with ribbed hems and narrow bands. You’ll also find out which yarn works well, how much you need and how to pick up and knit the bands neatly.

Why a sweater vest is a great project

A sweater vest takes about half as much yarn as a sweater, so it’s finished that much faster. The back and front are almost identical; the front just adds the V-neck. Since there are no sleeves, you wear it over a blouse, shirt or T-shirt – in fall just as much as in spring.

Compared with a simple sweater, two things are new: at the armholes you bind off stitches and then decrease, and at the V-neck you decrease on the other edge at the same time. We explain both step by step. If you’ve never knitted a sweater before, you’ll find the basics in our guide Knitting a Sweater for Beginners.

What you need for your sweater vest

• Yarn: 4 / 4–5 / 5 / 5–6 balls of 100 g with 160–180 m for sizes S / M / L / XL, for example Tweed Wool Carin, 160 m / 100 g
• Knitting needles in 4.5 mm for the ribbing and 5.5 mm for the stockinette sections – straight needles or an 80 cm circular needle that you knit back and forth on
• Circular needle in 4.5 mm, 40 cm long, for the neckband and armhole bands
• Yarn needle, a few stitch markers, a stitch holder or a piece of scrap yarn for holding stitches, scissors and a tape measure

Which yarn is best for a sweater vest?

Medium-weight yarns with 160–180 m per 100 g and a needle size of 5–5.5 mm are ideal for a sweater vest. Because it’s usually worn over another garment, the yarn can be a little firmer and more textured than for a sweater you wear right against your skin.

• Tweed with small colored flecks is the classic choice for sweater vests and looks great even in plain stockinette.
• Virgin wool is elastic and holds its shape, so the bands lie neatly.
• Mohair blends make a soft, fluffy sweater vest with a modern look.

Our yarns for sweater vests

Tweed Wool Carin, 160 m / 100 g – 50% wool, 46% acrylic, 4% viscose, needle size 4.5–5.5 mm, in light green, pink and white. The colored flecks in the yarn are typical of tweed. This pattern is written for this yarn.

Pure Virgin Wool Sabine, 175 m / 100 g – 100% virgin wool (Shetland), needle size 4.5–5.5 mm, in pink. Shetland wool is light, warm and slightly toothy – a traditional yarn for vests and sweater vests.

Virgin Wool Ronan, 160 m / 100 g – 78% virgin wool, 22% polyamide, needle size 5–6 mm, 18 colors. Elastic and holds its shape, in shades from soft eucalyptus to burgundy.

Fluffy Yarn Estelle with Mohair, 180 m / 100 g – 20% mohair, 20% wool, 49% acrylic, 11% polyamide, needle size 4.5–5.5 mm, in light green and lilac. Soft and fluffy. Mohair is hard to unravel, so a gauge swatch is especially worthwhile here.

You’ll find more suitable yarns in Virgin Wool, in our selection for vests and in our guide Yarn for Needle Sizes 5, 6 and 8.

Sizes and yarn amounts

The sweater vest has a regular fit, not oversized: the finished bust is about 6–12 cm larger than your body measurement. That way it fits comfortably over a blouse.

The easiest way to choose your size is with a sweater vest or T-shirt that fits you well: lay it flat, measure the width just below the armholes and pick the size whose half finished bust is closest to that number.

Gauge swatch

The pattern calls for 16 sts and 22 rows in stockinette on 5.5 mm needles = 10 × 10 cm. Cast on about 26 sts, knit 15 cm in stockinette, wash the swatch and let it dry flat. Then count the stitches over 10 cm in the middle.

• More than 16 sts: Switch to a larger needle, about 6 mm.
• Fewer than 16 sts: Switch to a smaller needle, about 5 mm.

The needle for the ribbing and bands is always 1 mm smaller. We explain how to measure your swatch correctly in our guide How to Knit a Gauge Swatch.

Pattern: knitting a sweater vest step by step

Sizes: S / M / L / XL; a single number applies to all sizes
Gauge: 16 sts and 22 rows in stockinette on 5.5 mm needles = 10 × 10 cm
Stockinette: knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows
Abbreviations: st(s) = stitch(es), RS = right side, WS = wrong side, k = knit, p = purl, tog = together

Decreases: At the beginning of a RS row, k1, then work an skp decrease: slip 1 st knitwise, k1 and pass the slipped st over. At the end of a RS row, knit to the last 3 sts, then k2tog and k1. This way the decreases sit neatly one stitch in from the edge.

1. Back

With 4.5 mm needles, cast on 78 / 86 / 94 / 102 sts. For the ribbing, on the RS row k2, then *p2, k2* to the end of the row. On the WS row, work the stitches as they appear. Repeat these two rows until the ribbing measures 6 cm.

Switch to 5.5 mm needles and work in stockinette until the piece measures 37 / 38 / 39 / 40 cm from the cast-on edge.

Armholes: Bind off 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Then decrease 1 st at the beginning and end of every RS row, 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 times in total. You now have 62 / 66 / 70 / 74 sts on the needle.

Continue straight until the back measures 58 / 60 / 62 / 64 cm, then bind off all sts loosely. Mark the center 26 / 26 / 28 / 28 sts as the back neck. The 18 / 20 / 21 / 23 sts on either side of them are the shoulders.

2. Front with V-neck

Work as for the back until the piece measures 37 / 38 / 39 / 40 cm, ending with a WS row. From here, you divide the work in the middle and knit the two halves one after the other.

