Ponchettica
What is this? A poncho? A tunic? A shoulderette? A throw with a hole? Or a wearable swatch? Anyway - it is a fun project because you can let your imagination soar while designing it. The finished piece can be as plain or as colourful and crazy as you like!
The story behind this:
one long rectangle sewn together. The pattern called for different yarns and it had some elongated stitches and eyelet.
I bought five different balls of yarn and set off. But very soon it was obvious that my yarn was not stretchy enough or just would not drape nicely. Anyway, I could not see myself wearing this type of poncho and it was frogged. I had to come up with another project. Maybe a poncho made of two rectangles? Knitting plain and straight forward rectangles seemed boring, therefore I wanted the stitch pattern to be more challenging. As I had hardly ever knitted more than stockinette and garter stitch before, I searched the internet and some books for different lace patterns which were not too complicated and more or less straight forward - no flowers and the like! I mixed and matched the different yarns and the patterns and - voila - a fun project was on its way. In the end, it turned out to be no “poncho proper" but a “Ponchettica". This being an experiment, I didn't mind too much that it turned out a bit uneven in length, as some patterns were looser and wider than others. (Another lesson I learned from this project!) Adding fringes helped a bit to even it out. I like wearing this ponchettica in the summer. I live in Northern Germany where the weather can change quickly from sunny and warm to cloudy, windy and cool. Then my Ponchettica comes in handy.
The Basics for my Ponchettica:
Yarn: 5 different types of yarn in one colourway (green/sage): cotton, cotton blends (rayon, silk etc.), similar in weight Needle: appropriate for the yarn, maybe a bit larger Gauge: n.a. Two rectangles, which are knitted sideways, are sewn together, leaving just an opening at the neck. Front and back are interchangeable and you can also wear it as a shoulderette. I alternated “solid" and "airy" stripes of pattern. I also experimented with decreasing rows on one side ("sleeve"). I added fringes to make it look more like a poncho. For the rest, it is up to you, how simple or how complicated you want the knitting to be. Go ahead and experiment with different patterns and let your imagination run wild. HAVEFUN!
