Lilly – The Poncho

Wear it over a simple top and slim trousers, and let the fringe hang freely. The poncho is big enough to carry the outfit on its own, so the rest can be calm.

• A garment you can put on without thinking
• Your first poncho — no sleeves, no decreases, no finishing
• Garter stitch that does not roll and does not need counting
• To decide the length yourself, as you go
• A pattern that counts rounds, not colours, so leftover yarn works

• Digital knitting pattern (PDF), built for your phone
• Ten steps with tick-boxes along the way
• All five sizes in the same file
• Cosy Cues with technical tips throughout the pattern
• Video links for stretchy cast-on, closed increases, eyelet border and fringe
• Print section on one A4 sheet and a notes page at the back
• The pattern in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, English and German

Lilly is the calmest poncho in the family. No stripes, no pattern repeat to count — just garter ridges, one colour, and two increase lines that divide the garment into four.

The increases are closed, not yarn overs. It would have been simpler to leave them open and get a line of eyelets down each V, but then the line turns airy, and that does not suit a garment that is otherwise so dense. Here the V is meant to be a line in the fabric, not a pattern.

Lilly belongs to the poncho collection Adventure of a Lifetime, together with Sparks – The Poncho, Don't Panic – The Poncho and I Want Something Just Like This. The same calm construction, different looks — soft, bohemian, easy to move in and effortless.

Five sizes: XS, S, M, L and XL. All in the same file.

• Length without fringe: 56 (59) 62 (65) 68 cm
• Fringe: 15 cm extra
• Total length: 71 (74) 77 (80) 83 cm
• Neck edge, circumference: 50 (54) 59 (63) 67 cm
• Width at the bottom, flat: 94 (100) 106 (113) 119 cm

You decide the length yourself. The pattern tells you how to measure as you go and where to stop.

Recommended yarn

Grape Smoothie – Hip Wool, HipknitShop. 50 g = 80 m.

You need 8 (9) 10 (11) 12 balls. The fringe is included and takes around one and a half balls.

Leftover yarn from Garnspesialisten works well for both the body and the fringe, as long as the gauge is right.

Needles & notions

• Circular needle no. 7 — 40 cm for the neck edge and 80–100 cm for the body
• One needle no. 8 for the bind-off
• Stitch markers
• Darning needle, scissors and tape measure
• A book or a piece of stiff card of approx. 17 cm to wind the fringe around

14 stitches × 20 rounds = 10 × 10 cm in garter stitch on needle no. 7. If you knit more loosely, go down to no. 6. If you knit more tightly, go up to no. 8.

Knit a swatch first. It is the rounds that decide how long the poncho turns out.

The poncho is knitted in the round, top-down, in garter stitch — one knit round and one purl round through the whole garment. The neck edge is the cast-on itself, without increases.

From there you increase out from two centre stitches, one at the front and one at the back, on every knit round. The increases are closed: right-leaning before the centre stitch and left-leaning after, both knitted through the back loop. That gives a dense, clear V-line without holes.

At the bottom it finishes with an eyelet border that the fringe is attached to, and a loose bind-off that lets the edge fall.

• Stretchy cast-on
• Garter stitch in the round
• Closed increase, right- and left-leaning
• Eyelet border
• Fringe

Techniques explained in Knittipedia: Garter stitch · Fringe

CosyMonday is founded and run by Anne-Turid, a Norwegian knitwear designer trained in fashion at Moteskolen Esmod AS. Every pattern is designed with clean lines, real quality yarn and the details that make a garment your own. When you choose a CosyMonday pattern, you become part of a growing community of knitters who share the same love of good craft and timeless design. Welcome into the universe.