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How to make a
granny square vest –
The Agnes Sweater
Vest
Knitting / December 1, 2022

The Agnes Sweater Vest is a fun and easy crochet

project that is great for using up leftover yarn. This
tutorial goes through every step of making this
granny square sweater including tools and yard
used, and tips for adjusting the sweater design to
fit your desired measurements. I hope that reading
through my notes will inspire you and help give you
a starting point to make your own!

The sweater was designed with oversized armholes

and a slightly cropped length in order to layer
easily over tops and dresses. The ribbing at the
collar, armholes and hem are made by picking up
and knitting in the round but this can be replaced
with a crocheted finishing method of your choice.

This granny square vest idea has been swirling

around in my head for a while and was definitely a
labor of love! I’ve named it after my grandma
Agnes, who has knit, crocheted and sewn so many
beautiful things over the years. The afghan she knit
me years ago lives on my couch and I use it daily!
She’s always been an inspiration to me – so this
sweater is dedicated to her!

My grandma also inspired a love of sewing in me

with her adorable dresses she would make for my
dolls growing up. Today I love to sew my own
dresses, jeans and design sewing patterns!

Supplies You’ll Need

This page contains some a!liate links to products and

I may receive a small commission for purchases made
through these links (at no extra cost to you).

These are the supplies that I used to make my

Agnes Sweater Vest but feel free to use whatever
you have on hand. You may want to experiment
with a di!erent yarn weight, needle size or bigger
or smaller granny squares to make it your own.

Yarn

Worsted Weight – I used leftover yarns from

previous projects and they are all Knit Picks Wool
of the Andes and Simply Wool Worsted.

I only used less than one skein of each color to

make this sweater. The Wool of the Andes comes in
50g/110yd (100m) skeins, and the Simply Wool
Worsted that I used for the main color
(Wendy/white) comes in 100g/193yd (176m) skeins
and I used almost the whole skein. However, it does
depend on how big and how many square you
choose to make, and if you want the ribbing wider
or longer. It’s a good idea to have extra just in case!

These are the colors I used, if you’re curious:

Brass Heather (caramel brown) – Wool of

the Andes (I LOVE this color and also
used it for my Holiday Slipover)
Mink Heather (medium gray) – Wool of
the Andes
Pampas Heather (green) – Wool of the
Andes
Winnie Twist (light gray twist) – Simply
Wool Worsted (discontinued…but they
have it in Aran weight)
Winkle (light gray) – Simply Wool
Worsted
Wallace (brown) – Simply Wool Worsted
(I’ve used this color before for my Miles
Shirt Jacket, but in Aran weight)
Wendy (creamy white) – Simply Wool
Worsted (I love this creamy color and
also used it for my Seasons Cardigan)

Needle Size

4.5mm (US 7) crochet hook and 4.5mm (US 7) 16″

and 29″-36″ circular knitting needle

I’ve used these bamboo interchangeable circular

knitting set for a couple of years now and it’s great
because I know I will always have the needle and
cable length I need for a project. Another option is
this circular set from Knit Picks which has less
needle and cable options, but comes with cable
keys to help tighten your needle tips to the cables.

Gauge
The granny squares, with my needle size and yarn
choice, are 4″ (10.2 cm) before joining.

During the blocking process I manipulated the vest

a little to get the measurements and shape I
wanted which caused some of the squares to
bigger than others – but really not that noticeable!

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I used an existing sweater vest (my Holiday

Slipover) to get a rough idea of the final fit that I
wanted and laid the squares out on it as I went. You
could take some quick body measurements to get
a rough idea of the size you want – like your bust,
waist, shoulder, armhole and overall length. Or you
can always wing it, like I did, and figure it out as
you go.

Finished Size
I’ve included the final dimensions of my version
(below) to give an idea of what measurements to
aim for. For reference I’m 5’4″ with a bust
measurement of 34.”

Tips on Sizing
A couple of things you could do to adjust the size
to fit your measurements:

Add an extra round to your granny square.

Keep in mind that since there is only one
square at the shoulder, this will also make
the shoulder width wider.
At the side seams you can add a few rows of
single crochet to add width. You could also
crochet rows in the same pattern – clusters
of 3 double crochets – to match the granny
squares.
Size up or down a hook size to change the
size of your granny square.
Check out the hashtag #agnessweatervest
on Instagram or Ravelry to see what others
have done to adjust the fit.

