Bohemian Summer Nights Vest

A printable PDF copy of this pattern, including all full color photos included here, the measurement chart, AND exclusive to the printable PDF version, a handy stitch chart showing the pattern repeat, is available in my Etsy and Ravelry shops.

Hello everyone!

If you are an avid crocheter or knitter, chances are you have seen the new Comfy Cotton Blend yarn that Lion Brand came out with a couple months ago, just in time for all the summer cottons of course! When I saw the Lovie Dovie colorway, I was smitten. It was the perfect color to go with a pair of cut offs, and I knew immediately what I would make.

I had had this repeating pattern floating around in my head a while before that, and I wasn’t sure if or when or what I would ever use it for, but I dutifully wrote it down in chart form. It sat there on my nightstand staring me in the face, calling out to me. And when I brought home my two cakes of Comfy Cotton, I reassured my little scrap of pattern that its day was soon here.

This all happened as I was trying to get the XOXO Throw pattern finalized and tested, and I was right in the middle of writing up the pattern for the Marigold Market Bag, plus add into the equation two kids out of school for summer, a big family road trip, and well, life, annnndddd I am just getting back to this vest.

I had made up my first version, using about 1.5 cakes of the Lovie Dovie colorway. I was in love! It was long, had long open arm holes and FRINGE! I posted a picture of me wearing it (feeling utterly ridiculous posing….what do I do with my hands???) on my Instagram feed and I had so many people asking me to write down the pattern, I though, gee! I guess I need to go buy more yarn and make another one! (twist my arm why don’t ya? LOL)

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A post shared by HB&W | Kristen (@hooksbookswanderlust)

So, back to the store I went, this time purchasing the Chai Latte colorway. And this time, I wanted to change it up a little bit, making it a bit shorter, the arm holes a tad smaller so I could leave room for a side split on each side at the hemline. Plus, that fringe y’all!

This vest goes so well with a pair of dark wash jean shorts, and I pretty much wear both of them every week. They have become two of my favorite items of clothing pretty quickly, and I’m not sorry.

If you want to make your own, grab your yarn and hooks and lets get going!

Bohemian Summer Nights Vest

If you would like to purchase an inexpensive printable PDF copy of this pattern, including all full color photos included here, the measurement chart, AND exclusive to the printable PDF version, a handy stitch chart showing the pattern repeat, copies are available in my Etsy and Ravelry shops.

Materials List

• Lion Brand Comfy Cotton Blend or comparable category 3 Cotton blend yarn
• Crochet hook in size L / 8 mm
• Stitch markers (optional)
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors

Stitches & Abbreviations (US Terms)

• Chain (ch)
• Chain Space (ch sp)
• Skip (sk)
• Single Crochet (sc)
• Double Crochet (dc)
• Double Crochet 3 Together (dc3tog)

Finished Measurements

Made to Measure — See Body Measurement Chart below.

Gauge

4″ = 12 sc = 15 rows of sc
2″ = 3 row pattern repeat

Notes

• This pattern is written in US Standard terms and is considered Advanced Beginner.
• This pattern is Made to Measure, written recipe style so that you can tailor it to your own specifications.  I made two versions, both a short and long version, each using about 1.5 cakes (approximately 784 yds / 716 m), and I would consider myself to be a size Large.
• Since this pattern is Made to Measure (customized to your measurements), I have included a Measurement Chart to calculate the size of your panels and keep track of your specific stitch count. 
• This pattern will stretch with wear, and ease is built in to the measurements calculated in your Measurement Chart.
• Chain-1s at beginning of single crochet rows do not count as a stitch.
• Chain-3s at beginning of double crochet rows DO count as a double crochet stitch.
• A photo tutorial for the Double Crochet 3 Together (dc3tog) can be found here.
• I recommend stitch markers when seaming to mark your arm holes.

PATTERN

Front Panel x2

You will make two front panels based on the measurements you wrote down on your Measurement Chart.

Foundation: Chain a multiple of 3+4

R1: 3 dc into 5^th ch from hook (counts as a dc + sk1), sk 2, *3 dc into next, sk 2, repeat from * across until 3 sts remain, then 3 dc into next, sk 1, dc into last st.

R2: Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), *dc3tog, ch 2, repeat from * across until 4 sts remain, then dc3tog, ch 1, dc into top of ch-3.

R3: Ch 1 (does NOT count as a st), sc, sc into ch1-sp, *sc next, 2 sc into ch2-sp, repeat from * until 3 sts remain, then sc next, sc in ch-1 sp, sc into top of ch-3.

Congratulations! You’ve completed your first pattern repeat!  Look at those little diamonds you just created!  Keep going! The beginning of the next repeat is slightly different since you’re no longer working into a foundation chain.

R4: Ch 3 (counts as a dc), sk 1, *3 dc into next, sk 2, repeat from * across until 3 sts remain, then 3 dc into next, sk 1, dc into last st.

R5: Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), *dc3tog, ch 2, repeat from * across until 4 sts remain, then dc3tog, ch 1, dc into top of ch-3.

R6: Ch 1 (does NOT count as a st), sc, sc into ch1-sp, *sc next, 2 sc into ch2-sp, repeat from * until 3 sts remain, then sc next, sc in ch-1 sp, sc into top of ch-3.

Repeat R4-6 until you have reached your desired length.

Tie off, leaving a long tail for sewing the top shoulder to the back panel. 

Pro Tip:  I like to leave my tail 2-3 times as long as the area I’ll be sewing, in this case, the top of the shoulder / width of the panel.

Repeat these steps for a second front panel.

