How to Make a Poncho from Knitted Squares Instructions














Universal Poncho Pattern 


I found the measurements for the Universal poncho pattern from the following link
Universal Poncho Pattern
Basically you take just 2 measurements, depending on how long you want the garment. A measurement from your shoulder to your wrist, for one as long as the one in the introductory photo and the measurement from your shoulder diagonally to the bottom of your neck for the neck opening.

The first rectangle consists of a square of shoulder to wrist plus a strip of 2 X neckline measurement plus another square of Shoulder to wrist.

The smaller rectangle is width of shoulder to wrist and height of 2 necklines.










The Challenge 

The Large Rectangle 


The next challenge once finding a pattern to use, was actually fitting the odd assortment of squares and rectangles together. I started by taking my wrist to shoulder measurement, then my neckline measurement. Once I had those I started to construct the rectangles on a large table.
I began with the large rectangle which I calculated to measure 64" X 22"

Here is the larger rectangle. We had to knit some strips to mix in with the squares to give the correct final measurements.










                                                                 Neckline x 1

The Small Rectangle 


The small rectangle was much easier to put together and I managed to sew three rectangles together to get the correct size of 22" X 10"







Fitting it all together 

 At last the two rectangles were assembled. I used the wool and a darning needle to sew the pieces together with an open stitch that made the edges lay flat.To fit the poncho together the white large rectangle edge was sewn to the small rectangle white edge and the large rectangle edge to the small rectangle black edge. voila'.












Finishing The Front Neckline 


The neckline turned out to be too big and hung off my shoulders so I recommend you don't make it too big. For a closer fit, measure the circumference of your head and then divide it by 4 then add a couple of inches.
My mother knitted two borders of rib stitch for the front, which made it look much better.















Finishing the Back Neckline 


My Mother knitted a border in stocking stitch for the back of the neckline, but it still hung too low, so we knitted a triangle to fill in the gap. I was very pleased with the result, as it added a feature to the back of the garment.
















Adding the Edging Border 


I felt as though the edges of the garment needed some weight to pull it down, so we knitted stocking stitch borders which I sewed on to the hemline with the embroidery chain stitch. This took some time because we needed such long lengths but the final result was worth it.
















Designing a Poncho Template 


Of course you can actually design a poncho that will be made up of squares and rectangles. My plan is to give my mother paper templates of the correct size squares to uses as patterns. We will use a variety of toning wools and work to a pattern.
Here you can see an example.
I have taken my measurements shoulder to mid forearm,(18") and neck measurements (5"), drawn the two basic rectangles then drawn a grid.

I can know see that we will need to make for the large rectangle 8 9"x 9" squares, 4 5"X 9" strips

For the small rectangle 4 5" X 9" strips.

Simple!





Do correct me if I have got this wrong.










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