After I got mine finished, Em was visiting one weekend and decided to wear it to church on Sunday. (When the girls visit, something from my closet is always on one of them Sunday morning!) She really liked it and asked if I could make one for her with a few modifications. She liked the look and the fringe and the pockets, but wanted it to cover her back where a shawl just couldn't. After talking through a couple of ideas, we decided that 2 shawls would do the trick: one for over each shoulder, seamed together up the back, leaving the front open; and seamed up the sides, leaving openings at the top for armholes.
The shawl itself is the Perfect Pockets Shawl by Sonja Hood. I purchased this pattern. It's not mine to share.
However, the construction of the vest is mine and I can share here without revealing the original shawl pattern.
I made the pockets from the original pattern first, using a US-6 crochet hook. The pockets are a good gauge to calculate how many stitches for the main body of the shawl. From that I decided to change hook sizes and stitch totals. (I did go ahead and use those first pockets on the vest, rather than frogging them and starting over.)
POCKETS:
For future projects my pockets will be 22 stitches wide with 9 rows of hdc, 3 rows of wrapped stitches, and 6 more rows of hdc.
The body of the vest can be constructed 2 different ways. 1) If you're not averse to seaming, you can make 2 identical scarves and seam them together about halfway up the back. 2) If you try to avoid seaming whenever possible, you can begin the 1st row of the 2nd shawl as simply the next row, but then about halfway along that 1st row, you'll need to make the remainder of that row as Foundation stitches. (it'll be a free-floating snake of a row until you add more rows)
STITCH AND ROW ADJUSTMENTS:
For Em's vest, I made the initial shawl a total of 124 stitches long. The original calls for more, but it wraps across the back of the shoulders. For this one, each half lays across just one shoulder so it doesn't need as much length. I needed each shawl to be roughly 12 inches wide so it has a finished diameter of 48 inches. This is to fit comfortably around your hips/bust without being too tight. Adjust as needed. Divide your total by 4 to get how wide your shawls need to be.
For a long length of stitches I prefer to use a foundation row rather than chaining all those stitches. It's easier to count full stitches than to count chains and less likelihood of twisting things.
VEST:
Foundation hdc 124. After you work the border hdc rows, start working the wrapped stitches. Measure how wide that first hdc border is (all rows of it), double it and subtract from 12 (or your width from above.) That difference is how wide you'll need to make your rows of wrapped stitches. Your total number of wrapped stitches should be 1 less than half the total number of hdc (124/2 = 62 - 1 = 61 wrapped stitches)
My hdc border was roughly 2.5 inches wide. Two borders (one on each edge) add up to 5 inches. So I needed about 7 inches of wrapped stitch rows between them. For me that worked out to 8 rows of wrapped stitches.
SEAMED BACK:
Make 2 pieces. For the seaming, I used a crocheted slip stitch seam. You could also use a whip stitch. I actually preferred the look of the crocheted seam on the outside rather than the inside, but since the pieces don't really have a right or wrong side, you can decide after you join them which you prefer. For a total project length of 124 stitches, seam the back up 60 stitches from the bottom (back), leaving 64 open at the top (front.)
NO BACK SEAM:
If you are creating it as one piece, make the first shawl as directed with your stitch and row adjustments from above. Now,without finishing off, just continue the next row (which is equal to the first border row of the 2nd shawl) still attached to your last border row. On my 124 stitch version, hdc just like before, but only for 60 stitches. Stitches 61 through 124 will be done as foundation hdc. (Here's where you see that free-floating snake of a row.) At the end of this row, be sure to count and make sure that you still have 124 stitches: 64 free-floating and 60 attatched to the rest of the piece.
Note: your neck comes straight up from your back. The opening over your shoulders adds a bit of length to the front. That's why it's not just the same front and back.
Keep following the pattern you worked on the beginning shawl and you'll see the other front side starting to take shape.
SEAMED SIDES:
When you're done, fold the piece in half with the open fronts on top and the back on the bottom. Seam up the sides about 38 stitches and leave the rest open for the arm holes.
If you really just HATE seaming, you could make a couple of ties to bring the front and back together and leave them basically open.
