Celtic Cabled Slipover

I had 900 yards of a really pretty blue MadTosh DK I’d picked up at Natural Stitches. I’m still a big fan of vests and I’d seen the Celtic Cabled Slipover pattern advertised on Ravelry and liked the look of it. The yardage requirements fit, so following a gauge fail false start, I was off to the races.

Three cheers for mannequin access!

It’s the little details that make this a nearly perfect vest. The cabling on the back is unique as the two outside cables flare out with a growing reverse stockingette background in between.


The calculations are perfect for the cables to meet up atop the shoulders, where the fronts and back are joined by a three-needle bind-off. Quick, simple, stable and perfect.


The seed stitch edging continues all around the vest. A three-stitch seed stitch faux seam goes up the entire bodice. The bodice is only 8” deep. Actually with the 40” size I wound up knitting, it should only have been 7” but I went a little farther. I would have gone at least another inch if I had been confident about my available quantity of yarn, but I was afraid of running out, so I stopped at 8”. The one change I wish I’d made was to knit the body for another inch or two before dividing the fronts/back. Of course, I have plenty of yarn left over, but oh well.

Anyhoo, the small seed stitch faux seam grows to frame the bottom of the armhole, then grows up each side of the arm.


It is also quite present atop the back of the vest, another nice detail.


A matching seed stitch panel goes up the center-front of the vest before dividing for the neckline. Nicely done by the designer. The one thing I couldn’t see on the pics on Ravelry and the pattern is the two-row purl bar between each cable cross. It’s more noticeable in person (I think) and looks just fine.

The slip-stitch edging looks nice and neat, and meant that there was virtually no finishing to this garment. YAY!


I’m quite happy with the finished project. I’m sure it will get lots of use, especially once we hit fall and it no longer feels hotter than the surface of the sun outside.

Celtic Cabled Slipover

Pattern: Celtic Cabled Slipover by Jean Clement
Yarn: MadelineTosh, Tosh DK
Colorway: Betty Drapers Blues
Yardage: roughly 3.5 skeins/800 yards
Needles: US 8/5mm 36” Addi Turbos (US 7/4.5mm for garter lower hem)
Started: 7 July 2010 (2nd start date. Started 7/1 but frogged)
Finished: 24 July 2010
Mods: Knit fronts simultaneously, which isn’t truly a mod, but is a departure from pattern instructions. Added an extra inch to the instructions for my size. Wish I had added more, but was worried about running out of yarn.