Pam – Page 28 – New England's Narrow Road

Knitting a Short Poncho in Tweed Wool

Short poncho hand knit in Soft Donegal tweed wool in color “oatmeal”.

After searching for a poncho pattern to knit, I have narrowed it down to Kate’s Poncho (pattern link below). It is a cute, short poncho with some seed stitch on front and back. The collar is also seed stitch but I changed it to a short rib. I’m knitting it for my daughter who works in a cold office. I figure a shorter neckline will be more comfortable.

Finding Tweed Yarn

I knew I wanted to use all one color and a neutral one at that. There is a lot of stockinette and I thought that a tweed yarn would look nice. If the yarn could also be machine washed, that would be a plus. The poncho is not for me, and I’d like it to be easy to care for.

Well, I didn’t end up buying washable yarn, but I did find some tweed wool from Ireland that I hope will be beautiful. The Soft Donegal merino wool is on order from the Dublin Bay website where I found each skein for about $5.00 CHEAPER than many other sites…!! It pays to shop around. They also have free shipping for US orders over $35… ! Yay… what a deal. They also had my first color choice, “Oatmeal” in stock. I bought three skeins for a total of 630 yards.

Although this poncho will have to be hand-washed when needed, it shouldn’t need washing very often. Maybe a spot clean here and there.

Soft Donegal tweed yarn — Tweed wool to knit a poncho

The yarn’s here..!!! Not only was the price of this yarn excellent, the shipping was super fast – it arrived in two days – but the yarn itself is superb. It is very soft wool. If you have ever used Brooklyn Tweed’s Shelter yarn, it feels exactly like this. I had no trouble hand-winding the skeins (over my knees).

This is the first yarn I have purchased in a while. I’m trying to use up my stash, but unfortunately I don’t have a lot of matching skeins. The Soft Donegal gets very good reviews from knitters at Ravelry and now I can see why!

Knitting The Pattern: Kate’s Poncho Review

A size 9 needle is suggested and I do not have a 16-inch size 9. I had to go down to a size 8 until I could get my stitches onto a 24-inch size 9 needle. I did that after the first increase row on the patterning.

The Neck

I am changing up the neck for this poncho so it won’t be high. The pattern calls for a seed stitch cowl type neck. I knit a 1×1 rib for about 1.5 inches. By the way, you must cast-on an even number of stitches to do this, so I added one stitch to the normal cast-on number.

Using the Old Norwegian cast-on has created a nice stretchy neck. Once I had the stitches on a 24 inch circular needle, I pulled it over my head to make sure.

I’ve ended up with 13 markers on this project. Each section of knitting is marked and I added four more markers to show where the increases are made. This helped me at the beginning of the project.

This is a fairly simple pattern to knit. Once the knits and purls are marked out, it’s one normal round of following the pattern and one round of increases.

spit splicing the wool yarn — Spit splicing yarn

Kate’s Poncho body done — Spit splicing yarn

The spit splice method of attaching yarn works very well for the Donegal Tweed. I really love this way of attaching skeins. I used it throughout my striped Warm Up Sweater and had very few ends to weave in. This time I only had two strands when I finished!

I’m doing a twisted rib around the bottom. I like the way it looks. and am hoping it will be good for finishing up this poncho. I am not doing any kind of stretchy bind off, just a normal loose bind off.

Buy the Kate’s Poncho Pattern

Mods: I changed the collar and did a simple 1×1 ribbing. I did a twisted rib along the bottom. I added length and knit to a total of 19 inches long after blocking.

Hand knit poncho drying — Finished – washed and blocked

I used up nearly all of my three skeins of yarn. I could have done one or two more rounds for the ribbing, but chose to leave it at two inches as the pattern called for. If I had knit the normal “cowl” collar, I would have definitely needed all three skeins and possibly more to make the poncho longer.

Kate’s poncho on recipient — My favorite model

What Knitter’s Need to Know

What you need to know how to do in order to knit this pattern:

Cast-on with preferred method. See my Cast On Page if you need ideas, but choose a stretchy cast on. I did the German Twisted / Old Norwegian which is what I almost always use.
Knit, purl, Make One Right, Make One Left
Seed Stitch (see below)
Place markers where pattern says – you will need 9 (I used 13 total- 4 extra to mark increases)
Cast-off and weave in ends

How to Do a Seed Stitch

Just in case you don’t know what a “seed stitch” is, I will explain here.

