Category: Knitting projects

Knitting projects I have completed or have in progress. My thoughts and review of the pattern, yarn, and outcome. Also knitting project ideas to consider or find for free.

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.

Kate’s poncho stitches and markers

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
Good length – 17 inches
yarn left to complete poncho ribbing
Yarn left, beginning ribbing
washing poncho
Blocking poncho to dry

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.

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.
Kate’s poncho on recipient
Kate’s Poncho modeled by my daughter

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.

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.

More from the blog…

Honey Cowl Three in Mrs. Crosby Yarn

Infinity cowl pattern to knit for free.

This is my third knitting of the Honey Cowl pattern and this time I chose a lighter weight yarn. The free pattern is simple enough for a beginner to knit and gives a lovely textured project.

I’ve always made the longer version that wraps twice around the neck. This time I used Mrs. Crosby Satchel yarn in “Dogwood” color.

Honey cowl knit using fingering weight yarn in long infinity scarf project.
Honey Cowl
Continue reading “Honey Cowl Three in Mrs. Crosby Yarn”

Shetland Wool Week Hat Pattern For 2022

Knitting up the newest in the line of Shetland Wool Week hat patterns, called Bonnie Isle.

I’m late to the party, but apparently every year there is a hat pattern to celebrate Shetland Wool Week. I’ve seen the cute lambs hat from a few years ago (Baa-ble), and knit Katie’s Kep twice, but otherwise haven’t paid much attention.

The latest SWW pattern – Bonnie Isle Hat – has come out for 2022, and I have begun knitting it. The nautical theme features waves and anchors and a bit of a unique cast-on and rib beginning.

Continue reading “Shetland Wool Week Hat Pattern For 2022”