Hi there, I’m looking for a free pattern for a man’s vest if you know any good sites downloadable free patterns please let me know…
14 ply?? What is the gauge and weight of the yarn. Ply is too vague.
“14-ply” is the Australian/UK/NZ equivalent (more or less) of United States Weight class #6, Super Bulky weight yarn. See this page at LionBrand yarn.
There’s a conversion chart at Ravelry, too: http://www.ravelry.com/help/yarn/weights , but I’m not sure it’s available for public (i.e., non-Ravelry members) view.
Basically that may be true, but it all depends on how thick the yarn is spun and how tight it’s plied. Gauge is a better indicator since she’s making a garment.
Had to hunt this down on he Wayback Machine.
http://web.archive.org/web/20130208011813/http://www.purlbee.com/2-ply-4-ply-why-ply/
The best place I know to start looking for patterns is www.ravelry.com. It’s free to join. Knowing your approximate gauge with your yarn would be helpful. You can search for vest patterns and specify a yarn weight, look at the gauge needed for various weights of yarn, and determine which one yours matches. Here’s a search for men’s vests there. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&availability=free&pc=vest&view=captioned_thumbs&sort=popularity&fit=adult%2Bmale
[B]To the OP:[/B] Without knowing where you live (at least which country), it’s difficult to give good advice.
The way knitting needles are sized varies. There are three systems currently in use: the metric system, the United States system, and the UK system. Simply saying “I’m looking for a yarn with __ stitches to the inch/cm on __ needles” may not be sufficiently specific unless you use the metric measurement for needles. Size 4 needles, for example, are fairly small in the American system, and fairly large in the British system, but 4.0mm needles are a nice medium (US #6).
As you’ve seen, systems for referring to the size of yarn also vary. This page, courtesy of the Craft Yarn Council of America, gives some guidance as to stitches per inch/cm of fine to extra-chunky yarns on various sizes of needles (or crochet hooks) for metric and American needles/hooks, but it ignores the existence of the British numbering system. :sad:
However, in combination with the Ravelry chart I linked to previously, the CYCA standards should help you rephrase your “quest.” 
Please let us know more specifics on what you’re searching for…