Knit Sweater Vest Knitting Adventure with Agnes Sweater Vest!

Hey everyone! Welcome back to YoungFolk Knits! Today, we’re diving into a project that blends two of my favorite fiber arts: crochet and knitting. If you’ve ever thought about mixing the two, then this is the perfect project for you—I’m talking about the Agnes Sweater Vest!

This is no ordinary vest; it’s a gorgeous pattern by Bethany Lynne: https://www.bethanylynnemakes.com/how-to-make-a-granny-square-vest-the-agnes-sweater-vest/ The pattern itself is a little different from my usual knitting projects because it incorporates granny squares (hello, crochet lovers!). You crochet the body using these squares, and then pick up stitches to knit the ribbing on the armholes, hem, and collar. Fun, right?

Let’s talk about the yarn first because who doesn’t love picking out beautiful fibers? For this vest, I raided my stash and pulled out some biches et buches le Lambswool, a lovely rustic wool in a few colors that just scream cozy. https://shoplamercerie.com/collections/dk/products/le-lambswool-biches-buches Think mustard, rust, gray, and peach—all the fall vibes! For my main color, I chose a deep gold-brown, which really makes the vest feel warm and inviting.

One of the things I love about this pattern is its flexibility. The new version of the pattern is size-inclusive, ranging from XS to 5XL, and you can easily adjust the size of your vest by changing the size of your granny squares. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/YoungFolkKnits/agnes-sweater-vest-test That’s right—bigger squares, bigger vest! This customization makes it a great project for all skill levels and body types.

A Tale of Granny Squares

Granny squares are the foundation of this vest, and let me tell you, they are a joy to make. Crocheting granny squares is quick, satisfying, and gives you instant gratification as each square comes together. I ended up needing 25 squares, and honestly, they worked up much faster than I expected. If I had been knitting each square, it would’ve taken longer. Plus, you get to play around with color combinations—each square can be unique, giving your vest a lovely, handmade feel.

I used a 4mm crochet hook (the pattern calls for 4.5mm, but I crochet a bit loosely) and whipped through those squares. My colors? Navy blue, sea green, mustard, peach, and a few others that just blended so well together. Once the squares were done, I whip-stitched them together using my leftover yarn tails. Super easy and neat!

Knitting the Ribbing

Now, let’s move on to the knitting part—because no sweater vest is complete without some good ribbing, right? After stitching together the granny squares, I picked up stitches around the armholes, hem, and collar. The contrast between the crocheted squares and the knitted ribbing adds such a cool texture to the vest.

One tip here: I found that I needed to pick up fewer stitches than the pattern suggested for the armholes to avoid flaring. If you’re working on this project, definitely play around with the stitch count to get the perfect fit for you. I used a 4mm needle for the ribbing and did a tubular bind-off to give it a clean, stretchy finish. I love how it turned out, even though I had to modify the stitch count a bit.

Assembly Time!

Once all the squares were crocheted, I laid them out and joined them together with whip stitches. It was a bit tedious but so worth it. Seeing the vest take shape was super exciting! After that, I added a few rows of crochet to fill in gaps and get the width just right before moving on to the knitting.

I love how customizable this pattern is. You can tweak it to fit your body shape perfectly and adjust things like stitch count, the number of squares, or even add a split hem if you want. I went for a closed hem, but if you prefer something looser, the split hem would look fantastic too.

The Final Result

And here we are! I’m wearing my finished Agnes Sweater Vest, and I couldn’t be more pleased with it. It’s cozy, colorful, and exactly the kind of handmade project that brings me joy. The combination of crochet and knitting was a nice change of pace, and it’s always fun to try something a little different.

A big thanks to Bethany Lynne for designing this wonderful pattern, and to all of you for joining me on this crochet-knitting adventure. If you’ve been thinking a
bout trying something new or jumping into a crochet project with a little knitting twist, I highly recommend giving the Agnes Sweater Vest a go!

Until next time, happy making, and don’t forget to share your projects with me—I’d love to see them!

Video