Folk Vests [Paperback]

For those of you thinking of buying the book sight unseen here are some details that might be helpful:
---three traditional fair isle designs (2 pullovers and one button front)
---eight single color designs - bavarian twists, the many buttoned vest (cute!); irish with the vertical x's and o's; a celtic lattice pullover; a tunic length 'bookworm' button-front; a mandarin collared texured button front; a traditional v-neck men's pullover with four columns of cables; a casual, all garter vest with a shawl collar; and a fine yarn, v-neck button front.
---three vests with wide vertical bands and a single button - done in African, Peruvian and Korean colorwork patterns.
---one vest with vertical stripes designed for the Nepalese recycled silk yarn.
---three vests knit fair isle style but with bold varigated yarns on a black background.
---two Japanese inspired panel designs.
---two traditional Scandanavian looks - a pullover and a button-front.
---a side to side vest with Navajo patterning (but easy to adapt to other looks).
---a traditional vest with a big lace collar.

Even as a person who rarely wears vests, I enjoy having this book on my shelf. The photography is crisp and the the text is clear. If you like to wear vests, that this book would be a treasure trove of projects.

In particular, the Japanese vests look like Ikat dyed handloomed cotton, both a single direction dyed ikat and a double-dyed check pattern (Kasuri) in the traditional indigo color. The random striped vest versions could also be knit in handpainted wool--a nice use for this popular technique of dyeing.

The shape of many of the vests uses the same construction as would be used with woven cloth. Some of the vests have a long version, which is a good thing because most of the vests are short. This is a problem if you are short-waisted or thick on top, as short vests are not as flattering a shape.

There are other wonderful patterns that take a twist on the traditional. The Tyrolean twisted stitch vest is similar to those knit garments found in the Alpine regions of Austria and Germany but Oberle incorporates a stocking "clock" pattern on the vest back that makes an interesting "v"--not just a replica of Tyrolean style knitting but a clever play.

There are several fairisle vests that are of interest to handspinners. One is done in sheep's colors (cream, gray, brown and black) and could be knit of handspun undyed colored wool. Another recalls the use of lichen dye from parmellia which gives golden tones. While the vest pattern is knit from commercially available Shetland yarn, you could, as a spinner and dyer, make your own genuine lichen dye or onion skin dyed yarn to knit this vest. The Prince of Wales' famous fairisle is also here, with a note that the colors of the vest in the portrait of the Prince were probably not those on the actual vest. My favorites, however, are an African vest in a mudcloth-like black and white pattern, and a Peruvian llama vest with a gorgeous patterned band on a rich brown plain knit vest.

As in "Folk Shawls" there is a also a plain black model and notes on how to modify the various models. And husband Gary Oberle contributes his attractive linocuts to ornament each chapter.

A lovely book. Highly recommended.