Celtic Poncho Rescue
This poncho was a labor of love finished in the Fall of 2005. I discovered it in the bottom of the wraps and ponchos basket the other day when I was digging out warmer weather knits. I knit it from very soft Artico Mondial la Lana superwash virgin Merino. I designed it myself, based on something I had seen. It's knit in-the-round from the top, part way, then divided into front and back. The idea was to make it less bunchy at the elbows with more freedom of movement....
The neck was supposed to be a cowl but instead it was a plush, squooshy Boa Constrictor.
The garter stitch hem is fine but the picked up stitches along the edge to make it were very badly done - too many holes from too few stitches in places, too many stitches picked up in other places made it lumpy and uneven, overall a very poor finish. You can see how I folded it over in the top pic to hide the ripples!
I found the final end and started to unravel it. It just made sense to hook it to the ball winder and start winding. It had taken 3 balls to make the hem - quite a substantial amount to wind!
I did the last round carefully, picking up stitches onto a very long circular needle.
I knew the neck had taken exactly one ball so I found the end where it turned into the main body and untied it. I had to unthread each stitch, one by one, picking up the live stitches as I went. I looked at the neck tube and wondered what I was thinking..... (!!!) I increased 6 stitches over each shoulder (a total of 12) and made a 2x2 ribbing which I folded over and sewed down/cast off.
For the hem I canvassed my local proficient crocheter and got her to make the same hem as she did for my sakura shawl. She carefully crocheted through the live stitches and then used 5 balls of wool to make the very lacey ruffled hem. These 2 pics are actually fairly close to the actual color.
DONE!
The neck was supposed to be a cowl but instead it was a plush, squooshy Boa Constrictor.
The garter stitch hem is fine but the picked up stitches along the edge to make it were very badly done - too many holes from too few stitches in places, too many stitches picked up in other places made it lumpy and uneven, overall a very poor finish. You can see how I folded it over in the top pic to hide the ripples!
I found the final end and started to unravel it. It just made sense to hook it to the ball winder and start winding. It had taken 3 balls to make the hem - quite a substantial amount to wind!
I did the last round carefully, picking up stitches onto a very long circular needle.
I knew the neck had taken exactly one ball so I found the end where it turned into the main body and untied it. I had to unthread each stitch, one by one, picking up the live stitches as I went. I looked at the neck tube and wondered what I was thinking..... (!!!) I increased 6 stitches over each shoulder (a total of 12) and made a 2x2 ribbing which I folded over and sewed down/cast off.
For the hem I canvassed my local proficient crocheter and got her to make the same hem as she did for my sakura shawl. She carefully crocheted through the live stitches and then used 5 balls of wool to make the very lacey ruffled hem. These 2 pics are actually fairly close to the actual color.
DONE!
What an inspiring post! I'm such a chicken with finished knits, but you got right in there and unraveled and made it better. I would be the knitter who pretends its fine for fear of exposing so many live stitches!! EEEK! The finished product looks GREAT! And how lucky you are to have such a talented crocheter so close by who can make such incredible borders
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Thanks Shannon! I confess that fear is exactly why it was sitting in the bottom of the basket for so long!! LOL!! But I had invested so much time in making it - and I love the cables and the soft yarn - that I finally plucked up the courage to fix it. And you're right! I AM lucky to have a daughter who doesn't mind bailing me out occasionally!! Just don't tell your own daughter it's what you have in mind when you teach her to crochet... let her think it's HER idea!! LOL!!
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What a transformation! The hem is lovely, so nice. I had to laugh about the Boa Constricta, I like those turtle neck thingies, but can't stand to wear them. Ny throat has to be free. You did a very nice job re-finishing it!
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Thanks Monika! Actually it really WAS constricting - I had made it too small. As I said, it was supposed to be a "cowl" ... maybe I should have swatched and measured first??? LOL!!!
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