Alternate knits and purls by row. The seed stitch sections on the poncho are bordered by a simple knit stitch. Those border stitches will always be knits. After the knit, your seed stitch section would begin (first row) with a knit one, purl one, across for the number of stitches in the pattern. When you come to the seed stitch section again, alternate the knits and purls. If you had a knit in the row above, do a purl and alternate across the row. *Remember to always do a knit stitch for the border stitches in this section.

This yarn really became more lovely after washing and blocking. This item was not knit for me, but as a gift to my daughter who works in a cold office setting. She is taller and slimmer than I am, and I hope it will fit her well and keep her warm.

Five Favorite Places to Buy Wool Online

My five favorite online yarn shops to find and buy wool.

I love to use wool when knitting and I must buy my yarn online. I’m sharing my five favorite shops for ordering the wool I like.

Here in Florida I love knitting with wool yarn. It is never cold like up north, so I knit using wool year round. I hate when summer for everyone else comes and all the yarn sellers start pushing their linen and cotton. Summer for me is a great time to knit as the air conditioner is running full time to keep me cool.

No single place offers all the types of wool I like to buy, so it’s good to know who has what, and at what price. I’ve discovered a few favorite places to keep in mind. Most places will let you sign up for e-mail notifications, and it’s worth doing so to keep an eye out for sales.

What I Look For When Shopping For My Favorite Yarns

I look for what most knitters look for: Good prices, big selections, good images, free shipping – or how much I need to spend to get it, yarn winding cost, and ease of use. Fast shipping is a plus, as is the little “thank you” on the receipt. Goodies are a bonus!

When it comes to buying wool, these five places stand out.

1. Dublin Bay

Only recently have I found a nice bargain on wool yarn at Dublin Bay. They are located in Montana and had a nice selection of Soft Donegal tweed yarn. For my first order, I purchased three skeins to knit the Kate’s Poncho. The yarn was priced way below other shops, and I received the yarn in two days!

They have lots of other wool available and I’ve noticed their Spindrift (J&S) is also priced low compared to some other online places. Shipping is free to the US for orders over $35 (at current writing, which is quite low). I will be shopping here again.

Soft Donegal tweed yarn skeins — Tweed wool to knit a poncho

Blocking the poncho to dry — Tweed wool to knit a poncho

2. Wool and Company

Most of the time, I order my yarn from Wool and Company. They offer …..free shipping for any amount of purchase, and they will ….. wind yarn for free!

I’ve never found any other online yarn seller who offers those two things!

They carry Rauma, Brooklyn Tweed, Woolfolk, and Lopi, just to name some of their wool selection.

When knitting a large garment, such as a sweater, the cost of yarn can be high. It pays to shop around – or wait for sale notifications – when planning a big knitting project.

yarn store wool and company packaging is polka dots in black and white

3. Fairlight Fibers

Fairlight Fibers is the place I’ve been buying Jamieson & Smith Shetland wool which they usually carry in many colors. They offer free shipping after spending so much, but that amount has gone up to $80 and used to be less. They will send out e-mails with sale and discount information so it’s worth signing up if you like the types of yarn they sell.

wool yarn Jamieson & Smith — Jamieson & Smith yarn

4. Eat, Sleep, Knit

This store has a huge selection of yarn. The website is easy to navigate and the notice of free shipping for orders over $100 is right there to see. Sign up for e-mails and get sale notices. They also send along a little collection of thank-you goodies! This is what I received when I recently purchased some Flette Bulky yarn by Woolfolk, on sale – a very good sale! – at their shop.

My recent order shipped very fast and was safely tucked inside a sturdy box. I’ve only ordered a couple of times, but they are one seller that will remain on my favorites list.

Little gifts that came in my yarn order from Eat, Sleep, Knit yarn shop — Wow, nice collection of goodies from Eat, Sleep, Knit!

5. The Woolly Thistle

When I began knitting, the Woolly Thistle was the first online place I found with lots of pretty wool for sale. The shop location is New Hampshire, my previous home state, which is what drew me in.

I moved away from NH because I couldn’t afford to live there. This yarn shop is pricey, which tends to go along with the whole New England vibe. But, they do have a wide variety of wool and some items that can be hard to find elsewhere here in the US.

