Knitting -- V-neck in houndstooth in the round

So before I get to the last two buckets on my list, here's one that doesn't require any new techniques.

Here's a houndstooth chart; there are others on the web. According to my research, they all seem to be flipped right to left compared to commercial fabric designs; so sue me, at least I'm not violating a corporate trademark.

Get two colors of yarn with high contrast that don't actually make your eyes bleed, and do a swatch to see how this works. Start with worsted, then do another swatch in a lighter yarn to see which you prefer. This can be worked using Fair Isle weaving-in techniques so it can work in the round. You'll want to block it carefully; remember those dimples in my first Argyle attempt?

This chart will fit 4 times each, front and back, on 192 stitches. However, using Fair Isle weaving in to avoid floaties, there will be less give. Cable on at least 208 stitches, which makes 13 per side of the little 8 x 8 motifs, and then make sure to center one of the motifs on the front.

If you're making a vest, use the dark or neutral color for the edging of the V, the armholes, the hem ribbing, and the neck.

If you're making a coat or jacket in bulky, I would say do houndstooth on the sleeves but if you're making a pullover, do just the body. You can do steeking across the armholes of a pullover but I would work them without steeking in a coat or jacket.

When you get to the armpits, for a vest, work the armholes like you did for the sleeveless top, except that you want to work them, not in houndstooth, but in your neutral or dark color. Do the back first and get that out of the way so you can concentrate on doing the front correctly.

First run a yarn from outside to inside in the middle of the front. Now work the first 30 rounds with the selvaged armholes, drawing your marker with you so you don't lose track of it. End on a purl row.

Now on the knit row, do the armhole, then knit toward the center marker. Stop 7 stitches before it. Do slip 1/k1/psso, then work the edging as p2/k3.

Turn, work the edging as k2/p1/k2, then slip 1 purlwise/p1/psso, and work back out to the armhole. Keep going like this to the shoulder and stop decreasing when you have 25 stitches counting the armhole but not the vee edge stitches.

Turn inside out and knit together the edging of the armhole and the shoulder up to but not including the edging of the vee. Put the edging stitches on the holder where you have the stitches from the back with the active edge. Finish the other side of the front and do the other shoulder the same way.

Now you have 5 stitches of the vee edging from one side on one needle, and the active back stitches and vee edging from the other side on a different needle. We're going to work with this second needle first.

Use the technique for attaching a border to a live edge of lace. Cast on 5 stitches to the needle with your back stitches, work k3/p1 back to the active stitches at the neck and p1 into the stitch.

Now flip this up, knit into the next active stitch and k1/p1/k2 out to the end of the vee. Turn and work k3/p1 back, and so on.

Keep working back and forth, picking up each active stitch of the neck in turn, until you've worked together all the stitches of the back. Now sew together the edging of the neck on each side with the edging of the vee.
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When you're done, take a couple of stitches at the base of the V to stabilize it. If you made a vest, do the same at the bottom of the edging for the armholes.

So here's my dove-and-red vest in worsted with dove around the hem, armholes, V and neck. And yes, the bottom rib is flipped up in this photo.

And so another classic clothing pattern goes in the books for knitting yourself tops, scarves, socks (if you dare) and even coats if you use a bulky yarn (and make it a Superwash while you're at it).