Granny/Crone Square Blanket

These are a dime-a-dozen, I know.  The quintessential crochet project.  But this turned out so gorgeous, I just had to share it.

A certain big craft store was having an end-of-season yarn sale.  I couldn't resist.  Cleckheaton's Country yarns were all half-price!  So I bought some (24 balls), in the loveliest colours.

I ummed and ahhhed over what to make with them, as you do, when you buy yarn without a project in mind.  In the end, the yarn itself was screaming to be made into a blanket.  And with so many colours, I could try something a bit unique.

No two squares are the same.  There are some with the same colour combinations, but with the colours in different orders.  The overall effect is stunning.

I enlisted D, with his programmer's brain, to help me work out all possible combinations.  I remember from high school maths was that you need to use factorials to work out permutations.  That's the limit of what I remember, however.  Seven colours (not including the cream for edging/joining), each square with four rounds, with no repeats of any colour within a square.  The possibilities seemed endless!  Mathematically, of course, there is a limit.  It turns out that the limit was 840 different combinations.  I didn't have enough yarn to make all of those (nor the money to buy more), so I just included as much variety as I could, to try to even it out.  I ended up with 108 squares, so  9 x 12 to make the blanket.  Then each square was edged with cream, before being sewn together with cream.

All 108 squares, laid out according to the outer colour (not the cream, obviously)

One thing that I did was weave in my ends as I went, at the end of each round.  It really didn't take long, and meant that I was much more motivated to finish the blanket, because I knew I wouldn't have to do all the ends, at the end!  I wove in the ends using a darning needle, feeding it through the back loops of the row.  This meant that they were not only woven in, but also stitched in, making them less likely to come out.

Needle through the back loops

Needle through the back loops

Insert yarn through eye of needle

Pull needle through loops

Tail tucked in, neat and ready for the next round of stitches

I used a large cardboard box to do my blocking on.  It was a packing box for large hanging pictures, so really solid (two thick layers of corrugated cardboard).  My fingers got sore from pushing pins through it so many times!  I had to do it in four batches, owing to not having enough pins to do more at once, but I had a lovely sunny day on my side, so I'd pin them on, spray with water, and then out into the yarn in full sunshine for a couple of hours to dry, and voila, all done in one day!

Enjoying the sunshine!

I joined on the top side of the blanket, so it has that nice ridged effect.  I tried something new with the joining as well.  Previously when I've made crone/granny square blankets,I've joined squares one by one, in lines/rows, and then joined those rows together.  This time, I tested out doing a running row of joins - not fastening off between joins, but stitching from the last corners of the first set, straight into the first corners of the next pair.  Hopefully the photos will help you to understand what I mean!  This uses less yarn, means less joins, less ends that can come loose, and I think was quicker overall.

Top two squares were joined as normal, and then bottom two squares placed next to them and continued stitching

This is how it looks once you've joined a few rows in this fashion

Five rows joined, still more to go!

Then, I simply did the same joining method across the blanket, drawing the unjoined sides together.

The second set of joins crosses over the first as you essentially fill in the gaps

Finally, I edged the whole thing with three rounds in cream following the same crone/granny pattern, ending with one round of dc to give it a neat edge.  It probably needs to be blocked as a whole now, to really neaten it up, but I'll save that for another day.  It looks pretty beautiful now just as it is!

The finished product!

It's Spring here, so we may have to wait until next Autumn rolls around to really appreciate this one, but I am looking forward to snuggling under it when the weather is cool.  In the meantime, I just need to keep it out of reach of a certain cat ;)

PS.  In his spare time, D is now working on a version of his program with more features, to help me in my future blanket-planning endeavours!  What a fab man he is <3

Fingerless gloves

I have made a couple of pairs of gloves, for D and for S, from this pattern, and they turned out great.  But I wanted something a little different for myself, and I had this gorgeous 2ply merino/silk blend yarn that I had bought on a whim (which I rarely do).  There was no way I could use that pattern to make gloves for myself...so I altered it.

Mostly, I winged it, actually.  I did, thankfully, have the sense to start writing down what I was doing, part-way through the second glove.  And then once they were made, I tweaked it a bit more, to get the fit a little better, and made a second pair in the same yarn (but a different colour).  This time, you'll be glad to hear, I made the cream-coloured pair from my pattern, to check that it works!

My first pair, in a lovely pale green.  These are not identical to the second pair, as I changed the pattern a little more as I was testing it out & tweaking it.  

