Retro Summer Knitting
Mabel & Ivy Coast has fast become one of our bestselling yarns and it's not hard to see why; a cotton and lambswool blend in a light fingering weight Coast is ideal for knitting summer shawls but it's great for garments too! On my nightly stalking of Ravelry I came across Joni; a 70's inspired poncho pullover by Clare Shaw.
There's a real 1970's revival going on right now in fashion, with bell bottom jeans set to be the jeans to wear this season! I can't quite see myself going that far but I do think that Clare's design would look super cool with a pair of bootcut jeans, wedges and hooped earrings! Joni really resonates with me and conjures up fond memories of growing up in the seventies.
Both Clare and tester knitter Colleen have chosen colour palettes which bring this design right up to date. Clare's pullover (above) is knit in Ecru, Fairy, Freesia and Aconite. Whilst Colleen (below) has opted for Dove, Wisteria, Freesia and Solar Power.
Joni is light, flowing and comfortable, with graduated asymmetric stripes on loose-fitting kimono sleeves, a slash neckline and a high-hip-hugging ribbed waistband.
It is knitted sideways in stocking stitch, starting from one side with a provisional cast-on at shoulder level, across the body (incorporating a slash neck), then to the first striped sleeve knitted in the round. The provisionally-held stitches are returned to for the second striped sleeve, again knitted in the round. Stitches are picked up at high hip level for a ribbed band.
The pullover can be worn with either with the stocking stitch (as above) or the reverse stocking stitch (below) as the right side, and the front and back are also reversible. You can also play around with the stripe sequence to make this sweater unique to you and use what yarn you have.
If you fancy casting on Joni the pattern is available to purchase on Ravelry. As always I love seeing what you've been knitting so do share your Joni with me on Instagram by using the hashtag #tangledyarnuk
A huge thank you to both Clare and Colleen for giving me permission to use their photographs.
About the Author
Rachel Owen is the owner of Tangled Yarn. As a mother to two teenagers life is never dull! When she's not knitting can be found wandering the Pennines with her faithful cocker spaniel Bailee. Her favourite colour is blue or is it green? And she could sink a ship with the amount of tea she drinks!