Sylvie's Summer Cotton Poncho...

(Copyrighted 2004)

By the way, this is the easiest pattern---it goes VERY quickly---and no, that's not me in the picture. It's the wife of a biker buddy, from the time when I was married to a biker man and lived on a biker compound in Austin, Texas. She's the same girl pictured in my free pattern for "The Girl From Versailles Hat."

Anyhoo, about the poncho. (And you can click on the picture to make it bigger.) I designed this pattern for a French girl named Sylvie who owned a très bohemian boutique of clothing in Texas. I used to sell funky knitted things I'd made in there, on consignment. One summer, when she returned from a trip to New York, she showed me a wool poncho she'd bought up there--- and asked me if I could make a version of it in cotton, for summer. I looked at the construction of the wool poncho and realized that it was knit in the exact way some dishcloths are knit---triangular, on the bias.

And it looks so cool when the wearer is walking because that totally long fringe swooshes back and forth like the fringe on some leather jackets---you know what I mean.

So I made my version of it. I made 3 in all, in different colors, and I gave them to her to sell in the store on consignment. She bought the above white one for herself and sold the other two in a day. So I made a few more to sell in there because they're so easy to make that I could make both pieces of one in a single day.

The fringed trim is a mixture of the cotton yarn the poncho is made out of and also that skinny chenille yarn you can get in hobby stores like HobLob, Michaels, etc. That way the fringe drapes prettier and gives some interesting contrast.

The one thing you can't see in the picture is that I also sewed a string of white seed pearls around the neck edge. (I don't have a closeup picture for some reason---must have lost it along the way since 2004.) But trust me, the row of seed pearls totally makes the whole poncho. (You can use other types of beads/trim if you prefer.)

So here's the pattern:

Materials:

* - worsted weight cotton yarn, approx 8oz; (I used cheap "Peaches & Creme" or "Sugar & Creme" yarn from cones or balls---made for a bigger profit, ya know?)

- size 15 US knitting needles (or size to obtain gauge)

- Crochet Hook size H;

- Extra, sport-weight chenille yarn for the fringed trim;

- approx. 32" of seed pearl trim for neck edge.

*

Size:

- Fits ladies medium.

*

Gauge:

- 4/3/4 rows to 2";

- 5 1/2 stitches to 2".

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Directions:

* Body pieces (make 2) (and knit in garter stitch throughout)

With size 15 needles, cast on 2.

Row 1: Knit.

Row 2: Knit, increasing 1 stitch each side of row by doing a M1 on the 2nd st of row and then a M1 on 2nd to last stitch of each row.

Row 3: Knit.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for the next 23 rows, then repeat row 2 for 11 more rows.

*

Side Seam:

(Place a marker at beg. and end of next row) Repeat row 3 for 23 more rows, which will cause a straight side seam instead of the previous V-shaping. On the 23rd row, place a marker at the beg and end of the row. Thus, the area between the markers is the "side seam" area.

*

Shoulder Shaping to Neck Edge:

- Decrease one stitch each end of each row 3 times.

- Bind off.

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Finishing:

- Sew side seams, the area between the markers placed in body section of each piece.

*

Neck Edge Border:

Using an "H" crochet hood, attach yarn to neck edge of one side seam.

Round 1: Chain 1, then sc 100, spaced evenly around neck edge. Attach to first sc by slip stitch. Chain 1.

Round 2: Sc again around the neck edge but decreasing as follows: *(sc 3, skip 1), repeat from * to end. Attach to first sc of round with slip stitch. Chain 1.

Round 3: Repeat Round 2.

Cut and tie off yarn.

Weave in yarn edges on the inside of garment.

*

Pearl Trim:

With sewing thread and needle, sew the pearl trim, pearl by pearl, along top edge of neck edge.

*

Fringe Trim: (Applied to the V-shaped sectioning of the front and back pieces):

Cut 3-strand bundles of yarn lengths 28" long (or as long as desired) to make bundles consisting of the following:

- 1 length of the cotton yarn you made the poncho with;

- 2 lengths (of a similar or contrasting color) of sport weight chenille yarn;

(Thus, you will be working with 3-strand bundles at a time);

Then, taking one 3-strand "bundle" at a time together, slip knot the three strands of fringe onto the edge of each row of the V-shaped part of the garment, starting from the bottom of the front's side seam down to the point of the "V"--- and then back up to the next side seam of the front--- and around to work your way down from the back's side seam to the point of the "V", and then back up the back's side seam to where the fringe began.

Trim fringe with scizzors to make even. (Or hell, leave it uneven for a funky "Bo" look.....) (And if you give it to anybody, make sure they know that it's handwash and lay flat to dry.)

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