Monday, 29 September 2025

Design A452 - Brown & Chamois Poncho

I've made another poncho, this time using a beige mix of Colinette Banyan, which is not quite a vintage yarn, but it is no longer part of their current range, along with some not-quite-vintage but definitely discontinued Patons Orient in shade Rich. Colinette Yarns was established in the 1970s by Colinette and Geoff Sansbury, who ran it together for years, creating interesting yarns and even more interesting hand-dyed colourways. I don't know if Geoff is still around, but Colinette passed away around 2015/2016. The company is now run by their son, Sam, with a much smaller range. The Patons Orient turned out to be too thin for my liking as I started working with it, so I undid the small amount I had done and doubled it up to make it thicker.

So, the yarns I have put together for this poncho are the multi-coloured/multi-toned Banyan Chamois, this time it's a cone of 500g (I have two of them), which is 49% Cotton, 51% Viscose and the gorgeous colour and texture of Patons Orient shade Rich, which is 50% Polyamide, 30% Acrylic, 15% Mohair and 5% Wool.

Banyan Chamois

Patons Orient in shade Rich

The design consists of six crochet panels, which are then joined together to form a cohesive piece. Additional crochet is added to both the top and bottom, and the piece is finished off with fringing/tassels.

The panels are joined in a way that creates a visible, textured line of stitches between each panel, and are an integral part of the design. The poncho is designed to be worn square, allowing a whole crochet panel to drape and cover each arm. However, it also looks good when worn in the traditional triangular poncho style, if you prefer. The construction is designed primarily for the square method. It is pretty generous in size but isn't overly long in the body length, so depending on your bust size, it may only just cover "your girls" if you're quite busty, or it may hang down to your waist if you're quite petite. It is designed for adults. Please pay attention to the measurements across the neck opening and measure around the top of the breastplate/shoulders, including the arms, to ensure it stays in place without falling straight off you or the person you are buying it for and landing on the ground.

I didn't take any work-in-progress photos. I began on 25th September and finished on 28th September 2025. The overall fibre content on this one is 28% Polyamide, 22% Viscose, 21.5% Cotton, 17% Acrylic, 8.5% Mohair and 3% Wool. The measurements are 14" across the neck, for a 28" opening and 15" from the neck to the bottom of the crochet (not including the tassels). I have lots of both yarns left over to make other things at a later date.

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Design A452 - Greeney-Blue Poncho

I've had a couple of weeks' break from making anything, as we were busy ensuring that we had everything needed for our youngest to move into University accommodation, about 50 miles north of where we live. It's a big change for all of us, as our eldest had stayed living at home while studying for her degree at a local University.

Another poncho has been made, and this time I have chosen to use a slightly lighter-weight yarn. Actually, I have sorted out yarn to make a number of these ponchos in a lighter-weight yarn.

The first one is made using two different colours of Colinette Banyan, which is not quite a vintage yarn, but it is no longer part of their current range. Colinette Yarns was established in the 1970s by Colinette and Geoff Sansbury, who ran it together for years, creating interesting yarns and even more interesting hand-dyed colourways. I don't know if Geoff is still around, but Colinette passed away around 2015/2016. The company is now run by their son, Sam, with a much smaller range.

So, the colourways I have put together for this poncho are the multi-coloured/multi-toned Ischia and the softer, but not completely solid, coloured Elephants Daydream.

Ischia

Elephants Daydream

The design consists of six crochet panels, which are then joined together to form a cohesive piece. Additional crochet is added to both the top and bottom, and the piece is finished off with fringing/tassels.

The panels are joined in a way that creates a visible, textured line of stitches between each panel, and are an integral part of the design. The poncho is designed to be worn square, allowing a whole crochet panel to drape and cover each arm. However, it also looks good when worn in the traditional triangular poncho style, if you prefer. The construction is designed primarily for the square method. It is pretty generous in size but isn't overly long in the body length, so depending on your bust size, it may only just cover "your girls" if you're quite busty, or it may hang down to your waist if you're quite petite. It is designed for adults. Please pay attention to the measurements across the neck opening and measure around the top of the breastplate/shoulders, including the arms, to ensure it stays in place without falling straight off you or the person you are buying it for and landing on the ground.


I didn't take any work-in-progress photos. I began on 21st September and finished on 23rd September 2025. This one is 49% Cotton, 51% Viscose, and the measurements are 14" across the neck, for a 28" opening and 15" from the neck to the bottom of the crochet (not including the tassels). I have enough of the yarn left over to make something else, but smaller, at a later date.

Wednesday, 3 September 2025

Design A452 - Red & Black Mohair Poncho

I like the poncho I made a few days ago so much that I decided to make a second one.  This time, I chose some vintage Jaeger Mohair Silk yarn that I bought in 2014; it was already quite old back then.

I have this yarn in two colours, black and red, and it is composed of 78% Mohair, 17% Wool, and 5% Silk.



I didn't take any work-in-progress photos this time, so get ready to be blasted back to the late 1980s/early 1990s for this very retro look. 

The design consists of six crochet panels, which are then joined together to form a cohesive piece. Additional crochet is added to both the top and bottom, and the piece is finished off with fringing/tassels.

The panels are joined in a way that creates a visible, textured line of stitches between each panel, and are an integral part of the design. The poncho is designed to be worn square, allowing a whole crochet panel to drape and cover each arm. However, it also looks good when worn in the traditional triangular poncho style, if you prefer. The construction is designed primarily for the square method. It is pretty generous in size but isn't overly long in the body length, so depending on your bust size, it may only just cover "your girls" if you're quite busty, or it may hang down to your waist if you're quite petite. It is designed for adults. Please pay attention to the measurements across the neck opening and measure around the top of the breastplate/shoulders, including the arms, to ensure it stays in place without falling straight off you or the person you are buying it for and landing on the ground.

I began making this on 30th August and finished on 2nd September 2025.

The measurements of this one are larger than the first one I made.  The measurement across the neck is 16", giving a very generous 32" opening, and the length from the neck to the bottom of the crochet is also 16" (not including the tassels).  Being made from Mohair, not everyone will be able to tolerate the fibres in this one; it can be itchy for many people, but it is very fluffy, warm, and snuggly if you can tolerate Mohair.