The basic poncho pattern below is worked in stockinet with a garter stitch collar, buttonband, and edging.
This garment fits any size since you’re just making a square with a hole in the middle for the head.
Materials
14 Oz worsted weight yarn
5 to 6 mm circular needles (plus extra needle for joining if working the closed poncho)
5 stitch markers
1-inch diameter buttons (4 for open poncho or 2 for closed poncho)
gauge: 16-18 sts = 4 inches
(this works in any yarn. Just use the yarn label to cast on 14 to 15 inches for the collar (adult). It’ll stretch quite a bit with gravity and the weight of the garment.)
Cast on 66 sts.
Collar
Rows 1-14: Knit.
Row 15: K till 3 sts rem, yo twice, k3.
Row 16: K3, drop first yo off needle, k second yo tog with next st, k to end.
row 17: K.
Body
Place a marker after st number 4, 17, 33, 49, and 62.
(Always place markers after the first buttonband and before the second one. Then divide the rem sts by 4 to evenly distribute three mor markers. If you want tocompensate for the buttonband, add a fourth of the stitches for one buttonband to each back section,and subtract that number from the stitches for the front section.)
Row 18 and all even rows: K4, p till 4 sts rem, k4, slipping markers as you go.
Row 19: K4, sm, * k1, inc1, k till 2 sts rem, inc1, k1, sm, * rep between stars, k4.
(Any increase method works. If you work an m1 or a lifted increase, work it after the first stitch and before the last one between the markers.)
For an open poncho (cape)
Rep rows 18-19 till the poncho is 24-27 inches long. For a more exact length measurement, measure from the base of the neck to the wrist or from the base of the neck to the point where the top of the thigh meets the body. Use that figure and the yarn label to calculate how many rows you’ll need to work.
Be sure to work a buttonhole, as in Rows 15-16, 5 or 6 ridges below the first one, then roughly every 10-12 ridges.
For a closed poncho
Work Rows 18-19 9 to 12 times, till the poncho is 3 or 4 inches long.
Be sure to work a buttonhole, as in Rows 15-16, about 5-6 ridges below the collar.
Join the stitches of both buttonbands. Slip 4 sts from one buttonband onto a second circular needle. Lay the band with the buttonholes on top. Insert the other end of the second circ through the first stitch on each needle, drawing the loop through both stitches, and then dropping them off the needles. This is exactly the same procedure as when working a three-needle bind off, withouth the actual binding off.
Once you have worked the 4 buttonband stitches, the poncho is now joined, the beginning of the round being between the two markers on either side of the buttonband.
Rnd 20: P4 in button band, k the rest of the round.
Rnd 21: K4 for buttonband, sm, * k1, inc1, k till 2 sts rem, inc1, k1, sm, * rep between stars.
work Rnds 20-21 3 times or for an inch.
Then work Rnds 21-22 until the poncho is 24-27 inches long.
Rnd 21: K4 for buttonband, sm, * k1, inc1, k till 2 sts rem, inc1, k1, sm, * rep between stars.
Rnd 22: K.
Edging
Work 1-2 inches of garter, continuing increases as follows:
For open Poncho
Row 1 and all odd rows: K, slipping markers as you go.
Ro 2 and all even rows: K4, sm, * k1, inc1, k till 2 sts rem, inc1, k1, sm, * rep between stars, k4.
For closed poncho
Rnd 1: P, slipping markers as you go.
Rnd 2: K4 for buttonband, sm, * k1, inc1, k till 2 sts rem, inc1, k1, sm, * rep between stars.
For both ponchos, work two more garter ridges without increasing.
Bind off purlwise.
Finishing
Weave in ends, and sew on buttons.
Abbreviations
Inc1 – increase by knitting into the front and back of the same stitch
K – knit
P – purl
Yo – yarn over; wrap the yarn around the needle by first bringing the yarn under, then in front of, and finally over the top of the needle
Variations
Instead of garter, work the collar, buttonband, and edging in ribbing, moss stitch, or something else that lies flat. Make them broader or narrower, or work the collar and edging in a different color, using a matching yarn from your stash. For a neck band, work the last six rows of the collar only.
If the long stockinet section gets boring, you can alternate a few rows of stockinet with a simple pattern like seed, bamboo, garter, little arrowheads or feather and fan) to make decorative bands on the bottom half of the body, or you can always substitute the stockinet for a favorit pattern stitch of your own. If you substitute the stockinet with another pattern stitch, you may want to keep the two or four stitches around the markers in stockinet stitch, working them as a rib or with a cable, so that you don’t have to worry about awkward breaks in the pattern stitch.
Finally, to jazz up the edging if garter seems passe, you can cast on for a horizontal edging, and knit the last stitch of the edging together with the next stitch of the poncho on odd rows.
One of my own favorites is a poncho done in a worsted weight yarn (solid color) on size 10 needles. It’s both light and warm. I worked a couple of bands of a stich I found somewhere on the net and stripes (two rows of stash yarn) before, between, and after the bands. I think of it as a plain, old poncho, but I get a lot of compliments on it.