The completed second pair, in cream.

So, here it is.  Fingerless gloves in 2ply.

You will need the following: 1 ball of a nice fine 2ply yarn (I used Paton's Embrace 50gm, which is 90% merino/10% silk, 340m), and a 2.5mm hook.  Regarding the yarn, I made a pair of gloves with one ball, but only had a few inches to spare.  If you don't feel like playing yardage chicken, you may want two balls, but you would only use a little of the second ball.  If you make a mistake & have to frog back a bit, it'll stretch your yarn slightly & you may get some extra stitches out of it that way, but it wouldn't be my recommended method!

Please note that all patterns I write use UK/Aus terminology, and adjust accordingly if you're used to US terms!
Turning chains do NOT count as a dc in this pattern. Follow the same pattern for both right and left hands, until you get to the Fingers, which is where it changes. They are only small changes, but they just make each glove a tiny bit more comfortable for each hand, rather than having carbon copies that need to fit around your fingers.
To do a dc2tog, insert yarn into the work, yo, draw the yarn through (2 loops on hook), insert yarn into next stitch in work, yo, draw the yarn through (3 loops on hook), yo & draw through all 3 loops on hook.

Note that on the finished product, the fingers look a bit...wonky.  This is due to the shaping of the fingers.  When they're on your hands, this will not be an issue.

BOTH HANDS
Cuff:
Foundation chain: ch 21
Row 1: Dc in 2nd chain from hook & in each ch to end (20 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 2-59: Dc in each dc of previous row, working through the back loop only (20 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 60: DC in each dc of previous row, working through the back loop only (20 dc). Fold the cuff piece so that the starting edge is held next to the working edge, and join along these edges with sl st to form a complete cuff. Turn to RS out. Do not fasten off.

This is what the cuff looks like before joining. Stitching in the back loop only gives a ribbed effect.

Hand:
From here, you will be working in rounds, joining at the end of each round, but then turning and working back in the opposite direction, unless otherwise instructed.
Row 1: Ch 1, 61dc evenly around top of cuff (1 dc in side of every row of cuff plus 1 dc in the join; 61 dc), join with sl st to first dc of this row; ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 19 dc, inc 2dc in next st, 19 dc, inc 2dc in next st, 19 dc, inc 2dc in next st, 1 dc (64 dc), join with sl st to first dc of this row; ch 1, turn.
Row 3-8: Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc); join with sl st in first dc; ch 1, turn.
Row 9: (Begin opening for thumb) Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc), do NOT join; ch 1, turn.
Row 10-36: Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 37: (Close top of thumb opening) Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc); join with sl st in first dc; ch 1, turn.
Row 38-47: Dc in each dc of previous row (64 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn. Do not fasten off.

The beginning of the thumb opening.

Thumb opening closed with slip stitch (Row 37)

A few more rows of dc after the closing of the thumb hole.

RIGHT HAND
Fingers:
Row 48: 24dc, ch 5, skip next 17 dc, 23 dc (47 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Row 49: 24dc, 1dc in each ch, 23 dc, join with sl st (52 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 50-51: 52 dc; ch 1, turn.  Do not fasten off.

The 5 chains form the divide between the ring and little fingers (Row 48).  This will become more obvious as you keep working.

Row 48 from another angle.  A gap should be left unworked on the previous row.  You'll come back to this later.

Glove on hand with 5 chains between little & ring fingers.

Index Finger:
Row 1: 10 dc, ch 5, skip next 33 dc, 9 dc (19 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Row 2: dc in each st until start of chain, 1 dc in each ch, dc in each st until end of row, join with sl st (24 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 3: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 11dc, dc2tog, 10dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Row 1 of Index Finger.  Again, 5 chains form the divide between the index and middle fingers.

Middle Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between index and middle finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 7 dc, ch 5, skip next 19 dc, 7 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (19 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Ring Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between middle and ring finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 19 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (24 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10dc, dc2tog, 9dc, join with sl st. Fasten off.

Little finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of 5ch between ring and little finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc into each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 17 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (22 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 22dc, join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, dc2tog, 8 dc, join with sl st (20 dc). Fasten off.

