Véronik Avery finds inspiration in unlikely places. Recently she was taken with the striped ties worn by British scholar and commentator John Barton in the BBC miniseries Playing Shakespeare. Véronik has captured the quirky feel of Barton’s colorful ties in this simple worked-in-the-round striped poncho. Using a drapey cotton-rayon yarn in five spicey colors, she’s worked a repeating striped pattern and tapered the upper body by concentrating decreases along a single line. The result is a sleek contemporary poncho that dips into a striking chevron point; one that’s reminiscent of her inspiration—a man’s tie.
62" (157.5 cm) circumference at lower edge, 30" (76 cm) circumference at neck edge, and 19" (48.5 cm) long.
About 255 yd (233 m) each of 4 colors of worsted-weight (Medium #4) yarn.
We used: Berroco Cotton Twist (70% mercerized cotton, 30% rayon; 85 yd [78 m/50 g): #8387 soul (purple), #8345 sensei (orange), #8383 cork (yellow), and #8366 heath pink (pink), 3 balls each.
Body—Size 8 (5 mm): 24" (60-cm) circular (cir). Edging—Size 7 (4.5 mm): 24" (60-cm) cir. Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain correct gauge.
Marker (m); tapestry needle.
20 sts and 25 rows = 4" (10 cm) in St st worked in the rnd on larger needle.
Stripe Sequence: Work St st (knit every rnd) as foll:
Rnds 1 and 2: Orange.
Rnd 3: Yellow.
Rnds 4 and 5: Orange.
Rnds 6 and 7: Yellow.
Rnd 8: Pink.
Rnds 9 and 10: Yellow.
Rnds 11 and 12: Pink.
Rnd 13: Purple.
Rnds 14 and 15: Pink.
Rnds 16 and 17: Purple.
Rnd 18: Orange.
Rnds 19 and 20: Purple.
Repeat Rnds 1–20 for color pattern.
Wrap different colors of yarn around a ruler to get an idea of how they will work together as stripes.
With purple and smaller needle, CO 310 sts. Place marker (pm) and join for working in the rnd, being careful not to twist sts.
Lower edging:
Rnd 1: Purl.
Rnd 2: Ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog—2 sts dec’d.
Rep last 2 rows once with orange then once again with purple—304 sts rem.
Body: Change to larger needle. Work Rows 1–20 of stripe sequence (see Stitch Guide), and at the same time dec 2 sts every 3 rnds as foll:
Rnd 1: Knit.
Rnds 2 and 3: Ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog—2 sts dec’d each rnd; 4 sts dec’d total.
Cont in stripe patt, rep the shaping of the last 3 rnds 35 more times, then work Rnds 2 and 3 once more (skipping Rnd 1), ending with Rnd 10 of stripe sequence—156 sts rem; 110 rnds St st completed.
Neck edging: Change to smaller needles and pink.
Rnd 1: Ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog—2 sts dec’d.
Rnd 2: Purl.
Rep the last 2 rnds once with purple, then once again with pink—150 sts rem. BO all sts.
Vertically aligned decreases turn horizontal stripes into chevrons.
Weave in loose ends. Block lightly to measurements.
