Simple Summer 'Swish' Poncho

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There are some beautiful summer wraps and scarves around and I particularly love piano shawls.  I have looked for antique ones in the hope of one day owning one but without any luck so far.  However, wraps and scarves keep falling off my shoulder and I end up readjusting them so many times that once I held a shawl together with a paper clip.  A shawl pin would have been handy at the time but when you are dealing with cotton and fine fibre, sometimes they are a bit bulky and can weigh down the wrap.

I really like the look of them though and came up with the idea of a summer poncho in black cotton.  Something with a long fringing similar to a piano shawl but something that would stay in place without the need for readjustment or pins.  Originally I wanted to knit it but I also wanted it to be very, very loose and open so I decided that crochet would be the way to go. 



Summer Swish Poncho

I crocheted it using ‘Solomon Knot’ (or lovers knot) and it is really very simple.
Solomons Knot Instructions
(including instructions for left handers)

One tip that I used when making this poncho is :-
when you do the yarn over and pull through at step 3, I used the thumb of my left hand (I am a right handed crocheter) as a measure each time.  This ensured consistency.

I crocheted a chain long enough to drape comfortably on my shoulders.

Then, it’s join up the chain and crochet until desired length. 

How simple is that?  I added quite a long fringing at the bottom as I wanted a bit of ‘swish’ when I wore it.  This is done by getting 2 threads of the cotton that are about 40cm long.  I inserted a crochet hook through each join at the bottom.  I hooked the middle of the 2 threads, pulled them through and then did a chain stitch.  To finish it off, I tied a little knot at the end of each thread - a job best done whilst watching TV.

Happy crocheting.

Louise