Thumb:
Join yarn with sl st to top of thumb hole.
Row 1: Ch 1, 25 dc down side of thumb hole, dc2tog twice, 1 dc in bottom of thumb hole, 25 dc up the other side, dc2tog twice, 1 dc at top, join with sl st (56 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 23 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 22 dc to top, join with sl s (52 dc)t; ch 1, turn.
Row 3: 20 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 21 dc to top, join with sl st (48 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 4: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (48 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 5: 19 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 18 dc to top, join with sl st (44 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 6: 16 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 17 dc to top, join with sl st (40 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 7: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (40 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 8: 15 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 14 dc to top, join with sl st (36 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 9: 12 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 13 dc to top, join with sl st (32 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 10: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (32 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 11: 10 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 11 dc to top, join with sl st (28 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 12: 9 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 1 dc, dc2tog, 8 dc to top, join with sl st (24 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 13-16: dc in each st of previous row, join with sl st (24 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 17: 2 dc in first dc of previous row, 9 dc, dc2tog twice, 9 dc, 2dc, join with sl st (24 dc); ch 1, turn. Repeat Row 17 until thumb reaches desired length. Omit ch 1, turn on final row, and fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Yay!  One glove complete!

LEFT HAND
Follow glove pattern as above until end of Row 47.
Fingers:
Row 48: 23dc, ch 5, skip next 17 dc, 24 dc (47 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Row 49: 23dc, 1dc in each ch, 24 dc, join with sl st (52 dc); ch 1, turn.
Row 50-51: 52 dc; ch 1, turn.
Row 52: 9 dc, ch 7, skip next 33 dc, 10 dc (19 dc), join with sl st; ch 1, turn.

Index Finger:
Row 1: dc in each st until start of chain, 1 dc in each ch, dc in each st until end of row, join with sl st (24 dc), ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Middle Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between index and middle finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 7 dc, ch 5, skip next 19 dc, 7 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (19 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 11dc, dc2tog, 10dc, join with sl st (22 dc). Fasten off.

Ring Finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of the 5ch between middle and ring finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc in each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 19 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (24 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 24 dc, join with sl st; ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 10dc, dc2tog, 9dc, join with sl st. Fasten off.

Little finger:
Join yarn with sl st in one of 5ch between ring and little finger.
Make sure that you are going to be stitching in the correct direction to continue the pattern.
Row 1: Dc into each ch until last, dc2tog (last ch, first dc on hand of glove***), 17 dc, dc2tog (last dc on hand of glove***, first ch), dc in each ch back to first dc (22 dc), join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: 22dc, join with sl st, ch 1, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until finger reaches desired length.
Final Row: 1 dc, dc2tog, 9 dc, dc2tog, 8 dc, join with sl st (20 dc). Fasten off.

Thumb:
Follow instructions as for Right Hand Thumb.

Two gloves complete!

*** Special instructions required!! The first/last dc of the hand, in these cases, has actually been stitched in previously as well. The dc's joining the chains that separate each finger, have already been stitched into this same stitch. The reason you are stitching into this stitch again, is to avoid having a small hole between the base of each finger. Hopefully the photo illustrates what I mean. Be careful not to stitch into the side of the dc that joins the chain to the glove.

You might want to click to view this larger, if you are confused!

Please let me know if you find any errors in my pattern :)

(c) 2013 Kirsten Willis.  Please do the right thing.  Give credit where credit is due.

Crochet AND Sewing! Fixing a much-loved skirt...with flair!

A while ago, I tore my favourite skirt.  A BIG tear, a good 26cm long, right along the seam.  So sad.  I haven't been able to get rid of it yet.  It was my favourite!

Anyway, I finally hit on a way to fix it without making it look really strange/messing up the tiers.  I've combined it with one of my great loves - crochet! 

I have a lovely book of antique crochet patterns.  I measured up the length of the tier that needed repair, and then used one of the patterns from the book (which I won't reproduce here, for copyright reasons) to crochet a length of lace to fit...all 60 inches of it!

 I used some fine crochet cotton leftover from another project, and a 1.25mm steel hook.  It worked up surprisingly quickly, and was fun to do.  I do like crocheting lace, but don't have much use for it at the moment due to the marauding cats who would tear to shreds any delicate lace decorations that I left lying around.

The next step was to repair the hole in the skirt.  I ironed on some interfacing, carefully lining up the torn edges.  Then, since the only interfacing I had lying around was quite thin, I stuck another piece over the top of the worst bit.

Now I was ready for stitching!  I just used a basic zigzag to gather together the torn edges.

This last bit was the tricky bit.  I pinned the lace around the skirt.  Easy enough.

