Gertrude is a delightful, colourwork vest perfect for layering over dresses, shirts or tees. The vest has a slightly scooped round neck with moss stitch edgings creating a neat border. It features stunning colourwork motifs on the front, which are contrasted on the back with a neat striped ‘salt and pepper’ pattern for added interest. Gertrude is the sister pattern to the Vita cardigan - the pair can be worn together as a timeless twinset. A choice of two colourways is offered in the pattern, colourway one comprising eleven shades for a dramatic palette; colourway two uses just seven shades to create its striking palette.
Gertrude is knitted in the round from the bottom up commencing with a slim moss stitch welt. Steeks are added at the armhole and front neck. The back of the vest has a different pattern to the front but uses the same shades to continue the colours across the vest. Shoulders are grafted or knitted together, and then the moss stitch armbands and neckbands are picked up and knitted. Gertrude is designed to be close-fitting and to sit just below the waist. Gertrude is slightly cropped in length, but can easily be extended by knitting additional pattern repeats before splitting for the armholes.

This pattern takes its name from one of England’s greatest garden designers, Gertrude Jekyll, whose mesmerising gardens feature deep borders of perennial native flowers – hollyhocks, delphiniums, foxgloves, wisteria, sweet peas, fragrant roses and lavender. Familiar with colour theory, she used complementary colours to create strong contrasts amongst the flowers she planted, resulting in vibrant and eye-catching displays. Her choices not only extended to which colours but also their balance and proportion and I find it fascinating that much of what she did in garden design can equally be applied to designing colourways for colourwork knitting.

Gertrude is knitted using Susan Crawford Byre, our unique blend of Jacob and Shetland fibres creating a delightfully heathered, natural grey base which is then hand-dyed here at our Lake District studio in all the beautiful shades you need for your Gertrude vest.

The garment is designed to be worn with between 2½cm (1in) of negative ease and 2½cm (1in) of positive ease.

Garments shown in photographs are for the third size to fit 92–97cm (36–38in) chest – Colourway One, and the fifth size to fit 107–112cm (42–44in) – Colourway Two. Charlie is shown wearing Colourway One (11 colour version) in the 3rd size to fit 92–97cm (36–38in) chest, and Susan is shown wearing Colourway Two (7 colour version) in the 5th size to fit 107–112cm (42–44in) chest. Gertrude is designed to be worn with between 2½cm (1in) of negative ease and 2½cm (1in) of positive ease.

The pattern includes instructions for ten sizes to fit chest measurements between 76cm (30in) and 152cm (60in) and contains both clear written pattern directions, together with full colour charted instructions, plus a comprehensive sizing chart and helpful schematic.

The pattern is available in ten adult sizes, to ensure the perfect fit. The pattern includes written instructions, full colour charts and a helpful schematic.

Yarn kits are available at Susan Crawford Vintage.

Pattern Information

Yarn
Susan Crawford Byre, 100% British wool, a unique blend of Jacob, white Shetland and black Shetland fleeces, Fingering weight (400m / 436yds per 100g skein approx)
Colourway One
1 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) 100g skeins, Heather - Yarn A
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Dry Stone Wall - Yarn B
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2) 25g skeins, Clay - Yarn C
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skeins, Moss Covered Wall- Yarn D
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Room of My Own - Yarn E
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Ragwort - Yarn F
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Undergrowth - Yarn G
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Sunset Over the Bay - Yarn H
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Plum Jam - Yarn J
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Glimpse of the Sea - Yarn K
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Night Sky - Yarn L

Colourway two
1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) 100g skeins, Denim - Yarn A
1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3) 25g skeins, Jack ‘O’ Lantern - Yarn B
1 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) 25g skeins, Rusty Tractor - Yarn C
1 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) 25g skeins, Loam - Yarn D
1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) 25g skeins, Sunset Over the Bay - Yarn E
1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) 25g skein, Glimpse of the Sea - Yarn F
1 (1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) 25g skeins, Fence Post - Yarn G

Suggested needles
Small needles: 2.5mm (US 1 / 2) circular needle (80–100cm in length)
2.5mm (US 1 / 2) circular needle (40–50cm in length)
Large Needles: 3mm (US 2 / 3) circular needle (80–100cm in length)
A spare 3mm (US 2 /3) needle for grafting shoulders (optional)

Gauge
31 sts and 34 rounds = 10 cm / 4 over stranded colourwork worked in the round, after blocking. We obtained this gauge using 3mm needles

If necessary, use an alternative needle size to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions
Waste yarn

Techniques
Stranded colourwork
Steeking
Following colourwork charts