Biased Beauty poncho – knitting pattern only

Description

A knitting pattern for a mitred square poncho in two sizes, with two neck options, and options for a raw or icord border.

You will need:

For the larger poncho: Approx 600g / 900m of chunky yarn similar to Sirdar Jewelspun with wool chunky. I used it in ‘Mermaid Glow’ colourway.
Approx 100g of mohair / kidsilk similar to Patons Misty (stashbusted and discontinued). A good alternative is Drops Kidsilk.
Another 100m or so if you choose to do an icord border. And again if you choose to knit a roll neck rather than a mitred V neck.

For the smaller poncho: Approx 800g (1200m) Aran weight wool. I used 400g Wendy Aran pure wool in Mountain Hare, and 400g of random stash yarns, including Drops Nepal and Drops Big Delight (discontinued). This I knitted as a stashbuster, holding the Wendy Aran together with a random Aran stash yarn and the kidsilk, and knitting all three together for a marled effect.
(OR, if you prefer to knit it in the Jewelspun, you will need around 350g Jewelspun, 75g kidsilk, and another 100g Jewelpun and 25g kidsilk for the roll neck.)
Approx 100g of mohair / silk / kidsilk – again, Drops Kidsilk is a good choice.
50g /50m of a chunky yarn such as Viking Naturgarn (used here) for the icord border
For both:
8mm knitting needles. You can use long straight needles, 2 long DPNs or a circular needle back and forth.
For both the roll neck and the mitred V neckline, you will need long 8mm circular needles. (100cm is good).
For the roll neck, you will also need 6mm and 9mm circulars. This helps shape the roll. The 6mm brings the neck in before folding it out again on the 9mm to make it stretchier and lie better. If you don’t have them, you can stick with the 8mm for the whole thing, but it will not have quite the same shaping.
Tapestry needle for sewing in ends

Notes on Yarns: The yarn you use is less important than the gauge of the square. And the gauge of the square is less important than the size of poncho you want. This pattern calls for squares that measure approx 13cm for the finished measurements shown below. You can, for example, use an aran or DK yarn alone for a smaller version for a child (see photo at the end). The measurements are easy to scale down.

Notes on style: You can obviously change your poncho up to suit your style – with a mitred V neck, or a roll neck, long or short, with a ‘raw’ edge, or icord border (or your own choice). The roll neck will obviously require a lot more yarn than the mitred V neck.