 I stitched the bottom edge on with very little trouble.  However, I ran into difficulty with the top edge.  Being a tiered skirt, it gets narrower towards the top, presenting the obvious difficulty of the same length of lace needing to be stitched on over a shorter length of fabric!  Added to this, the foot of my sewing machine was very kindly stretching my lace.  Oh no!  I had to unpick a few lengths where it was becoming distorted & I was ending up with far more lace than I had fabric to sew it onto.  This was a delicate operation because the cotton fabric of the skirt is quite thin already, and the white cotton I was using for stitching was very close in colour to the thread used to make the lace.  However, I managed it without doing any damage to either.  I then pinned it again more carefully - about every inch - to ensure even distribution of lace over fabric, and very slowly machine-stiched the last bits into place.

Being all tiered and drapey, no one should notice the couple of tiny fudged bits.  The overall effect is quite nice, and I'm just glad I can wear my skirt again.  Perhaps one day I'll even crochet some more lace for the other tiers - but for now, I'm out of cotton!

Resurrecting holey jeans

The other day, I went to put on my favourite jeans, and found a hole in the inner thigh, as well as a couple of thin patches that would likely turn into holes with a couple more washes!  Oh no :(  A few years ago, I would have sighed, and started planning to buy a new pair.  Maybe I would have chucked the old pair aside to use for denim scraps.  I once tried to patch a pair of holey jeans & it didn't work very well, and kept pinching my skin.  No fun at all.

I've got a bit braver since then.  So, I decided I'd have a go at patching them.

What I didn't do, was take some 'before' photos.  Sorry!  I've only got after shots for you.

The first pair, were my holey-thigh jeans.  I did a very basic patch job on them.  Iron on some interfacing on the inside, and satin-stitch all over the holes.  The holes weren't huge, nor very visible, so I figured this would fix them sufficiently.   This tutorial does things in a fairly similar way, except that I didn't use an extra piece of fabric over the top of the interfacing.

It's not very pretty, but you can't actually see it when I'm wearing them!

The second pair, I found in my stash of fabric - obviously ones I had put away years ago after they had developed a hole over the pocket area.  I initially patched them the same way as the first pair.  But as the patch was a lot more visible, being right on the front over the pocket, I wanted to pretty it up a bit.  So I cut a circle out of some nice corduroy, and satin-stitched it over the top.  Cute, eh?

The THIRD pair were badly damaged when I tripped over on bitumen & ripped both knees open.  I remember this particular as I was walking to the park when S was a toddler, wearing her on my front in the mei tai, and I didn't see this big chunk of bitumen lying loose on the road.  I went over forwards, and thankfully managed to put my hands out to break my fall and prevent S' head from smacking on the road!  It was very frightening.  Again, I didn't even know I'd kept them - the things you find!  I used this tutorial as the base for my patching job.  I had some more nice corduroy, but was worried that on its own, it would not be strong enough.  So I cut two patches for each knee - one denim, one cord, and used the tute at the above link with the patches layered together for strength.

I'm so pleased with the results!  I've gone from one pair of jeans (as of the other day) to now having four, and I'd much rather have spent a few hours learning some new techniques, than spend the amount of money I would have needed to, to replace the holey ones I already had!  Can't wait to wear them!

This cat drives me insane sometimes

Yes, this one.

This is Nala.

She has the perfect round-eyed innocent look going on, but don't let her fool you.  She is the bane of my crafty existence!

She is small, and warm, and furry, and cuddly, and has the loudest purr I've ever heard on such a small cat.  And those big round eyes.  In fact, she is snuggled up on my lap, nose tucked into my armpit, as I type.

BUT...

She also has a yarn fetish.  Do not, I repeat, do not leave anything yarny lying around.  Do not put down your crochet project unattended.  Do not leave your craft basket open.  In fact, do not leave it closed if the lid is not weighed down with a heavy book.

This kind of thing is the result - fluffy, felted patches from a cat who cannot help but lick yarny stuff.  Kind of ruins the look of a nice slouchy beanie, or a textured scarf.  Or, if she gets ahold of some yarn, she could end up with a foot of it down her throat, which your husband has to carefully pull back up (ew!).

If she squeezes herself under your sewing cabinet (while the doors are closed), she will grab a random spool of thread (most likely your elastic shirring thread) and play with it all over the sewing room, tangling it hopelessly and rendering it unuseable.

