The Knitting Fiend

I finished the Knit baby poncho. Mom wants to give my sister’s husband’s niece. I looks just like the two I made last year from her friend’s twin great grandson’s.

When I made those ponchos, I was looking for a cheap closure that babies can pull off and swallow. So, I made these little i-cord button loops. Then, they turned out the be the feature everyone “ooohed and aaaahed” over. Here, I thought I was just being economical! But, they are awfully cute. The also give it that “hand made” look, which is nice in a baby gift.

To the right, you can see a close-up of the neck closure and the little button. The neck opening is just a slit. I knit the body up to the neck, then knit the right side. Afterwards I knit the left side. No interior shaping at all.

When I finished the front, I opened out the slit, I hung the neck slit on the machine, knit 8 rows in stockinette and bound off. (Hand knitters could just pick up stitches– that’s the same as hanging on the machine.) This is super easy, but people who don’t knit will marvel and ask, “How did you get that to roll?

Of course, the trim rolls because that’s what stockinette does.

The button closures are easy too. Here’s an illustrated description showing how I made mine.

---

First, knit a whole bunch of i-cord; I knit 300 rows. That was way too much, but if you have a machine, it’s much wiser to knit too much. You can always cut the i-cord and anchor the ends. That’s much easier than trying to knit exactly the correct length, fold precisely etc.

Fold a piece of i-cord in half. You can see that above and to the left. Make a little circle and pull the top of the the folded i-cord through the circle. You can see the top of the fold above and to the right. Grab one of the free ends, and pull that through the little hole, as shown below and to the left. Then tighten into a button, which should look like the one below and to the right.

I should admit something: I did everything loose to take pictures. When I actually make these, I make the little circle smaller tight, and just have a small bit of the folded tip of i-cord peaking thorough the circle. Working everything more tightly in the first place makes it easier to tighten up evenly — but it makes it difficult to take photographs.

I advise practicing making everything too loose. Then undo the thing and repeat, this time working tightly in from the beginning.

---

Next fold another piece of i-cord in half, pushed the button through the fold, pinch the folded i-cord around the button. The, I tack the folded cord closed using matching thread and a tapestry needle.

When you make these, make the leave ends that are way too long. You can and always unravel i-cord from and end that is too long. Then thread a tapestry needle with the yarn you unraveled and draw the yarn through the live loops and pull to anchor. I use the extra yarn to sew the button and loop to the poncho.

If you want to knit the baby poncho yourself, visit: Machine Knit Baby Poncho. (I wrote up a hand knit version, but haven’t knit it. So, the directions might be more vague. You can find the link on the machine knit poncho page.)

---

P. S. To Mom, you can pick up the poncho anytime!