It’s been about one year so I published the Happy Harvest poncho and so I thought it would be a great chance to feature it as my next Behind the Design! I love telling you a bit about the behind-the-scenes of some of my designs as well as showcasing a gallery of finished projects from knitters from all over. I hope you enjoy learning more about Happy Harvest!
CONCEPT & DESIGN
When Berroco approached me to work with them on a new design that would feature their new yarn Ultra Wool Chunky AND would be a KAL (knit-a-long) project for the Fall, I was thrilled. It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of Berroco yarns since the beginning of my knitting career and I love any opportunity to work with the wonderful folks there. Because I knew this new design would also be part of a big KAL (with knitters of different skill levels) it influenced the type of piece I wanted to design – I wanted it to be approachable to more beginner knitters but not boring for those more advanced. I also wanted it to be the type of piece that would look good on lots of different body types, and could be suitable for newer knitters who had never made a garment before. My last criteria – I wanted to make sure I had different details/techniques sprinkled throughout the piece so that each week of the KAL there could be something new to learn. From all of this criteria I set for myself, the Happy Harvest poncho + cowl was born (below is my original sketch):
And here is a picture of the final piece!
THE TECHNIQUES
Happy Harvest is all about simple, but interesting, techniques. One of the first things you’ll learn when knitting this piece is the Acorn Lace stitch pattern.
This is the basketweave/eyelet stitch pattern you see on the front, back hem and in the cowl. I LOVE this stitch pattern. It’s mostly just knits and purls – you have just 1 row where you work a “yo, k3tog, yo” technique and this is what creates the acorn-like stitch pattern you see. I wrote a whole blog post recently all about this stitch pattern – click here to learn more!
Here are all of the other interesting techniques used in this pattern (and I have tutorials for every single one!):
- Short Rows for shoulder shaping (video tutorial here).
- Changing colors (video tutorial here).
- Three Needle Bind-off (video tutorial here).
- Picking up stitches around neckline (photo tutorial here).
- Attaching side buttons (photo tutorial here).
HAPPY HARVEST GALLERY
I LOVE seeing finished projects from knitters! For me, being a designer is all about you – creating an enjoyable knitting experience for you and creating a design that you will hopefully love to wear too. So when I get to see you wearing your creations from my designs, it’s the best feeling ever. A special thank you to all of the folks featured below who were kind enough to allow me to share pictures of their creations:
Jan from South Carolina
Julie from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Joan from Illinois
Sandy S from Baja California, Mexico
Monique from Vallican, BC, Canada
Dianne from Saratoga Springs, New York
Dianne (diannelwinter on Ravelry) knit her Happy Harvest in Berroco’s Ultra Wool Chunky in the Butternut color for her main color and then used the green Marjoram for her contrasting color. Love these 2 shades together! And how perfect that she wore her Happy Harvest while apple picking!
Sara from Medford, New Jersey
For more details about the Happy Harvest poncho pattern, click here
