I’m currently working on some new “features” for my blog, a logo and some new headers for my different categories. While we’re waiting, I thought I would add a free pattern for you. In 2013 I knitted this poncho, of course with leftover yarn from my then massive stash. Every Autumn I’ll buy a fashion magazine (when there’s a “trend bible” filled with knitwear), and look through and see if something tickles my fancy =) This poncho was such a project. I cannot for the love of knits find the picture that inspired me, I don’t remember which clothing designer made the poncho I liked. All I remember is that it was in white and different brown colors, striped and with a few different patterns for the different colors.
Anyway, here is the pattern. If you want to download the pattern and print it out, scroll down to the bottom of this post and hit the “download pattern” =).

Needle size: 9mm/US size 13 (the needle size should be bigger than what is recommended for the yarn, to make the sts look loose).

Gauge: 18sts approx. 20cm

Yarn: This poncho is knitted with leftover yarn from other projects. You can use any kind of yarn you want. This poncho is knitted with:
Lerke – the neck (single thread)
Falk -deep purple (single thread, very loose sts)
Fritidsgarn – dark blue (single thread)
Drops Alpaca – dark grey (triple thread)
Lima – medium grey (double thread)
Gjestal bomull sport – medium purple (double thread)
Hegre – light grey (single thread, very loose sts)
Boulcè yarn (single thread)

You’ll need approx. 9-11 skeins of yarn (depending on what type of yarn you choose), whatever is left is used for the fringes. The thinner threads are either doubled or tripled. If you double or triple your threads, remember to keep the “new” thread thinner than the needle size you’re using.

Measuring tips: Make all measurements when the piece is laying flat. The poncho measure approx. 92cm across, 104cm long.

This poncho is knitted in one piece with 3 easy patterns, and the poncho itself is a square. The 3 patterns are underlined. If you start a pattern on purl side, remember to purl instead of knit (and vice versa).
Cast on 80sts (first and last sts are edge stitches, and is knitted on both sides. Do not include them in the patterns).

Pattern 1
Row 1: purl all stitches
*Row 2: *knit 2sts, knit 2sts together, yarn over 1st*, repeat *.* over all sts. last 2sts knit. (purl on purl side, knit on knit side)
Row 3: purl (purl on purl side, knit on knit side)
*Row 4: *knit 2sts together, yarn over 1st, Knit 2sts*, repeat *.* over all sts, last 4sts knit 2sts, knit 2sts together. (purl on purl side, knit on knit side)
Row 5: purl (purl on purl side, knit on knit side)
Row 6: repeat row 2
Row 7: purl
Row 8: repeat row 4

Pattern 2
Change color.
Row 9: *purl 1, knit 1* over all sts
Row 10: *knit 1, purl 1* over all sts
Repeat row 9 and 10 five more time.
Row 21: *purl 1, knit 1* over all sts

Pattern 3
Change color.
Row 22: knit all sts
*Row 23: *purl 2sts together, yarn over 1st*, repeat *.* over all sts. (purl on purl side, knit on knit side)
*Row 24: knit (purl on purl side, knit on knit side)

Repeat these 3 patterns in any kind of order you want, for a total of 59 rows. If you’ve ended a color on the purl side of the poncho, remember that the first row you knit has to be purled.

On this poncho the pattern order is:
3th color change: pattern 1 for 10 rows
4th color change: pattern 2 for 13 rows
5th color change: pattern 1 for 10 rows
**6th color change: pattern 1 for 2 rows
(**:  neckline starts after these first 2 rows)

Row 60: knit 29sts in the pattern you’re doing, then cast off 22sts for the neck, knit the last 29sts
Row 61: knit 29sts in the pattern you’re doing, cast on 22sts, knit the last 29sts (now you have a neck hole).
Row 62-67: continue pattern 1 (a total of 10 rows with the 6th color change, 2 rows on one side, 2 rows for neckline/shoulders, 6 rows on the other side)

7th color change: pattern 2 for 4 rows
8th color change: pattern 1 for 12 rows
9th color change: pattern 2 for 11 rows
10th color change: pattern 3 for 8 rows
11th color change: pattern 3 for 3 rows
12th color change pattern 2 for 8 rows
13th and last color change: pattern 1 for 5 rows
Cast off.

