the blue blog archives: poncho party

Okay, I'll admit it: knitting up the second piece of this poncho in a week clearly did not help my wrist situation. But once I'd finished the knitting over the weekend, it was a snap to sew up. Just two little seams. Zip. zip. And it's a poncho. That Sally Melville is so clever!

I did have a little problem with the neck, though. Since I wasn't using the same gauge and was doing stockinette instead of garter stitch and also added the stripe, I was readjusting the numbers in the pattern quite a bit. I ended up making each piece a bit wider than the pattern called for. I didn't think much of it while knitting, but when it came time to sew it up I realized the problem with adding width and not length. The 8" inch difference between width and length creates the neck opening. My wider poncho ended up having only about a 3 inch neck opening. Whoops! I finally decided to fold down a bit of the extra into the neck, so that the opening is sort of angled. I'm really pleased with how it looks - much more stylish than a regular neckline would have been. It seems Stella and Pioneer Melissa had a simliar issues which they also solved very fashionably. Hey, these things aren't problems, they're design opportunities! Well done, my poncho pals. Okay everyone, slip on your ponchos, pick up your maracas, and dance!

posted by alison at 12:04 am | in ponch-o-long

Comments

¡Olé! Talk about a snazzy, jazzy, stylish poncho. Bring it with you to Europe!

Posted by: Becky at October 9, 2003 2:03 AM

I'm loving your poncho! The colours look great together, and the angle is stylish indeed. Sweet!

Posted by: other alison at October 9, 2003 2:18 AM

Congratulations, the poncho looks great!

Posted by: Inga at October 9, 2003 2:47 AM

Looks great. Are the two colors seamed together? Do you have a garter edging to keep the st st from rolling? The neckline looks very chic.

Posted by: Melissa at October 9, 2003 5:31 AM

colours look great!! now rest up that hand, ok?

Posted by: elisabeth at October 9, 2003 6:05 AM

I agree about the colours... great combo! BTW, love your scarves too :o)

Posted by: lyn at October 9, 2003 6:50 AM

Very stylish. I definitely prefer ponchos without the fringing.

Posted by: Linda at October 9, 2003 6:50 AM

Wow, your poncho is stylin' indeed. Love the angle on the neckline and the angle on the stripe. Also, the "slim" poncho is very flattering. Shake 'em, Lady A. :)

Posted by: Kerstin at October 9, 2003 6:58 AM

Gorgeous striped poncho, I love the way the neckline worked out as well, it looks great. On with the finishing!!

Posted by: kerrie at October 9, 2003 7:06 AM

That's really a very cool poncho! Great job!

Seeing all these ponchos on the knitting blogs and in all the stores is making me want to join in...Oh, should I break down and join the ponch-o-long?

Yes!

Could you add me to the poncholong pretty please?

Posted by: Leigh at October 9, 2003 7:21 AM

I LOVE how it looks on you, just awesome! And an excellent way to de-stash....

Posted by: Kristine at October 9, 2003 7:49 AM

I am having a huge flashback to the '70's right now...;-)

Posted by: claudia at October 9, 2003 7:51 AM

WOW!!!

Posted by: Mom at October 9, 2003 7:52 AM

That looks really lovely. I'm loving the stripes.
And yes, I encountered the neck opening puzzle as well I guess because I added length to the panels (I'm new at this, can you tell?) but it all worked out in the end.

Posted by: Pioneer Melissa at October 9, 2003 7:54 AM

Oh lovely!! :-)

Posted by: Marg at October 9, 2003 8:03 AM

i swear i saw that same pattern somewhere other than sally melville - done in a peach/coral combo? any clue what i'm thinking of? p.s. i made my poncho last year!!

Posted by: carolyn at October 9, 2003 8:22 AM

Love the poncho! Very clever and stylish!

Posted by: Susan at October 9, 2003 8:47 AM

Love the fun colors! Hooray for finishing fiestas!! I agree with Becky, you should take it with you to Europe.

Posted by: Sharlyn at October 9, 2003 9:04 AM

Thanks everyone for coming to my poncho party!

Melissa, I did intarsia for the two colors on the front and then for the back, I had to do the turquoise color for the first few inches and then the green, so the color stripe would continue over the shoulder. Wanna see? No crochet or anything on the edges, just good blocking and the drape of the yarn is keeping it from rolling.

Carolyn, are you thinking of the Villa pattern in Knitty. It was my design inspiration (credited in previous posts), but the structure of the poncho is still from Melville. Should'a called it Melvilla!

Posted by: alison at October 9, 2003 9:11 AM

Love it! Way to go! I had the narrow-neck challenge on Caroline's too, but I like how the fold-down opening turned out. Looks like I'll be making another for a friend -- and maybe one for me. I'll send her to look at yours today!

Posted by: Maggi at October 9, 2003 11:09 AM

That is fantastic.
Almost enough to convert me to ponchos...but not quite !
I wore them in the late 60s & early 70s as a child.Rather colours my view of them.
You look very stylish in yours.

Posted by: Emma at October 9, 2003 11:16 AM

You look smashing!

Posted by: MKaye at October 9, 2003 12:59 PM

What a FABULOUS poncho - colors, pattern, everything. I am so jealous that yours is done and it's so cool! What pattern is that?

Posted by: Carrie at October 9, 2003 1:16 PM

Cute as heck! Love it! It looks fabu on you.

Posted by: Rachael at October 9, 2003 1:31 PM

yup you're right that's what i was thinking of! :)

Posted by: carolyn at October 10, 2003 1:42 PM

Hi Alison, I already finished knitting the 1st half of the Sally Melville knit stitch but the width was not consistent. I started with 19" then started tapering to about 16". I made a mistake of not measuring it regularly. Do you think I need to redo it or it will be just ok to use it? ...I also cut a paper pattern for the poncho 2 19" x 27" but my head will not fit through the neck hole. It was 8" wide on each side???? Do I also have to use a stretchy yarn? Sorry I have too many questions. I am a total beginner. ..I am hoping I can finish my poncho before summer comes so I can wear it this winter.

Posted by: Mel at January 7, 2004 1:34 AM