Product Description

Whether worn as a beach cover-up or donned as an elegant evening wrap, ponchos are everywhere. Now, with Viva Poncho, knitters can make the newest sartorial sensation their own. This fun, fresh book offers 20 poncho designs for every season and in every style-serapes, raglans, wraparounds, semicircles, rectangles, pullovers, capelets, and even a dog poncho.

Patterns suitable for both beginners and experienced knitters are included, all accompanied by clear, easy-to-follow explanations. Simple to make and give as gifts (since sizing is easy), practical and stylish to wear, and suitable for all sorts of creative adaptations, ponchos are an ideal project for every knitter. In fact, the authors encourage customization, showing how to add a hood or a collar, or devise personalized color schemes. Like the fashionable garments themselves, Viva Poncho will be the perfect impulse buy. AUTHOR BIO: Christina Stork is the owner of Article Pract, an award-winning San Francisco yarn shop. Before making knitting her full-time profession, she was a culinary writer. Leslie Barbazette is the founder of Citizen Bags, a commercial line of hand-knitted totes and accessories. This is her first book. David Verba is a fine-art photographer best known for his black-and-white studies of the American western landscape.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #504238 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 136 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Easier than a sweater, harder than a scarf, ponchos are the perfect in-between knitting project-they're also incredibly fashionable. That must be the reason why so many of Stork and Barbazette's designs look like they could fit right into the pages of Vogue, Nylon and Lucky. Take the two-piece rectangular poncho "Sonya," for example; cast loosely with superfine wool in cheery summer colors, it's the perfect accessory for a day at the beach. Need something warmer for winter? Try the one-piece raglan poncho "Eleanor," knit in a bulky alpaca-and-wool blend with a turtleneck and a pretty cable running down the front and back. For fancy nights, there's the one-piece caplet "Eloise" knit in a satiny black "faux fur" wool and tied with a pink ribbon. Stork, the owner of Article Pract, a "yarn shop for modern knitters" in Oakland, Calif., and Barbazette, founder of the accessories line Citizen Bags, provide plenty of advice for beginners, including tips for knitting with circular needles, dropping stitches on purpose and weaving in the ends as you go. A helpful chart at the beginning also lists the skills needed and taught within each of their 20 designs. With its fashionista photos, hip designs, clear instructions and reasonable price point, this volume is sure to have widespread appeal.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Best of the recent poncho entries
For anyone else who is confused by the plethora of new "poncho" knitting books, hopefully my efforts will help you with your decision. I spent a considerable time in a couple of bookstores and local yarn stores in an attempt to select which poncho pattern books were the best. Having scoped out what I believe is everything on the current market, this one is definitely the best. Why? Well, there is a whole range of styles and designs. In addition, the patterns, while of varying levels, are easy to follow. This is the only one of the poncho books where, for me, the hardest decision is which one to knit -- there are several that I would love to have for this fall.

Mistakes
When I received this book, I found a number of patterns I wanted to make. My first choice was Eudora (page 110). It went pretty well until I got to row 41. I'm not a very experienced knitter (mostly scarves until recently), but it was pretty obvious to me that there was a mistake in the pattern. I sent emails to the publisher and the authors. I never heard from the authors, but today I received a reply from the publisher - there are corrections at: vivaponcho dot com. So beware - this book has mistakes.

The place to go for ponchos...
Right now, ponchos are everywhere-from the runway to the local movie theater-and the timing couldn't be better for all those knitters who joined the craze in the last few years and are ready to move beyond scarves. For those new knitters who want to enhance both their knitting repertoire and their wardrobe-and for seasoned pros looking for fun new projects-Christina Stork and Leslie Barbazette have created Viva Poncho, a collection of 20 poncho patterns for all levels of knitters.

The book is divided into three parts-one-piece, two-piece, and capelets. You'll find patterns for big, airy ponchos on huge needles, cozy ponchos to keep you warm when the weather gets chilly, and lacy capelets to accent your favorite strappy dress. The authors use drawings and charts along with the usual instructions to make patterns as understandable as possible. They also explain techniques that may be new to more novice knitters, using plenty of pictures to illustrate. For knitters who are looking to go beyond the pattern to add their own special touches, Stork and Barbazette also include tips and suggestions for adding hoods, fringe, and cowl necks-as well as changing yarns and playing with color-to individualize any design.

If you're searching for a pattern for a poncho, capelet, or serape (though I often have a hard time telling the difference), Viva Poncho has them all. There are ponchos for every occasion, every season, and every skill level. There's even a poncho for your pooch. Though the patterns and styles are sometimes a bit repetitious, there are still plenty of unique designs to thrill any poncho lover. So if you're looking for ponchos, look no further than Viva Poncho.