Back Panel

You will make the back panel based on the measurements you wrote down in your Measurement Chart.

Foundation: Chain a multiple of 3+4

R1: 3 dc into 5^th ch from hook (counts as a dc + sk1), sk 2, *3 dc into next, sk 2, repeat from * across until 3 sts remain, then 3 dc into next, sk 1, dc into last st.

R2: Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), *dc3tog, ch 2, repeat from * across until 4 sts remain, then dc3tog, ch 1, dc into top of ch-3.

R3: Ch 1 (does NOT count as a st), sc, sc into ch1-sp, *sc next, 2 sc into ch2-sp, repeat from * until 3 sts remain, then sc next, sc in ch-1 sp, sc into top of ch-3.

NOTE: That’s the first repeat done, but remember the beginning of the next repeat is slightly different since you’re no longer working into a foundation chain.

R4: Ch 3 (counts as a dc), sk 1, *3 dc into next, sk 2, repeat from * across until 3 sts remain, then 3 dc into next, sk 1, dc into last st.

R5: Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1), *dc3tog, ch 2, repeat from * across until 4 sts remain, then dc3tog, ch 1, dc into top of ch-3.

R6: Ch 1 (does NOT count as a st), sc, sc into ch1-sp, *sc next, 2 sc into ch2-sp, repeat from * until 3 sts remain, then sc next, sc in ch-1 sp, sc into top of ch-3.

Repeat R4-6 until you have reached your desired length.

Tie off, weave in ends. You should now have three completed pieces.  If you would like to, this is where I would recommend blocking your pieces to make sure they all line up appropriately when you go to assemble.

ASSEMBLY / CONSTRUCTION

Pro Tip: I find it helpful to use stitch markers to hold your garment in place while seaming it together.  It has the added bonus of allowing you to try on your garment before seaming to make sure everything hits the way you want it to.

Step 1: Sew your shoulder seams together.

I like the invisible seam stitch or the mattress stitch for seaming together pieces of my fabric.  They leave almost no trace of the join like other methods do.  See tutorials for the Invisible Seam Stitch by Oombawka Design and the Mattress Stitch by Heart Hook Home. For both of these, you will lay your pieces out with the right sides (the side you want facing out when worn) facing down, and the tops of the front panels lined up with the top of the back panel (see above, left).  Use stitch markers to hold pieces in place if needed.  Then, using the long tails you left when tying off the front panels, use the mattress stitch or invisible seam joining methods to sew the shoulder seams together (see above, right for invisible seam).  Weave in ends.

NOTE: Alternatively, you could stack your front panels on top of your back panels, right sides together and whip stitch, slip stitch, or single crochet the shoulder seams together.  They will leave a ridge though, which is why keeping the panels right sides together is so important, as you won’t want that ridge showing on the outside of your vest.

Step 2: Decide how big you want your arm openings and whether you want a side slit.  In my Chai Latte version, I placed my first stitch marker exactly the same distance from the shoulder seam as measured in my Measurement Chart for Measurement D (in my case 11″ – see above left).  However, I left a 5″ slit at the bottom of the vest for added movement (see above right).  In my Lovie Dovie version (see below), I made my vest a bit longer, so I deepened my arm openings to about 18″ leaving no slit.

NOTE: Once you have your stitch markers in place, I recommend trying your vest on and seeing if you want to make any adjustments.

Step 3: Cut a piece of yarn 2-3 times the length of the seam you’re sewing, then whip stitch the first side seam, then repeat this step for the other side seam.  Weave in ends.

FRINGE (optional)

Step 1: Decide how long you want your fringe.

You can cut your fringe as long as you want.  In my shorter Chai Latte version, I wanted it to hang at 5″.  In my longer Lovie Dovie version, I went for a slightly longer fringe at 6.25″

Step 2: Cut your fringe twice as long as you want it to hang.

In my shorter Chai Latte version, I wanted it to hang at 5″ so I cut fringe in 10″ lengths.  In my longer Lovie Dovie version, I went for a slightly longer fringe at 6.25″ so I cut fringe in 12.5″ lengths.

Count how many diamonds you have across the bottom of your vest (you can just add the individual numbers from the stitch counts from your Measurement Chart for dc3tog or triangles to get your total for the entire width of the vest).

Number of diamonds = ________ x 2 pieces per diamond = ________ total pieces. 

Fringe Cutting Tip:  To speed up this process, grab a piece of cardboard, cut to the length you want your fringe to hang from your vest (for example, in my Chai Latte version, I wanted it to hang 5″ from the bottom, so I needed 10″ long pieces, so I cut my cardboard to 5″ long).

Width of the cardboard is irrelevant.  Line up the tail of yarn with the bottom edge of the cardboard, and proceeded to wrap it around and around, counting each time I passed that bottom edge.  When I had enough wraps, I snipped my yarn even with that bottom edge again, then holding the wrapped yarn securely in my hand, I proceeded to cut along the bottom edge.  Voila! Perfectly cut 10″ long pieces!

Step 3: Attach fringe!

You will attach two pieces of fringe to each diamond across the bottom of your vest.  Insert your hook from the wrong side / back of your fabric and grab your folded fringe by its loop, pull through the stitch, then yarn over using the tail of your fringe and pull through the loop, cinch closed.

To see a quick video how I do this, click here.

And there you have it! Pat yourself on the back and dud yourself out in your new vest!

Use the tags #BohemianSummerNightsVest and #LaBelleVieForMe to share your makes with me on Instagram and / or Facebook!

I hope you enjoyed this pattern! Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you know when more free patterns are posted!

Until next time, happy crocheting!

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