The neck:
Pick up 116sts around the neckline with circular needles/4dpn size 4 1/2mm (US size 7), and join (approx. 3sts on needle size 4 1/2mm for every sts needle size 9mm). *Knit 2, purl 2* around over all sts, until the neck measures approx. 14cm. Cast off. Sew in any ends.

Fringes:
All loose ends on the poncho are used as fringes, so don’t sew them in or anything like that. Add fringes with the yarn you have left. Cut them 40cm long, and loop them through the edge sts, all around the square.

DOWNLOAD PATTERN

Yesterday I finished a new pair of legwarmers for myself.

There are a few ways you can make these legwarmers, and I’ll try and make it easy for you to do (bare in mind, I have never written down any patterns, so I’ll just try to explain).  First off, you have to find  your bulks of leftover yarn. In my case I found all the yarn I had suited for needle size 4 (US size 6), and made a swatch with 14 stitches (that includes 1 edge stitch on each side for sewing), and knitted 16 rows (that includes the cast off row). I then measured it, and the square was approximately 5cm both ways (width and height). Then I measure my leg to see how many squares I would need horizontally.

Since I had an unknown amount of yarn length, I decided to knit the squares separately and sew them together afterwards. This can of course be done differently. If you know the length of your yarn and how you want your colors, you can easily divide your yarn (like one would when knitting f.ex. intarsia) and knit full length rows of squares before sewing the rows together. Either way, there is some sewing involved. I also prefer to knit the squares separately, so I can sort out the different colors afterwards.

I then set out to make my vertical rows. I decided to not “hide” the cast off row, so I sewed them together in the back loop on the cast off stitches and the cast on loops. This is of course a personal choice. If you want a more seamless finish, that is your choice.

As you can see from this picture, I left an open space between row 3 and 4 at the bottom. I did that because I prefer my legwarmers to be slightly wider at the bottom. Again, this is a personal choice. If you prefer to have them straight, sew it all together. If you, like me, want them a little wider, you should knit squares that decreases. I made 2 squares for this purpose. The bottom one started off with 14 stitches, and I decreased 2 stitches every 6th row, and I knitted 16 rows like the other squares. The second square started off with 10 stitches (to match the cast off row from the first square). The second square started to decrease on the second row (4 rows from the previous square + 2 rows on this new one = 6 rows), and I continued to decrease every 6th row until I had 4 stitches left. On the 6th row I knitted the 2 middle stitches together, leaving me with 3 stitches. I knitted 3 rows with 3 stitches, and finished off knitting the 3 stitches together on the 4th row. You can knit it as long as you prefer.

I had decided I wanted a row of buttons on the outside of my legwarmers, so after I had sewed all the squares together, I picked up 48 stitches along both sides and knitted a rib finish (knit 2, purl 2). I made 5 holes for buttons on one side, on one legwarmer on the right side and on the left on the other. On this picture you can see that the bottom legwarmer shows the inside.

I also wanted to have a top and a bottom finish, and I decided to have a rib finish at the top and a garter finish at the bottom. The top part is knitted all the way around. I picked up 13 stitches in the back loop of the cast off stitches on each square, and also picked up 10 stitches on the ribbed band where the buttons would be sewed on (88 stitches total). The ribbed band with holes is “hanging loose”. On the 4th row I made holes for a ribbon, by knitting *knit 2, purl 2, knit 2, cast on 1 stitch, purl 2 together* all the way around. The bottom has 4 rows, knitted with garter stitches. I picked up stitches in every cast on loop, and picked up 10 stitches on all 4 bands. The 4th row is the cast off row.

Finished product: