Cozy Sheltered Poncho

I snuck these pictures in on a misty Bay Area morning before the rain clouds rolled in. Now I'm sitting on the couch with the turtle neck pulled up high, warding off the chill as I try to get some work done (but clearly failing, as here I am blogging). Living in a place where the dreary fog can last well into spring, and sometimes straight through August, I figured it was a good time to try out a knitted poncho. 

Pattern: Drea Knits' Sheltered Poncho
Yarn: 4 skeins Uptown Worsted in Titanium Heather 
Cost: $26

To find this pattern, I ended up looking through A LOT of different options for something that I felt would fit in my wardrobe. I don't know if you other occasional knitters have experienced this, but I realized that I have a much firmer grasp on the range of sewing patterns out there than knitting patterns. I really had no idea about what I wanted or where to look! I guess it's time to follow more knitters on Instagram. While I have generally figured out my sewing style, I still have to think about what knit pieces work well for me. 

I hardly expected to land on a poncho for this project, but I'm actually really liking it! While more commonly associated with San Francisco hippies and Mexican folk wear, I am starting to believe that ponchos can also be the perfect modern layering piece. I'm hoping that this piece will be just as easy to pull on over my tops as my go-to puffer jacket and offer a little more style. 




The pattern I finally cast on is the Sheltered Poncho by knitting darling Drea Renee. I even chose a similar yarn and uh, shirt and pants to wear with it. If it works, why change it, right? I did size down though, as I have a relatively small rib cage and didn't want something too oversized. I am quite pleased with the proportions on me.

The yarn is 100% acrylic, but I actually really like it. My local yarn shop regularly carries it and it is soft and anti-pill and feels substantial but not too heavy. I also really like the subtle heathering that gives the color some dimension. I originally calculated that I would need about 9 skeins for this pattern. However, they only had four in stock and put more on order for me. But by the time they called a few weeks later, I had already knit it up using the 4 skeins on hand. This made it a much more affordable project for me. Don't worry local yarn shop, I'll be back for more in another colorway for my next project!


I do think I made quite a few more mistakes than I usually do knitting up a pattern. This is probably because I don't usually follow patterns, though. It is really quite simple in the stockinette and twisted knit stitch, but I occasionally lost track of the increases. Most notably, I think the back neck opening is a bit asymmetrical. The poncho shape is quite forgiving though, so I didn't let it bother me too much. You'll also notice that I made a few changes to the pattern, such as knitting the hem band in a rib and omitting the hood. I am not going to wear a hood.

This pattern also has some lovely little details that are hard to see in the product photos. There is some faux seaming and a twisted rib stitch on the upper half. I think it gives the poncho some dimensionality to an otherwise simple shape. I also followed the instructions to tack the front to the back under the arms, which holds things in place and gives it more of a look of a top than a poncho.

This was another very quick knit for me. I usually just knit at night while watching TV, but we also took a last-minute 16-hour road trip to visit a family member (8 hours down, 8 hours back in one weekend), so I consoled myself with getting a lot of knitting done.

I also currently have a pair of socks cast on, and my next big knit project is already in the planning stages. This one is much more ambitious. Let's just say there's Alexander McQueen inspiration and skeletons involved. I think it's the year of knitting for me!

4 comments:

  1. that is really cute and it looks like a pullover sweater, not a poncho. Your knitting is amazing! (wish I knew how :)

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  2. This is brilliant! Abbey sews

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  4. This looks really cute on you! If you want to what knitting patterns are out there I would suggest Ravelry.com. It's a knitter's website, much like pattern review is for sewists.

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