Review: Ribbon Poncho

About 5, almost 6, years ago, when I was just learning to knit, I got a pattern from Lion Brand for a ribbon poncho. It required 5 balls of Lion Brand "Incredible Yarn" in your choice of colors. I picked Rainbow, because I absolutely love bright colors. The pattern was for beginners, and trust me, I was a beginner. So I made it, got all the way through it, and then dropped a stitch as I was binding it off. The entire thing unraveled in my hands, and I got pissed off. I rolled up all the ribbon yarn and stowed it until I had more patience. Well, I stumbled across all the ribbon yarn last week, and once I got all my custom orders sent out, decided to give it another go. I work patterns all the way up the "intermediate +" difficulty levels, so I figured this would be a breeze.

Here's what Lion Brand says it looks like:

I thought it looked really cute. And I still do. But here's the problem I had with it: it came out a lot smaller than the pattern said it would. The pattern is simple (I would post a link to it, but Lion Brand requires an account to view patterns). All you do is cast on 40 stitches and work in a garter stitch until the poncho reaches 48 inches long. Then fold it in half, sew up one side completely and sew 10 inches along the top side. So I did exactly as it directed. Mine didn't really come out as a poncho, but more like a shoulder-hugging shrug. This picture is not a good representation of the product, unless that lady is really small. My gauge was right, and I used the proper needles. I even used 6 balls of yarn, instead of the required 5, and it still came out short. So I waited this long to make this poncho, and I ended up wasting my time. It took about 5 hours to make, which isn't long, but I'd rather have spent longer and gotten something I could use. I think I'll just sell it on my Etsy shop at a discount to try to recoop some of the cost. 


Normally Lion Brand patterns work nicely. This was the first one that didn't turn out right. Oh well. Now I'm working on an original design scarf: My Little Pony "Rainbow Dash" chevron scarf. So far, it's nice. The pattern is a little troublesome, and I've had to start twice, but I think I have the hang of it now.