Ponchetta Tips

On this page you’ll find tips and tutorials for making your own Ponchetta! I cover the following topics:

Picking a size:

Ponchetta is super versatile and really depends on how you want to wear it. In the latest version of the pattern I provide two methods of measuring yourself to determine which size you should make. One is based on the overall finished circumference of the piece compared to your actual bust/chest measurement. Based on this, I suggest picking a size whose finished circumference is approx. 12-20″ larger than your actual full bust/chest measurement. For example, my chest is 33.5″ and I’m wearing size 1 whose full circumference is 49.5″, so I’m wearing it with 16″ of positive ease at the chest.

But since this isn’t a sweater, I want to stress that picking a size this way is just one method. The other method I recommend you check is to compare the garment’s side-to-side width with your actual outer shoulder-to-outer shoulder width. The difference between the two (the garment width and your shoulder-to-shoulder width) is the amount of extra fabric you want to hang on the open side of Ponchetta (we’ll call that the “overhang”). Let me explain this more:

Not sure where to measure your outer shoulder-to-outer shoulder? Let me show you how I did it. Approximately 3″ down from my outer shoulder bone, I placed a tape measure starting at the middle of my outer shoulder and then measured across to the other side in the same location. See below:

If you look closely, you’ll see that my outer shoulder-to-outer shoulder measures approximately 18″. Now let me show you how this translates in Ponchetta. Below I’m wearing the size 1 which has a width of 24.75″ from side to side:

As you can see above, size 1 gives me approximately 6.75″ of “overhang” (formula is: ponchetta width – my shoulder width = side overhang). For a small poncho like this, 6.75″ works well. But if I wanted a more generous fit, I may want my overhang to be more substantial. If I went up a size to size 2, the width would be 26.75″ and so my overhang would increase by 2″ which would give me that more a fit closer to a traditional poncho sweater.

What about the length?

With each increase in size, the length from hem to shoulder increases by .75″ (in the latest version of the pattern). In previous versions, I had suggested slightly longer lengths (especially for some of the larger sizes) but from input I’ve received through the years, I decided to suggest slightly shorter lengths in this latest version. However, the length of your Ponchetta is totally up to you and will depend on your own measurements and where you want it to fall on your own body. I wanted to provide general length guidance in the pattern, but because everyone’s height is so different, and because some people may want to wear it with more coverage over the front vs how I’m wearing it in my sample, I want to stress that the lengths I provided in the pattern are just a starting point and you can customize it however you like (some may want it shorter so it’s more like a capelet/cowl, others may want it longer for a more sweater poncho type fit). For reference, the length of mine that I’m wearing in the photos measures exactly 13.5″ from hem to shoulder.

Also, this is where your bust measurement may be more of a factor – those with larger busts may need longer lengths if you would like your Ponchetta to cover your chest completely. Determining what length is best for you is simple – just measure down from the top of your shoulder to where you would like the bottom of Ponchetta to hit – that measurement becomes your desired length! If it’s going to be dramatically longer than the length listed in the pattern (more than a couple of inches), then I would recommend getting an extra skein of yarn just to be safe.

Yarn Options

Ponchetta calls for worsted-weight yarn. In my original sample, I used Hikoo’s Simplinatural, a worsted weight merino/alpaca/silk blend. I knit this sample 6 years ago and the above and below picture were all taken in the last month, so it shows you how well this yarn has held up (especially considering this Ponchetta was a yarn shop sample for many years too!). But there are lots of other great yarn options out there too – you can see in the above gallery that an array of different worsted-weight yarns were used. Below I’ve also listed a few other favorites of mine (in addition to the Hikoo Simplinatural):

  • Malabrigo Rios
  • Manos del Uruguay Alegria Grande or Maxima
  • Berroco Vintage or Ultra Alpaca
  • Juniper Moon Farm Moonshine

Can I use another yarn weight?

Yes! You’ll just have to do a little pattern modification when it comes to picking a size. In the above gallery, you can see that Debra used a DK-weight yarn, so her gauge was a bit tighter than what the pattern called for. To account for this tighter gauge, she made a size larger, but used the length measurement of the size she wanted. If you have specific questions about how to adapt Ponchetta to a different yarn-weight, feel free to reach out to me.

Putting together Ponchetta (“Join Left Shoulder” Section)

The techniques used in the “Join Left Shoulder” section are not hard, but it’s a very visual process so I have created a little photo tutorial that walks you through the steps. Click here to view this tutorial!

Technique Tutorials:

Below are tutorials for the techniques used in this pattern:

Long tail cast-on
Long Tail Cast-On
Three Needle Bind-Off
Three Needle Bind-Off
Blocking