This pattern is for the barred spiral vest, inspired by barred grand design spiral galaxies such as NGC 1300 and the Condor galaxy!

This vest features long panels of spiral cables framed between 2 x 2 rib and stockinette panels. The armholes and shoulders are designed to be a bit more covered in order to be as bra-friendly as possible if you choose to wear this as a summer top, or over a sheer lightweight shirt.

This design is worked bottom up in the round, followed by the front and back armholes/neck which are worked flat. The front and back are either grafted together or joined using a 3-needle bind off. Lastly, stitches are picked up around the armholes and neck to create the rib.

Difficulty
This is definitely more of an advanced pattern. The spiral panels use cable increase/decrease stitches that aren’t often used (photo tutorial is given), and there is a mix of travelling and closed cables. If you’re very comfortable with cables and are up for learning new techniques, then give it a go! But if you’ve not done cables before, I’d come back to this pattern later.

Yarn, Needles, & Gauge
The yarn used in the pictured vest is Rowan Summerlite dk, dyed to a dark green. I like this yarn for summer/fall pieces as it is very soft and retains its shape and subtle lustre even after washing. I recommend breathable yarns like cotton for a summer vest, and merino blends for a transitional/autumn vest. Another yarn that I have worked with and would find suitable for this project would be Drops cotton merino in a solid color, but any thick 4 ply/thin dk yarn can work!

Ideally use a solid color to allow for good cable definition.

The gauge for this vest is 24 sts x 32 rows for a 4 x 4”/10 x 10cm square of plain stockinette. The recommended needle size is 3.25mm.

Sizing
The ribbing panels in this vest will cinch the vest by about 1” but it also allows for up to 2” of stretch. So for this reason I won’t give a recommended ease because depending on your chosen size you can make it tight or loose. All measurements are for the finished product (un-stretched - stretched).

There are currently 5 sizes: (S,M,L,XL,2XL). S,M,L and XL,2XL have been separately drafted. This is to ensure that as the garment size increases, the cable panels are still proportional to the plain stockinette panels across all sizes, and that the armholes stay proportional to the body.

Finished bust circumference (S,M,L,XL,2XL):
(33-35, 37-39, 41-43, 45-47, 49-51) inches / (84-39, 38-99, 104-109, 114-119, 124-129) cm

Yarn requirements:
(598, 650, 731, 799, 863) m / (654, 711, 799, 874, 943) yards.
(5, 5, 6, 7, 7) balls of Summerlite DK.