Dividing row (RS): Bind off the first 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 sts for the armhole and knit until there are 35 / 38 / 41 / 44 sts on the right needle. Place the remaining 39 / 43 / 47 / 51 sts on a stitch holder or a piece of scrap yarn.

First half: Work the WS row. Starting with the next RS row, you decrease at both edges at the same time:

• Armhole (beginning of the RS row): decrease 1 st on every RS row 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 times.
• V-neck (end of the RS row): decrease 1 st 13 / 13 / 14 / 14 times, following the rhythm “two RS rows with a decrease, one RS row without”.

After all decreases, 18 / 20 / 21 / 23 sts remain – exactly as many as on each shoulder of the back. Continue straight until this half is as long as the back, then bind off loosely.

Second half: Return the held stitches to the needle and rejoin the yarn at the center. Knit one RS row. On the following WS row, bind off 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 sts at the beginning for the armhole; you now have 35 / 38 / 41 / 44 sts on the needle. Starting with the next RS row, work the decreases as a mirror image: the V-neck now at the beginning of the RS row, the armhole at the end. The number and rhythm stay the same. Work until this half is as long as the back and bind off the 18 / 20 / 21 / 23 shoulder stitches.

Tip: Make a tally mark on a piece of paper for every decrease. With two sets of decreases at once, it’s easy to lose track.

3. Seaming

1. Shoulders: Lay the front and back next to each other, right side up, and sew the 18 / 20 / 21 / 23 shoulder stitches together. The center stitches of the back stay open.
2. Side seams: Sew them from the lower edge up to the armhole in mattress stitch. Working from the right side, pick up the horizontal bar between the first and second stitch, alternating between the left and right piece.

4. V-neckband with a mitered point

Using the 4.5 mm circular needle, pick up stitches starting at the left shoulder seam:

• 34 / 36 / 38 / 40 sts along the left edge of the V down to the point,
• 1 st right at the point – this is the center stitch; mark it with a stitch marker,
• 34 / 36 / 38 / 40 sts along the right edge up to the shoulder,
• 27 / 27 / 29 / 29 sts across the back.

That makes 96 / 100 / 106 / 110 sts. Work in the round in k1, p1 ribbing so that the center stitch is a knit stitch with a purl stitch on each side. Decrease at the point in every round: work to 1 st before the center stitch, slip the next 2 sts together knitwise, k1 and pass both slipped sts over. Work all other stitches as they appear.

After 2.5 cm, bind off loosely in rib, working the decrease at the point one more time as you go. This way the band lies flat and forms a crisp V.

5. Armhole bands

Using the 4.5 mm circular needle, pick up about 78 / 82 / 88 / 94 sts around the armhole, starting at the side seam. Make sure the number is even. As a rule of thumb, pick up 1 st for every bound-off stitch and about 3 sts for every 4 rows along the edges. Work 2.5 cm in k1, p1 ribbing in the round and bind off loosely in pattern. If the 40 cm needle is too long for you, use double-pointed needles.

6. Washing and blocking

Weave all ends into the seams. Hand wash the sweater vest at no more than 30 °C, press out the water without wringing and let it dry flat. While it dries, ease it into the measurements given in the table. You can read more in our guide How to Wash Wool.

Variations

• Crew neck instead of a V-neck: Work the front like the back until it measures 51 / 53 / 55 / 57 cm. Then bind off the center 14 / 14 / 16 / 16 sts and decrease 1 st at the neck edge on each side on every RS row 6 times. Knit the neckband in the round without decreases.
• Shorter: For a cropped sweater vest, start the armhole 4–5 cm earlier. The vest will then be 4–5 cm shorter.
• Stripes: With Virgin Wool Ronan in 18 colors, you could change color every 8 rows, for example, always at the beginning of a RS row.
• In the round: You can also knit the lower part up to the armholes in the round. To do this, cast on 156 / 172 / 188 / 204 sts on an 80 cm circular needle and divide the work into front and back at the armholes.

Common mistakes when knitting a sweater vest

• Skipping the gauge swatch: Just 1 stitch difference over 10 cm makes a size M sweater vest 6–7 cm wider or narrower.
• Lopsided V-neck: The decreases on the two sides were worked on different rows. Keeping a tally prevents this.
• Wavy bands: Too many stitches were picked up. If the band puckers, there were too few.
• Armholes too tight: Try on the sweater vest before knitting the bands. If the armholes are too snug, unravel the shoulders and knit 2 cm longer.

Examples for inspiration

Here’s what a sweater vest made from this pattern could look like – in colors you’ll also find among our yarns.

Note: The images in this section are AI-generated examples for inspiration.

Frequently asked questions about knitting a sweater vest

How much yarn do I need for a sweater vest?
For size M, about 600–750 m, i.e. 4–5 balls of 100 g with 160–180 m each. A sweater vest takes roughly half as much yarn as a sweater.

Is a sweater vest a good project for beginners?
Yes, if you know how to knit and purl and how to increase and decrease. The only new part is decreasing at two edges at the same time – with a tally sheet, that works out fine.

Which yarn is best for a sweater vest?
A medium-weight yarn with 160–180 m per 100 g, for example tweed or virgin wool. Wool holds its shape, and the bands lie nice and flat.

Can I knit this sweater vest for men, too?
Yes. The shape is simple and suits men as well. Choose the size by chest measurement and knit the body 4–6 cm longer. You’ll need one extra ball for this.

We ship all our yarns from Görlitz, with free shipping within Germany. Enjoy knitting your sweater vest!