Finishing a Fair Isle Vest - Bruntsfield
I picked up this lovely kit for Ysolda's Bruntsfield vest while I was in Scotland earlier this year, and I'm delighted to have finished it! I think the colorwork is straightforward (though I did have to go back a few times after forgetting to switch colors when it was necessary!), but the finishing could be a bit intimidating if you're not used to cutting up your knitting. So I documented the finishing process just to show you how I did it.
Here's the vest after I've finished with all the knitting but the bands. The shoulder stitches are live and held on waste yarn, and those vertical stripe bits are where I'll reinforce and cut it open for the v-neck and armholes.
I reinforce the steeks with single crochet. The pattern actually called for slip stitch crochet instead, but I tried it and didn't like it, so I went back to my usual method.
The single crochet reinforcements open up to revel ladders in between. That's where I'll cut.
Here's me cutting the v neck open. I did the same thing for the armholes and a little extra steek bit that allowed me to make the front shoulders longer and maintain the color pattern, which was an interesting detail that I haven't seen before. I liked it even if it felt odd to do.
And here it is with all the steeks cut open. The next steps are to join the shoulders with Kitchener stitch and add the bands.
It needs blocking, but otherwise here it is finished! I used tubular bind-offs for a neat look that matches the cast-on. Blocked and modelled images coming soon!
P.S. The yarn is Uradale Yarns Jumper Weight, from an organic Shetland sheep farm that I got to visit while in Shetland! I did a Swatch Project entry on this dreamy yarn.