Crochet a Sweater Vest Duster

Motifs or panels have been used traditionally to make a large crochet project manageable. A hand-crocheted, duster-length vest can be a more manageable project when it's worked in panels or motifs, whether retro granny squares in new kinds of yarns or a sampler of stitches. Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions
Things You'll Need

900 g (2 lbs) worsted-weight yarn Size H crochet hook Measuring tape

1 Make nine squares, each 10 by 10 inches, in any mix of designs and colors. Join the squares into three panels, each three squares long. One panel will be used for each side of the duster's front and the third for the center back. 2 Attach yarn for the yoke to the top left corner of the panel for the left front of the duster. Chain 2. Skip one stitch along the top of the panel and work two half-double-crochets in the next stitch and every other stitch across the panel (v-stitch). At the other corner, chain 2 and turn. V-stitch in the middle of each stitch and one half-double in the last v-stitch. Chain 2 and turn. Continue working rows of v-stitches, working even at the armhole and decreasing at the neck edge, until the yoke is 10 inches long. Work another six inches even on both sides. Finish off. 3 Connect the two front pieces with a chain and work the back yoke down from there. Attach yarn to the upper right corner of the right-front panel and work its yoke in mirror image of the left, but do not finish off. At the neck edge, work a chain 7 inches long. Slip stitch to the inside corner of the left front. Chain 1 and work across to the armhole in single crochet. Chain 2 and turn. 4 Work evenly in v stitch across the two shoulder blocks and the back neck between for 10 inches. Center the back panel under this yoke and mark where its corners touch. Single-crochet to the nearest corner, then slip stitch the panel to the yoke. At the far end of the yoke, resume single crochet to the other armhole. Finish off. 5 Try on the vest and measure from the outside of a front panel to the underarm seam of what you're wearing. Note whether you need to make the side panel shorter to fit under your arm. 6

Attach yarn to the left-front panel where you started the yoke. Chain 3. Double-crochet around the panel; turn corners by working three double crochet in one stitch. At the top corner, chain 3 and turn. 7 Work even rows beside the front panel until the extension you need to the underarm seam. To lower the armhole, decrease at the tops of the rows or stop at the point you need to when you come up the panel. Finish at the armhole and leave a long tail of yarn. 8 Attach your yarn to the right-front corner and work as a mirror image of the left. 9 Attach yarn to either inside corner of the back, where the panel meets the yoke. Slip stitch along three stitches of the yoke, then double-crochet along the edge of the panel. At the bottom corner, chain 3 and turn. Double-crochet up and down that side of the back panel, slip-stitching the ends of the rows to the yoke, to the armhole edge of the yoke. Continue to match the underarm extension on the front, ending at the bottom of the back. 10 Work three double crochet in the last stitch and double-crochet across to the far corner of the back panel. Work three double crochet to turn the corner and continue up the panel to the yoke. Fill that side of the yoke space and out to the underarm as you did the first. Finish off at either end. 11 Use the long tails you left at the underarms of the front panels to slip-stitch or single-crochet the fronts and backs together, leaving a deep slit on each side.

Tips & Warnings

Pattern booklets of dishcloths offer a variety of pattern stitches and color combinations. Afghan pattern books have more designs, including those in afghan stitch, or Tunisian crochet.