Maniacal Harlot Poncho

Modeled on "Long Island" in Lake George with my beloved girl Caia

Maniacal Harlot Poncho, Yarn Harlot Free Pattern,
designed by Stephanie Pearl McPhee
Knit with 7 skeins (120 yards/skein) of Berroco Suede (100% Nylon) in Zorro! (Black - 3729) on Clover bamboo circulars in size US 10 (6.0 mm), 24" and 32" and Addi Turbo brass-plated circulars in size US8 (5.0 mm), 16", at a guage of 4 sts per inch.

Pattern Notes:
This fun little knit is available for free on the Yarn Harlot's site. If you haven't come across it yet, you must live under a rock! Nonetheless, here's the link.

My poncho is a little different from the original - different yarn, different guage, and slightly different neckline. If you want to do the poncho in Suede, or another yarn that gets the same guage, cast on 100 stitches and follow the Harlot's pattern for 92 rows. For the neckline, I simply picked up and knit 100 stitches on needles two sizes smaller than those used for the body and used paired decreases with a knit stitch in between them at the front and back V's. Voila! This would have been a very simple and quick project if I hadn't taken a little detour. I had fun anyway. I was on vacation and had plenty of time to experiment. But for this detour, I was going to dub it the traveling harlot poncho - it was knit in 8 states - California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, New York and Vermont. I'm pretty sure that's a record for me. I've crossed the country five times, but I've always driven, so it takes effort to wrack up the knitting states. On this trip, I made use of lunch breaks. In the end, the poncho became maniacal, despite the traveling, for obvious reasons.

The Harlot Poncho is a great pattern. Easy, fun, flowing. Maniacal is optional. I wear the poncho a lot. In Suede, it's more of a fall/spring piece than a winter one, but the slinkiness of the suede transcends the season. On hot days in Lake George (hard to believe those were 6 weeks ago), I wore it as a cover-up on the boat, and I'm guessing if I put a hardy enough sweater on under it, I can take it into most of the winter. It models particuarly well in an enchanted forest on a magical lake island. It's also an excellent housecoat. Not, perhaps, the most attractive thing in the world - sweats, bunny slippers, hair in a bun, glasses, and poncho - but ooooh! comfy! My own traveling fort. Who says I can't camp in my living room?

Impressions of Berroco Suede:
Love it! (I feel like I'm saying this a lot lately. Do I choose well or do I just frog it if the yarn isn't smokin'?) If my desert island needs a nylon yarn, this is it. Springy, squooshy, fun to use. If you are looking for a soft yarn with loft and stretchiness, look no further. Light and luscious describes Suede perfectly. To get a very suedey effect, one of the other heathery colors is a better bet, but I liked the black just fine. That's the other great thing about this yarn. The colors have wonderful names. Black is Zorro! Blue is Wrangler! Green is Maverick! Get me my boots!

Possible substitute yarns:
GGH makes a suede called "Velour". 100% nylon, also. The yardage is substantially less (around 60 yards, I think) and the yarn isn't as squooshy. It should work just fine as a substitute, but for most things I'd prefer the Berroco. (I say this despite never having worked with the Velour, it's merely a gut reaction.) Try the Velour if you want a finer knit.

Tips for Others Making the Harlot Poncho:
There's not too much to say in the way of tips as this should be a pretty fool-proof pattern. (It is not maniac proof!) Check out Stephanie's extra help post if you're confused by the yarnovers. Avoid seams, steeks and inserts at all costs! Have fun.

More cool photos...

On the boat...

In the forest with the Pup and the Kiddo...(the sister-in-law's kiddo)