Do you like vintage-inspired children’s clothing? Well, I might have just the thing: the Little sailor vest. This pattern was originally published in I Like Knitting magazine (April 2018), in baby sizes; in my newly-published version, I’ve expanded the sizing up to age 8, so you can make the vest for your bigger kids too.

The Little sailor vest is a tank top featuring a traditional sailing boat. The vest is inspired by vintage clothing, and is the perfect traditional item for a child’s wardrobe.

The vest is knitted from the bottom up in pieces. The boat is knitted on a stocking stitch background using the intarsia technique - I’ve included the intarsia section as both a chart and as written instructions, so you can follow whichever you prefer. The hem, armholes and necklines are knitted using 2x2 rib and the armholes and necklines are picked up and knitted after the garment has been seamed. The shoulders are fastened using buttons to allow for easy dressing.

The vest is designed to fit ages 3 months to 8 years, with 5 cm (2 inches) of positive ease. Sizing details are given in full below.

Want to knit your own Little sailor vest? Here’s everything you need to know!

Sizes - finished chest size; recommended ease, 5 cm (2 in)

• 3 months: 45.5 cm (18.25 in)
• 6 months: 47 cm (19 in)
• 12 months: 50.5 cm (20.25 in)
• 18 months: 52 cm (20.75 in)
• 2 years: 57 cm (22.75 in)
• 4 years: 63 cm (25.25 in)
• 6 years: 68 cm (27.25 in)
• 8 years: 71 cm (28.5 in)

Tension
25 sts and 32 rows = 10 cm (4 in) in stocking stitch worked flat on 4 mm (US 6) needles after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

Yarn
Sport/DK-weight yarn in the following colours and amounts:

• MC: navy blue, 190 (220, 245, 270, 305, 375, 430, 520) m [205 (240, 270, 295, 330, 410, 470, 565) yds]
• CC1: pale blue, 10 m [10 yds]
• CC2: red, 10 m [10 yds]
• CC3: white, 10 m [10 yds]

Needles

• 3.5 mm (US 4) straight needles
• 3.25 mm (US 3) straight needles

Notions

• Bobbins for holding the different yarn colours during colourwork
• Buttons x 4 (6 for age 8), 15 mm (0.5 in)
• Chart row marker
• Stitch markers x 2
• Tapestry needle

Pattern notes
The sample is knitted in Bergere de France Idéal DK, 125 m (136 yds) per 50 g ball, 40% wool, 30% acrylic, 30% polyamide in 21821 Alpin (MC), 20933 Linaire (CC1), 24408 Pavot (CC2) and 51220 Everest (CC3).

The sailboat motif is incorporated using the intarsia technique, but you may wish to add the finer details using duplicate stitch. Intarsia section is included as both a chart and as written instructions.

Difficulty
Intermediate (knitting, purling, simple increases and decreases, intermediate intarsia)

Pattern style
Vest pattern is written using abbreviations (all abbreviations are given). Both charted and written instructions are provided for the intarsia section.