1892 Ladies' Knitted Hug-Me-Tight, or Zouave Jacket

I made a little knit Zouave jacket/vest sort of thing that came from Butterick's The Art of Knitting published in 1892. The illustration was really cute, and it was a super-simple project - just a garter-stitch rectangle seamed to make armholes and ribbons sewn on for ties. It came out kind of so-so. It's reasonably cute, but it doesn't fit all that well. I had to turn down the neck into a sort of shawl collar, and I have the pin the vest closed behind the ribbons because there's too much strain, even though I made it to the dimensions specified in the pattern. Perhaps the crocheted shell border that I omitted would have alleviated the issue with closing, but it would have added to the excess length at the neck. Oh, well, not all projects are successes, and it does work. I haven't worn it around enough to know whether it would ride up in back with movement.

I finished it in October and finally put on a corset and dress to take pictures in January.





The Ravelry page is here.