At present time, get free shipping in the US for orders over $149. This is high compared to most other online sites.

wool fiber from sheep — Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Please Share Your Favorites

I’m sure there are many other online places to find nice wool, good sales, free shipping, and offer yarn winding. If you have any favorite places to buy your wool, please leave a comment and share the info to help the rest of us out. Thanks!

The featured image on this post was taken when I visited Harrisville Designs in New Hampshire.

Ponchos or Capelets For Staying Warm in the Office

If you work in a cold office, maybe a little poncho would keep you warm. Here is a list of knitting (and crochet) patterns for your consideration.

On this page you will find lists of patterns for knitting (and crocheting) ponchos, or poncho type apparel. I am looking for a pattern to knit and decided to share some of my favorite considerations.

My daughter recently began a new job and mentioned that it is freezing cold in her office. Everyone wears sweaters or wraps of some kind to stay warm. They are not able to regulate the temperature, as I think might be true of any large corporation where the higher-ups want control. “Lets save money and keep the AC turned to 60.” Who knows how they think, but the office workers just have to deal with it.

My daughter mentioned how much she would love to have a poncho!

I’ve had a love for ponchos since I was a kid. My grandmother knit, or crocheted, ponchos form my sister and I and I remember just loving the feel of wool wrapped around me.

Ponchos are warm yet loose. There is freedom of movement and the feeling of being snuggled all at once. Hide your hands, or reach out and easily grab something. Or wear something shorter that won’t get in the way at all.

Because I have lived in Florida for most of my adult life, I never had a need for a poncho. Now that I knit, I have been saving up favorite poncho patterns while browsing the Ravelry website.

A smaller version of the poncho may work better in an office environment. These little ponchos can be called capelets or cowls or wraps. They would be pretty simple to knit. On this page I have a collection of possibilities and have not decided on a pattern yet. Some are free patterns also.

Capelets

Capelets are the smaller / shorter version of a poncho. They only cover the neck and shoulders. Some are listed as cowls.

Bonjour Hi – Capelet from Espace Tricot. This one is a free pattern and uses two yarns together to equal a fingering weight.
Getting Warmer – Cowl from Espace Tricot. Knit this cowl bottom up in bulky yarn to create a cowl with a larger bottom section. This is also a free pattern.
Converging Lines Cowl – from Purl Soho is knit in a sport weight yarn. This is a free pattern.
Lake Harriet Capelet – This one has colorwork designs. It can be purchased at the link.

Ponchos

Nascha – by Andrea Mowry, this poncho is knit in brioche stitch. Yikes… I have had trouble knitting brioche, but this is a very lovely 2-color, reversible, poncho. It might be time to really learn this stitch. This one is not free, but it is not expensive. It is basically knit in a long rectangle then sewn up partially to create the neck opening.
Indigo Frost – by Isabell Kraemer, is knit in worsted weight yarn. It is a turtleneck with some mosaic colorwork stitches and tiny holes in a short poncho version which is really more like a capelet.
Kate’s Poncho – (see photo) Simple, long or short poncho with some seed stitch. Lots of knitters have made this.

Crocheted Poncho Patterns

I don’t do much crocheting these days, but a lot of ponchos are crocheted. Here is a short list of some nice ones I found at Ravelry.

Easy Weekend Poncho
Agges Poncho – free pattern
88-11 Crocheted Poncho – Shorter poncho
Cabled Crochet Poncho – More like a capelet with cable panels.

Poncho vs. Sweater Knitting

A poncho can be similar in some ways to knitting a sweater. Of course there are no sleeves to deal with, but some styles have a neck to knit with ribbing or similar. A poncho is perfect when knitting a gift for someone living far away. Size does not matter all that much.

I would prefer a pattern that uses a worsted weight yarn as it would knit up quicker. Also a washable yarn is needed.

Ponchos come in many styles. Some are simply long rectangles attached after knitting. Some have lots of intricate designs with buttons or other accessories. Depending on the size, they can be expensive to knit needing around six skeins of yarn (approximately for long versions).

I want to knit something fairly simple that would be comfortable to wear while working at a desk. A smaller / shorter capelet might be best for my daughter’s needs. I really like the Converging Lines Cowl or Kate’s Poncho (listed above). Then again, something like the Nascha poncho is appealing because it has such an open neckline. But is it too large? And can I knit brioche successfully? Decisions, decisions.