During the 1940s, Bestway and their contemporaries Weldons produced some of the most beautiful patterns in the Tyrolean style. Always with buttoned fronts, they designed cardigans, jackets and waistcoats that combined varied techniques for stitches and embellishments. The charming application of felt motifs to this waistcoat is just one of many options to decorate and enjoy knitted garments, making the most of small quantities of wool and other materials at a time when such resources were scarce and precious.

The pattern describes this delightful waistcoat beautifully:

This youthful and attractive design looks charming over a blouse and is fascinating to make. The main part is in cable-stitch, with a deep, ribbed welt. The yoke is stocking stitch, and afterwards trimmed with a line of chain-stitch and flowers and hearts cut from felt. The buttons are covered with crochet.

The front cover refers to this as a ‘Peasant Waistcoat’ but inside the pattern it is called a ‘Tyrolean Waistcoat in Cable-stitch’. Many vintage patterns use Peasant and Tyrolean as interchangeable descriptions of the style. This denotes similar decorative features associated with both styles from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The original pattern uses a 3 ply and is well suited to a modern 4 ply, as the original pattern instructions were for a small size (31” stretching to 34”), even though knitted on 4 mm needles which are larger than usual for working in fine 3 ply. The stretchiness of the stitch combination used and slightly thicker weight of modern 4 ply makes this a very comfortable fit.

The recreated model used modern 4 ply on 3.75 mm needles to make an easy-fitting size 34” garment, which easily stretches to a 36” bust. Using 4 mm needles as the vintage pattern suggests would easily allow for a size 38–40”. For a smaller size (32–34”), use one of the finer modern 4 ply yarns as suggested here, and 3.25 mm needles.

The appliqués to the yoke leave room for great creativity and though the hearts and flowers of the original are delightful, any combination of motifs and colours would work equally well. The cord which ties through the yoke neckline is finished with neat knots in the original pattern, but for extra detail little felt hearts were attached, inspired by one of the Tyrolean patterns in the Bestway booklet Tyrolean Design.

Materials

• 4 (5) (5) × 50 g balls cream
• 100 g ball green
• 3.66 m/4yd Black 4 ply yarn
• Small pieces of felt (pattern recommends the colour Rose)
• 1 pair each 2.75 mm (3 mm) (3 mm) needles (for ribbing)
• 1 pair 3.25 mm/10 (3.75 mm/9) (4 mm/8) needles (for main work)
• 1 × cable needle of the same size as the needles used for the main work
• 1 × 3.75 mm crochet hook (for all sizes) 3 buttons/button moulds