It's not only me it affects, either.  She has a thing for pipe-cleaners - those long fuzzy bendy craft items that S loves.  We find them all over the house, frequently soaking wet after having been dragged to a cat water bowl, dumped in it, fished out again, and played with all over the kitchen floor.  If you bury them in a craft box, she digs them out again.  If you put them in a zip-lock bag, she plays with the bag.  She just has a nose for finding them, wherever they are.

So don't tell me those eyes are innocent!

Crocheted Baby Beanie & Vest

I made these for a lovely friend who will be welcoming her second babe any day now.

The beanie is made from this pattern.
The vest***, I made up myself.  It hasn't actually been tested on a newborn, so I hope it fits!  Here's what I did, though.  Please note that all patterns I write are in UK terminology.
You will need: 1 x 50gm of 4ply wool, 3.5mm hook, 3 buttons, darning needle, matching thread for sewing on buttons.
Foundation Chain: ch 73.  The 3ch used for turning always counts as 1tr for this pattern.
Row 1: 1tr in 4th ch from hook, tr in each chain until end (70tr), 3ch, turn.
Row 2-11: 1tr in each tr of previous row until end (70tr), 3 ch, turn.
Row 12-13: dec 2tr together, 1tr in each tr of previous row until last 3 stitches.  Dec 2 tr together, 1 tr in final tr (68tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Now you'll start to shape the right front neck.
Row 14: dec 2tr together, 1 tr in next 6 tr of previous row, dec 2tr together, 1 tr (10tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Row 15: 1 tr in next 6 tr, dec 2tr together, 1 tr in last stitch (9tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Row 16: Dec 2tr together, 1 tr in next 6 tr of previous row (8tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Row 17: 1 tr in next 4 tr, dec 2 tr together, 1 tr (7tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Row 18-21: 1tr in each tr of previous row (7tr). Ch 3, turn.
Row 22: 1 tr in each tr of previous row (7tr).  Fasten off.
Now we go back and make the back section of the vest.
Row 14: Skip 13 tr on Row 13.  Join yarn in the 14th tr with a slip st. Ch 3.  Dec 2 tr together.  1tr in next 20 stitches.  Dec 2 tr together. 1tr in next stitch (24tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Row 15-21: 1 tr in each tr of previous row (24tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Shaping back right shoulder.
Row 22: Dec 2 tr together.  1tr in next 5 tr.  (7tr) Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing shoulders together.
Shaping back left shoulder.
Row 22: Skip 8tr on Row 21 of back.  Join yarn with slip st in 9th st.  Ch 3.  Dec 2 tr together. 1tr in next 5 tr.  (7tr) Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing shoulders together.
Shaping left front neck.
Row 14: Skip 13tr on Row 13.  Join yarn in the 14th tr with a slip st.  Ch 3.  Dec 2 tr together. 1 tr in next 6 tr of previous row.  Dec 2 tr together. 1 tr.  (10tr) Ch 3, turn.
Row 15: Dec 2 tr together.  1tr in next 7 tr (9tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Row 16: 1 tr in next 5 tr, dec 2 tr together, 1 tr (8tr).  Ch 3, turn.
Row 17: Dec 2 tr together. 1 tr in next 5 tr (7tr). Ch 3, turn.
Row 18-21: 1 tr in each tr of previous row (7tr). Ch 3, turn.
Row 22: 1 tr in each tr of previous row (7tr). Fasten off.
Sewing together & finishing off.
Using tail left from back shoulders, with right sides facing, stitch vest together at shoulders.
Join yarn with a slip st at any stitch of Row 14 on an armhole. DC evenly around armhole, joining with a slip st into first dc. Fasten off. Repeat on other armhole.
Join yarn with a slip stitch at Row 1. DC evenly up the front right side of the vest, continuing around neck, and back down the left side. When you reach Row 12 of the left side, ch 3, skip a stitch, dc into next st, dc evenly until Row 6, ch 3, skip a st, dc into next st, dc evenly until Row 2, ch 3, skip a st, dc into next st, dc evenly around bottom of vest. Continue dc up the right front again, slip st in first dc on Row 12. Fasten off.
Stitch buttons on matching rows on right side of vest. Weave in ends.

Please alert me if you find any errors in this pattern.  Writing up your own patterns is always a little hazardous...especially when you're doing it based on memory & looking at the finished work! :)

*** This pattern is my own.  Please give credit where credit is due.