Mae West | Knitted Bustier Vest or Slipover

Hand knitted vest / slipover pattern with waist cincher, knitted bustier or corset shaping

Introducing the Mae West by Annabelle Drumm

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I’ve always loved historic European court clothes. They featured carefully designed lines which accentuate the feminine curves and improve the line of any body shape. As the years have rolled on, I find myself with a thicker waist than I had as a young dancer. I wondered if I could design a hand knit garment that has no boning but uses a knitted bustier or corset shape. This way I could create the illusion of the waistline I used to have. Adding the bustier to a slim fit vest or slipover would make for effortless dressing with plenty of comfort.

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Source the Yarn

My first step was to find the right stitch pattern and yarn. Being on a budget, I didn’t want to do the whole thing in hand dyed yarn. However, I did fall in love with the Cornflower blue wool mix dyed by Australian dyer “Yarns by the Bay” https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/YarnsByTheBay  This was a shiny, luxury mid tone purple/blue with a magical, warm purple haze over the top.

Working it in with the Luxury 4ply (fingering weight) “Junior Navy” from Bendigo Woollen Mills https://www.bendigowoollenmills.com.au/ created a match made in heaven. The Junior Navy is not as dark as a traditional navy. This meant the vest would become contrasting without being too harsh or heavy. Both yarns had a luxurious lustre about them that would take the vest into the evening if I wanted.

Source the Knitting Stitch Pattern

The original slip stitch pattern came from a video by designer Elizabeth Smith. She doesn’t say she invented it so I am guessing the stitch has been circulating for a while. The overall effect of the two colour knitting stitch pattern creates slim vertical pinstripes around the knitted bustier with one column flickering between the two colours, really pretty! I altered the stitch pattern to make a more firm version for the knitted bustier shape. The new version increased the number of stitches to the inch — i.e. a higher gauge. This is a subtle way to squeeze down to the waist without having to decrease the side seams too many times.

Advice from an Award Winning Expert

I shaped the curves of the bustier by hand and tested the width with a number of sizes to keep the proportions looking good. This pattern doesn’t go up to the biggest sizes. I literally take a leaf out of a book I read as a teenager by Hollywood Designer Edith Head. (If you’ve ever seen the animated movie “The Incredibles”, they make a cartoon version of Edith Head as the little designer of their super hero costumes. Remember? She had a severe black bobbed haircut with oversized glasses, very opinionated and always successful.)

In her book, Edith described how proportions are very important to keep a body shape and size to scale. When designing for a petite figure, go for small handbags, belts, gloves, hats and motif patterns on the textiles. The opposite is needed for the larger sizes thus, for this particular vest with it’s tiny pinstripes, it will always look best on small to medium size bodies. If the pattern was knitted for a larger size it would simply make the wearer look larger … which is generally not the goal. If I’d designed a garment with wide vertical stripes or an oversized motif, I would not release the pattern for smaller sizes for the same reason.

I used this principle of scale during my costume design years and found the results very effective. You can use the principle in your own wardrobe and for any garment you knit for others. My goal is to make garments that are not just fun to knit but, they also make you look and feel good. In this case, for the sake of adhering to that goal, inclusivity is set aside.

Creating Smooth Knitted Curves

Next step was the intarsia. I often see knitted garments in colour work where the edges of the two colours do not make a smooth transition. They tend to look blocky or pixelated like mathematics paper or the “v” of the knit stitch makes a bit of a rough outline. By using a fine stitch pattern mixed with intarsia, the hand drawn curves create smooth, sexy lines.

Working intarsia on a garment in the round was the next challenge. You’ll see in the instructions of the pattern how to keep the lines smooth all the way around the garment and to hide the working on the wrong side. There are a couple of points in the pattern where you are working several balls of wool at once. This requires a bit of wrangling and frequent reordering to make sure you don’t create a bird’s nest from the many balls.

I found placing the balls in soup bowls I could quickly rearrange them as I moved from one round to the next. So, for the sections where there are lots of balls, I would recommend doing them at home with the soup bowls all spread around you. The rest of the knitted bustier sections would be fine to knit when you are travelling or in smaller spaces. I also used colour coded open lock stitch markers to remind me what section of the pattern I was knitting. This became critical in those more challenging sections with all the woollen balls around you.

Alterations to the Knitted Bustier

Before publishing but after the photo shoot, I made some minor adjustments to the pattern. The upper centre point of the bustier seemed to be cutting in to the bust so I made the curve more steep and pointed. I added short rows for larger busts and I lengthened from the waist down as I found I had to keep pulling the hem down before the photo was taken. After wearing it for a while, I’ve found it lengthen a little more anyway which feels good.

In the pattern, before the instructions start, I have added extensive Fitting Notes so you can custom match the measurements to match your body shape and size. For those who like to get a detailed pattern super accurate, I trust I have satisfied your desires!

How to Wear the hand knitted Mae West

As a finished garment, this knitted slipover can be used in many ways. I’ve enjoyed wearing it:

• formally with a chiffon blouse and long, lean skirt
• over a business shirt with wide leg linen pants
• with a little puff sleeve peasant blouse over jeans
• with a henley T (long sleeve t-shirt with open buttons down the chest), a pencil or flared skirt and knee length boots

Play carefully with your colours and patterns in other garments if you want to keep the overall look high class. To make the vest stand out, keep the other garments plain block colours that don’t over power the colours of the vest.

For a more Bohemian look, use contrasting colours from the opposite side of the colour wheel. If you choose a floaty blouse with a strong, large pattern, keep the lower half (skirt or trousers) fairly plain in a colour that picks out one of the lowlight colours from the blouse.

The Mae West knitted vest/slipover is highly versatile and comfortable. You’ll enjoy the flattering bustier shape reducing the waist and creating a classic hourglass silhouette.

You can purchase the pattern here.

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Follow me on Ravelry https://ravelry.com/designers/annabelle-drumm
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drummrollknitwear/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com.au/drummrollknits/

Learn more about Annabelle Drumm
Ask a question

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