picture of Charlene?

Poncho II:  Examples of Sideways Knit Ponchos

The ponchos on this page were all knit from patterns created using my "poncho II" generartor.   It permits you to make a "two piece" or "4 piece" poncho with range of flares.  When you visit the generator, you'll be able to input values to create a pattern to knit a poncho using the yarn you choose to fit you, or  your baby or anyone who wants a poncho.   In fact, you'll see one poncho modeled on a doll, but you can make that for an adult. I just didn't want to hand knit another poncho, and that particular  shap can't be made on a machine.

I now have several more poncho generators.

Photo will appear when this is test knit!

First written: Feb. 16, 2004  Modified Oct. 22,  2004
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Charlene  and I have been making ponchos.   Charlene kindly gave me permission to show her poncho.  I've added mine.  Send me pictures of yours and I'll put them here.  Ponchos are shown near the top of this page, the schematic is shown at the bottom.

This page illustrates some of the ponchos. To  draft your pattern, visit here: Poncho II generator.

This page shows some  ponchos.
CharlenesFirst generated version of "Charlene's Poncho", knit by Charlene !  Can you believe Charlene was brave enough to test knit this from the program before I knit a stitch?  I think it looks terrific.

Charlene's ponchoCharlene's Medium Poncho Without Shoulder Darts:

Charlene knit her poncho in two colors to emphasize the construction. You can knit the two pieces and sew along the diagonal, or you can knit short rows, and make the whole thing in one piece. 

Charlene also created a  nifty trim for the edging. (I have no idea how she did this, it's super cool!)



Poncho with angles shown.lu in ponchoMedium Poncho With Darts: 

My poncho is almost identical to Charlene's. However, I knit mine in one color and used shoulder darts. Charlene and I discussed this after I wrote "Mach 1" version of the program. The shoulder darts improve the fit around the neck.  Bear in mind: Most commercial poncho patterns do not have the darts!

To create a pattern with this shape pick:

Notice the "kink" in the shoulders due to the darts. I drew a straight red line on the sides to show the "straight" part, then the blue  line illustrates how the shoulder darts make the poncho neck flatten out. This eliminates bunching at the  neck.   Darts are optional for this style.  Many, many ponchos of this shape do not have shoulder darts, but I prefer to knit them in.



Teal Poncho

picture of Charlene?

Lucia's Slim Poncho With Darts: 
I knit this with darts at the shoulders.  You really, really need darts for a slim poncho. You will never see a "slim" without darts illustrated here. I need to take a better  picture.
Notice this poncho is less  "pointy" than the previous poncho.   Alpha is roughly 30 degrees for a "slim" poncho.  Notice the poncho sort of rounds out near the shoulders; this is due to the darts.  If they weren't there, the neck would ride up and cone unattractively when the poncho is worn.


pink poncho

Photo will appear when this is test knit!

Lucia's Wide Poncho With Darts:

Cable TrimHow to finish your poncho neck

I trimmed my teal poncho and hem with a nifty little cable trim neck illustrated to the right.  I trimmed the pink one with 14 rows of stockinet, which makes a cute roll neck.  I trimmed the charcoal one with a half-double-crochet, ch1 lace stitch.  Maybe I'll show the other necks when I get back from vacation!

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Schematics of a Charlene's Poncho

charlene's schematicThe schematic for the individual pieces of this poncho is illustrated to the right.  The poncho is knit from left to right.

To knit this poncho, you cast on over the full number of stitches and knit two rows. Then you knit short rows, progressively increasing stitches to shape the front angle.  Eventually, your short rows will knit over all the stitches.  At that point, you will reach point "b" illustrated.

The short row technique automatically seams the knitting, so you will never see a big gap when you lay the finished piece out. Instead, you will see the poncho hanging down on the right hand side of the knitting machine.  (I'm assuming you aren't hand knitting.  I think Poncho I  which is knit from the top down, usually makes more sense when  hand knitting.)

When you reach the neck, you will knit a large number of rows without shaping until you reach the shoulder darts.

You will  then knit shoulder darts using short rows.  If you are knitting a 4 piece poncho, you will skip these darts for the two of the four pieces, but do add the extra rows indicated on the text.  (Or, if  you chose no darts, this dart region will not exist.)

You will knit then two seal rows over all stitches, and then knit the other side of the short row dart. Then knit many rows without shaping. Finally, you will reduce stitches using short rows, knit two seal rows and bind off.

The center of the dart is the fold line and is worn at the shoulders.   You do not need to sew the darts shut.

To finish the poncho, sew diagonals cast on and bind off edges together.  For a two piece poncho, match a to d and b to c on each piece.  Apply some type of finish to the neck and hem to avoid curling.   For a 4 piece poncho, make sure you alternate and sew a piece with dart to a piece without darts, then with darts, then without darts.  You want the darts on your shoulders.

For a slim poncho alpha will be approximately 30º. For a medium poncho, alpha will be approximately 45º. For a wide poncho alpha is approximately 30º; the extra flair comes from knitting 4 pieces instead of 2.  For a full poncho, alpha is approximately 42º.    The shoulder angles gamma are selected to make the shoulders fit!
Lucia Liljegren 2004.