Steps

Crochet The Granny Squares

It’s been a while since I’ve crocheted anything so I

used the tutorial from Purl Soho as a refresher. I
started with one granny square to place at my
shoulder to see how wide I wanted it to be there. A
4″ (10.2 cm) granny square with 4-rounds (in the
yarn weight and needle size I chose) ended up
being a great width at the shoulder for me.

I crocheted the first 3 rounds in di!erent yarn

colors but made the last round the same color –
feel free to experiment! Keep in mind that when
you seam the squares together, the seams will be
more visible if your final round isn’t all the same
color.

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Throughout the process I would safety pin my

squares together to check the fit. This was a little
time-consuming but it helped me to know how
many squares I needed to make to get the fit I
wanted.

In total, I made 25 granny squares and laid them

out like the picture below. The back has one more
row than the front and I have only one square to
connect at the sides. If you want more ease on the
sides, you can add another square, or even
connect the sides with crochet rows.

I then whip-stitched them together but use

whatever method you prefer. I found it easiest to
connect the squares in rows first, and then seam
the rows to each other. You could weave in all your
loose ends now if you want to get this part out of
the way now (I didn’t…and did them all at once at
the very end – This is for sure the most time-
consuming part).

Pick Up Stitches For The Collar

After all the seaming was done, I tried it on again

to double check the fit, and then it was time to
pickup stitches for the ribbing at the neck and
arms! I chose to knit the ribbing, but there are other
options you could choose to finish the edges. I
know there is a way to crochet ribbing or a simple
edge stitch – just depends on the look you want!

Pick up 76 stitches (total) in each chain stitch

around with 4 in each corner. I ended up adding 4
single crochet stitches at the corners to help round
out the neckline and make it easier to pick up (see
photo above). You may have to experiment here
depending on how big or small you want your
neckline circumference.

K1, P1 for 4 rounds.

Then knit the set-up rounds for the tubular bind-o!

for knitting in the round as follows: (you can skip
these set-up rounds if you choose to bind-o! with
a di!erent method)

Round 1 – [K1, Slip 1 wyif] repeat until end of round

(Knit the knit stitches and slip the purl stitches with
yarn in front)
Round 2 – [Slip 1 wyib, P1] repeat until end of round
(Slip the knit stitch with yarn in back and purl the
purl stitches)

Bind o! using the sewn tubular bind-o! method

(or your bind-o! method of choice). Here is a
written tutorial and video tutorial showing this
method.

Pick Up Stitches At The Armholes

Pick up 124 stitches in each chain stitch around. Pick

up about 3 stitches at each seam where the
squares meet and 3 stitches in the corners. I also
added 3 single crochet stitches in the corners like I
did at the neckline.

K1, P1 for 4 rounds. Then knit the 2 set-up rounds

for the tubular bind-o! (see neckline step).

Bind o! using the sewn tubular bind-o! method.

Split Hem

Starting at the FRONT right, find the middle at the

sides and pick up 71 stitches (or an ODD number of
stitches) in each chain stitch. Then knit the hem as
follows:

WS – Slip first stitch purlwise wyif, [K1, P1] until end,

knit the last stitch.
RS – Slip first stitch purlwise wyif, [K1, P1] until end,
knit the last stitch.

Knit for 11 rows or 2″ (or desired length).

Knit the 2 set-up rows for the tubular bind-o! as

follows: (When knitting flat, the steps are slightly
di!erent than when knitting in the round.)

For both rows – [K1, Slip 1 wyif] repeat until end of

round (Knit the knit stitches and slip the purl
stitches with yarn in front)

Bind o! using the sewn tubular bind-o!.

Repeat these steps for the BACK hem, picking up in

the same stitch at the sides that you picked up at
the front. This helps prevent a gap, but you can
also add a few discreet stitches the top of the split.

Finishing

Weave in remaining yarn ends (or if you’re like me,

ALL the ends). Block and gently shape to desired
measurements. Wear with pride!

Final Notes
There is something so classic and nostalgic to me
about granny squares that I’ve only ever made into
blankets. So now I’m very happy to have,
essentially, a blanket I can wear and incorporate
into my wardrobe!

I truly hope that this was helpful and that I laid it all
out in a way that makes sense! Feel free to ask me
any questions in the comments. And if you do
make a version of the Agnes Sweater Vest, I would
love to see it! You can use the hashtag
#agnessweatervest or send me a pic through my
Instagram, bethanylynne_makes.

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Lastly, if you made it this far, thanks for reading!

And happy crocheting / knitting!

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