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| Photo Credit: Ann Goldman, Owner, Yarned & Dangerous in Canon City, Colorado |
Cowgirl Poncho
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| Photo above: There is a seam running down the middle of the back. So that's what my hair looks like from the back? Photo Credit: Ann Goldman. Thanks for taking my photos, Ann! |
I purchased this "Cowgirl Poncho" kit at the Interweave Yarnfest in Loveland, Colorado, back in early 2017. This kit is from Cat Mountain Fiber Arts (www.yarngalleryonline.com) and the dyer is Kimberly Perkins. When you purchase the kit, it looks as if you are getting one big hank of yarn but the hank is actually eight different yarns all wound up together. The yarns are all fingering weight and the texture and fiber content varies: merino wool, silk, bamboo, nylon, mohair, boucle, tencel, silk, stellina. You get 100 yards of each yarn; the collection is called "Fusion 800". My color wasy is called "Aurora Borealis". From this project I learned I am not a fan of knitting with mohair and let's just say boucle and I are NOT on speaking terms. All in all this project was a struggle for two specific reasons: (1) mohair and (2) boucle. Ohhh, let's call them "The Troublesome Two".
But I stuck with it and got it done. I wove in the gobs of ends this morning after the project dried on the blocking mats over night and I finally got a chance to try on my poncho. I was so bummed when I saw how the poncho looked on me. I was wearing like it was pictured in the pattern and on the mannequin at Yarnfest and I just did not like how it looked on me. (See pattern and photos HERE). I honestly thought it was too long for me (it was dangling to my knees). I started to think of my tall friends and wondered if maybe it would look better on one of them. Talk about bummed and disappointed!
But I brought my "Cowgirl Poncho" down to my local and AWESOME yarn shop "Yarned & Dangerous" this morning and my friends Ann and Marilyn helped me find a way to wear my poncho that suited me just fine. I am liking how the poncho looks when I am wearing it in the photos above. I do NOT like how it looked when I wore it as in the photos below.
Aside from The Troublesome Two (mohair and boucle), this project is really a snap. You cast on with yarn #1 and you work six rows. Some rows are knit, some rows are purl, and then on some rows you *knit 1, yarn over two times* all the way across the row, ending with a knit 1. On the subsequent row, you drop the yarn overs which creates the elongated stitches. Easy peasy! You repeat rows 1 through 6 with each of the eight different yarns and then you do it all over again, using each yarn two times.
But dropping the yarn overs when using the boucle and mohair... train wreck! I seriously wanted to throw this project in the trash after the boucle row. Once I was able to switch to a nice, smooth, NORMAL yarn after the boucle rows, I sat down to count my stitches. I honestly could not tell if I had dropped 39 stitches or added 109 stitches... it was THAT bad. But... low and behold... I still had the CORRECT number of stitches (290 stitches). Can you believe it? I couldn't believe it. I was dumbfounded. So I had to keep on going. But the thought of dealing with The Troublesome Two again had the gears turning in my brain.
Here was my solution (I am feeling pretty proud of myself right about now so bear with me!). When I had to do the row with the double yarn overs when using the boucle and the mohair, I switched from the US Size 5 needles I was using to US Size 13 needles. I did NO yarn overs but I created the LOOK of the elongated stitches by increasing the needle size. Pretty clever, right?
I guess I can summarize it all by saying that this project was a bumpy road. But in the end, I am happy with how it turned out and I actually think I can wear this. My niece is getting married at the end of the month and I think this will be cute to wear to the rehearsal dinner... maybe with a cute plain shirt or blouse and some black leggings.
Before I finish this post, let me just show you this poncho's construction. Below you can see the poncho on the blocking mats. The poncho is doubled up so the rectangle is actually twice as long as what you can see. When you are finishing this project, you fold the rectangle in half and then you do a three needle bind off to create a seam. You bind off about 85 stiches which creates a seam to connect the front and back halves but then you leave an opening where you can insert your noggin. I hope that makes sense. It's actually quite simple and very clever!
The "Cowgirl Poncho" pattern is FREE on Raverly. You can find it HERE. I think this pattern would look amazing in a variety of yarns. I don't want to dissuade you from checking out the gorgeous yarns offered by Cat Mountain Fiber Arts. The yarns are just simply gorgeous; personally, I am simply NOT patient enough to deal with the fussiness of The Troublesome Two.
