String Addison Poncho Cape Knitting Pattern

String Addison Poncho

What Is Being Made

The String Addison Poncho is a luxurious knitted cape-style garment designed by Lidia Karabinech. This seamless poncho is worked flat from the bottom up and features a sophisticated lace stitch pattern throughout. The poncho drapes elegantly from cuff to cuff with finished measurements of 55 inches (139.5 cm) across, and a length to shoulder of 19 inches for Small/Medium or 21 inches (48.5–53.5 cm) for Large/XL sizes. The design includes a neckband detail and shoulder seaming to create a polished, wearable silhouette.

Techniques Used

This poncho employs several key knitting techniques to achieve its refined construction:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The poncho is knitted beginning at the lower edge and worked upward toward the neckline, allowing for easy adjustments and a natural progression of the lace pattern.
• Seamless, Worked Flat: Despite being seamless in appearance, the piece is worked flat on circular needles rather than in the round, providing greater control over the lace stitch pattern and shaping.
• Lace Stitch Patterning: A repeating lace motif is established using yarn overs and decreases to create an open, breathable fabric with visual interest.
• Garter Stitch Edging: The cast-on edge begins with 6 rows of garter stitch, providing a stable, decorative border that prevents curling.
• Three-Needle Bind-Off: Shoulder seams are created using the three-needle bind-off technique, which simultaneously binds off stitches while joining two pieces together with a neat, secure seam.
• Decreases and Yarn Overs: The lace pattern incorporates knit 2 together (k2tog), purl 2 together (p2tog), and slip-slip-knit (ssk) decreases paired with yarn overs (yo) to create the characteristic openwork.

Stitches Used

The String Addison Poncho utilizes a focused selection of fundamental stitches executed with precision:

• Garter Stitch: Knit on every row to create the textured, non-curling border at the cast-on edge.
• Lace Stitch: The primary stitch pattern, worked over a 2-row repeat. Row 1 (right side) consists of knit 4, then a repeating unit of [slip-slip-knit, yarn over] twice, knit 5. Row 2 (wrong side) mirrors this with purl 4, [purl 2 together, yarn over] twice, purl 5. This creates an elegant openwork fabric with a gauge of 16 stitches and 20 rows per 4 inches (10 cm).
• Decreases: Knit 2 together, purl 2 together, and slip-slip-knit are used to balance the yarn overs and maintain stitch count while shaping the lace.

Materials

The String Addison Poncho is crafted from premium materials selected for comfort and drape:

• Yarn: String BREEZE, a luxury blend composed of 60% cotton, 20% cashmere, and 20% silk. The yarn is supplied in 10 balls for Small/Medium or 12 balls for Large/XL, with each ball weighing 1.75 ounces (50 grams) and providing 136 yards (125 meters). The color used in the pattern is 200072 silver, a versatile neutral shade.
• Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) circular needles are required—a 32-inch (80 cm) length for the main body and a 16-inch (40 cm) length for the neckband. Circular needles provide the stability needed for working flat while accommodating the large stitch counts.
• Notions: Stitch holders are used to temporarily secure stitches for the shoulder and back neck sections, and a yarn needle is needed for weaving in ends during finishing.

Pattern Overview

Construction begins with casting on 220 stitches on the longer circular needles. After establishing a 6-row garter stitch border, the lace pattern is introduced and continued until the piece reaches the desired length to shoulder