Viva La Poncha by Deborah Newton

Viva La Poncha

Knitting
September 2005
Worsted (9 wpi) ?
20 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches
in textured block pattern worked in the round
US 8 - 5.0 mm
1890 yards (1728 m)
English

Pattern description from Wrap Style: “Deborah Newton has taken a common poncho silhouette - a chevron pullover worked from the bottom up - and jazzed it up with a checkerboard texture and a border of small diamonds in bright warm colors. She centers a single rope cable down both the front and back and works the shaping increases on either side. The soft, rustic wool is reminiscent of nineteenth-century fabrics, but contemporary details like the poncho’s short length and a split foldover collar make this piece decidedly up to date.”

Finished Size: 80” (203 cm) circumference at lower edge, 18” (45.5 cm) circumference at neck, and 20.25” (51.5 cm) long

Yarn:

  • About 1050 yd (960 m) of 1 main color and 210 yd (192 m) each of 4 contrasting colors of worsted-weight (Medium #4) yarn.
  • Plymouth Galway Highland Heather (100% wool; 210 yd (192 m)/100 g): #712 brown (MC), 5 balls; #738 turquoise and #742 brick, 1 ball each.
  • Plymouth Galway (100% wool; 210 yd (192 m)/100g): #127 pale green and #19 old rose, 1 ball each.

Needles: Size 8 (5 mm): 16” (40-cm), 24” (60-cm), and 32” (80-cm) circular (cir). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions: Markers (m); cable needle (cn); spare 32” (80 cm) cir needle or waste yarn to use as stitch holder; tapestry needle.

Additional Gauge: 22-stitch cable panel = 3” (7.5 cm) wide

Notes from Wrap Style:

  • This garment is worked in the round from the neck down.
  • The front and back Fair Isle borders, including the garter stitch trim at the lower edge, are worked back and forth separately in rows, then these sections are seamed at the sides. This avoids having to carry the contrasting color yarns behind the cable panel in order to work each Fair Isle border.
  • The collar is added after the body of the poncho has been completed.
  • Start with the shortest circular needle, and change to longer circular needles as necessary.