Knit a Cozy Poncho with a Pretty Lace Panel

I’m not really a fan of what we would traditionally call a poncho, that big triangular fabric with a hole at the tops that’s straight out of the 1970s. They never seen to fit well or look flattering and it feels like a lot of work for a project I’d probably never wear. I made one for my daughter when she was a toddler and it was super cute on her, but I added more shaping than is traditionally done on a poncho, too.

The good news is there are more refined versions of garments we might still call a poncho but that don’t really look like their ’70s sisters.

Like Ashmont. This free pattern from Berroco is a rectangular poncho (maybe slightly more accurately called a ruana, but they call it a poncho so let’s go with it) with a pretty lace panel running down the front and back. And instead of that big hole at the top commonly found on a poncho, this one has a turtleneck, which helps it to stay on the body.

The project calls for Berroco Mercado, a bulky Peruvian wool, but any bulky yarn with good stitch definition would do.

Designed by Åsa Buchta, this pattern comes in four sizes, ranging in width (across the front) from 28 to 40 inches (that’s about 71 to 101.6 cm) so you can choose the amount of ease you would like in the garment.

The armhole edges are worked in ribbing and left open, though you could sew them together, leaving an armhole opening, if you’d like this more as a vest or sweater style than a poncho. The pretty lace pattern is both written and charted in the pattern, but it’s pretty easy to knit either way. And if you’ve never knit lace in a bulky yarn before, that difference in scale is a lot of fun.

Learn more about the pattern and grab a free copy if you want to make it from Berroco.

[Photo: Berroco]

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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