Spring Poncho

This is the spring poncho I made my daughter.

She wears it almost everyday and I beam with pride whenever I see her because I LOVE it!  For those interested, I used a version of the pattern by the Yarn Harlot found here.

My modifications are as follows:

I used a smaller needle and a cotton blend yarn.  I changed the starts and stops of the rounds so that my color changes would be on the side and not in the middle of the yarn over stitches.  Here goes . . .

Poncho for Girl (about size 6)
(based on pattern by the Yarn Harlot)

Size 6 circular needles
Cotton blend yarn (2+ balls of dark pink, 1 ball of light pink, 1 ball of green)
2 stitch markers

I'm not sure on gauge.  I counted the stitches on another garment made with the same type yarn and needles and calculated that I needed about 90 to make sure it would fit over her head.  I made it 92 so it would be in increments of 4 to fit the ribbing pattern at the neck.

Cast on 92 stitches.

Work in the Main Color (MC) in rib (K2, P2) for a total of 4 rows.  (work flat)

Join in the round, making REALLY sure there is no twist, and continue in knit for 20 rows with the following pattern.

Round 5: K22, YO, (place marker), K1, YO, K45, YO, (place marker), K1, YO, K23
Round 6: Knit
Round 7: Knit to first marker, YO, slip marker, knit 1, yarn over, knit to next marker, YO, slip marker, K1, YO, knit to end of round.
Round 8: Knit

Repeat this pattern of rounds, a YO round followed by a knit round, for 20 rounds. 
(You'll quickly see the YO patterns will leave the cute holes down the front and back.  You will do a total of four YOs per odd row.  One YO before each marker, a knit, followed by another YO.  Then knit all even rounds)

Switch to CC1 (contrasting color 1, green in my example) and continue the YO round, knit round pattern for 5 rows.
(This is the most complicated part.  Simply keeping track of your rounds and if it's a YO or knit round.  I took a piece of paper and wrote out each row, if it was YO or straight knit, it's color, and then checked them off as I went around.  ***See bottom for my list of rounds for color stripes.***)

Switch to CC2 (light pink my my example) and continue in pattern (YO round, knit round) for 10 rounds.

Back to color CC1 for 5 rounds in pattern.

Then back to the main color for 20 rounds.

Repeat the pattern of 20 in the main color, 5 in color CC1, 10 in color CC2, 5 in color CC1, back to 20 in the main color.  Repeat until it reaches the desired length.  I did about 90 rounds.

Then, in main color, do four rows of seed stitch.   (This is optional.  BUT, if you decide not to add the seed stitch, end on a knit round in the MC.  It will curl up, but after you add the fringe, it will lay flat again.)
Seed Stitch Bottom:
Round 1: K1, P1 around
Round 2: P1, K1 around
Round 3: K1, P1 around
Round 4: P1, K1 around

Bind off.

Make fringe.  I cut my yarn in about 12"-15" lengths, folded in half, and using a crochet hook pulled 2 lengths through every third or so stitch knotting at the top.

(I also knitted a short i-cord and put it in the back so she could hang it on a hook)

I also made a toddler poncho for a 1 year old. This is basically the same pattern but I found this version here. It has some fun details that works great with a solid color poncho and it's just perls!  I did some adjusting to get the right size (about 10" in length at the front) and added a rib neckline at the top and shorter fringe.  But same idea!  This took about 1 ball of yarn and was really fun to make!

And if you are on Ravelry, look me up.  I'm BethyKnitting!  And if you are a knitter, go apply to join.  The database of patterns is just amazing!

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Remember to click HERE, before July 8th, 2009, if you want a chance to win $250.

***list of rounds for color stripes***

Rounds 1-4: work in MC (main color) in rib pattern (K2, P2)
Rounds 5-24: work in MC following pattern of adding YOs at stitch markers on odd rounds and knit in even rounds as described above.

Rounds 25-29: work in CC1 (contrasting color 1, light green in my example)
25: YO round
26: knit round
27: YO round
28: knit round
29: YO round

Rounds 30-39: work in CC2 (contrasting color 2, light pink in my example)
30: knit round
31: YO round
32: knit round
33: YO round
34: knit round
35: YO round
36: knit round
37: YO round
38: knit round
39: YO round

Rounds 40-44: work in CC1 (contrasting color 1, light green in my example)
40: knit round
41: YO round
42: knit round
43: YO round
44: knit round

Rounds 55-74: Switch back to MC and knit pattern of YO and knit rows for 20 rounds. (YO on odd rounds, knit on even rounds)

Repeat stripes in rounds of 20 rounds in MC, 5 rounds in CC1, 10 rounds in CC2, 5 rounds in CC1 until you reach desired length.  I did 20 in MC, one set of contrasting colors, 20 in MC, a second set in contrasting color stripes, then ended with about 5-10 rows in MC before starting the seed stitches.

End in MC.  You do not need to do the seed stitch at bottom.  But I think it adds a nice finishing edge. But do end on a knit round, not a yarn over round, if you decide to skip the seed stitch at the bottom.  If you don't do the seed stitch for the bottom four rows, it will curl up, but once you add the fringe, it will lay flat.