Easy Poncho Out of Almost Anything.

Intro: Easy Poncho Out of Almost Anything.

Shawls/Ponchos are timeless, and an easy project that can be made out of almost anything.... tablecloth, blanket, quilts.

The white one in the pictures is a heavy tablecloth I found at a yard sale, and the pink is an old afghan I found at a thrift store. I've made several of these for friends and family and I've used everything from blankets and beach towels, to lace curtains and even a cute rug.

Either by hand or machine get that needle and thread ready. Lets make a poncho.

STEP 1: What You Need

You will need:

• Any blanket, or fabric large enough that when its folded in half it should be long enough to cover your torso and wide enough it will cover your shoulders.
• A leg of scrap jean works great, but any fabric can be used as the collar.

Tools:

• Scissors
• Handful of pins
• Tape measure
• Marking tool (fabric pen, regular pen, even a dried piece of soap works wonderfully as a fabric pen)
• And your machine

*For the several steps I'll be showing pictures of both a round table cloth and a rectangular afghan so I can show it works for any shaped fabric.

STEP 2: Fold

Whatever fabric you use lets begin by laying it flat.

Next just fold it in half from left to right.

Fold again but from top to bottom. *imagine folding a wash cloth, just fold it twice in half.

STEP 3: Mark and Cut

The corner that is all folded cloth (no fabric edge) is our center. Take your tape measure and we are going to mark how far down we need to cut.
**Adjust based on fabric. A firm not stretchy fabric I recommend marking 4inches, if your fabric is stretchy make your mark at about 3inches.
Cut your corner along your marks. Keep it a curved cut because we want to make a circle.
Unfold it to see your new neck hole.

Set aside and grab your scrap jeans.

STEP 4: Scrap Jeans Will Add a Decorative Touch

With your scrap jeans laid flat cut the face of the pants from the bottom hem all the way up to the front pocket. Aim for about 35 inches long and five to six inches wide. It does not have to be exact but nice straight lines do help.

Next lay you fabric down(make sure the inside of your jean is face up). Starting on either side you are going to fold about one inch of fabric back onto itself. Fold it again once more back until your edges meet. Pin into place.

Sew you new hem. *For mine I used a wide zigzag stitch for a decorative look.

Repeat to other edge of fabric for a finished look but one edge will be inside your poncho so hemming the second edge is up to you.

STEP 5: Pin and Sew Collar

With my round fabric it makes no difference which is the front or back so I can just start pinning my collar.

Starting on either end, you want your collar to have half it's fabric on one side of your poncho then folded over your neck hole edge and pinned down to the other side.

Keep folding and pinning your collar to your poncho until you've gone all the way around and your collar ends meet. Over lap ends and sew along entire collar and once along the edge where your fabrics overlap.

With your rectangular poncho it does matter what is your front and back (you want your collar hem to be in the back and not randomly over a shoulder) so the only difference is where you start.

Laying your poncho in front of you, grab your collar. You want to start pinning the middle of your collar to the front of your poncho working your way back. Continue pinning your collar until you reach the back.

cut any extra fabric and overlap your ends. Sew along the entire collar and once more where your fabrics overlap.

STEP 6: Almost There!

Turn your poncho inside out. Holding it by it's collar. I want you to grab the back with your left hand and the front with your right hand. Lay flat. Double check.... we want the poncho inside out and we are looking for the dead center of the front of the collar. We want to add a slight angle so your collar lays nice and flat in front.

With a strong straight stitch sew then cut that comer. Do NOT cut into your poncho! ONLY the collar needs trimmed.

With that your done.

See what fabrics you have laying around and give it a try.

Comments

[trolley947]

Instructions are great; will let you know how it turned out.

[Hippiesarah]

Thanks so much trolly947! I'd love to see it when ur done. ✌

[duckmom59]

I walked into a shift store picked out a bedspread and cut a hole out to fit my grandson's head through and told me daughter there some thing to keep him warm.

[duckmom59]

I have used fleece blankets, sewed two of them together leaving enough room for the head and side seams for the arms this works well for those throws everyone wants to give a person. I have two and my daughter 1. haven't found one that would work for three year old.

[kevin.mencer]

If she is a normal sized three year old, a fleece throw might do the trick, as those are fairly small and cheap.

[buildandsewandstuff]

Are you using woven non-stretch fabric for the collar to keep the neckline from stretching? I bought some cotton rib knit to make an open-front "cape" and need to keep the neckline from stretching. I was originally planning to use a strip of the same fabric as facing, but realized it would stretch too much.

I like your idea of using a tablecloth or afghan from the thrift store! I haunt those places! Great instructable!

[Althea MaeH]

I would think a fabric like a cotton blend that isn't too strechy or even a cavas would work well for a non strechy collar. I buy most of my fabrics at Joann Fabrics, and cotton/canvas is not super expensive... If i misunderstood what you were looking for, sorry. But i usually usee a combination of canvas and cotton fabrics for most of my sewing...

[Hippiesarah]

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful comments. I'll be honest Buildandsew, What sewing I can do is self taught.. and the most I can tell you about my fabrics is which thrift store I found it in. I do however use denim 90% of the time for my collars. Mostly because a dark jean fabric looks good with just about all colors and fabrics. Plus it being a stiffer fabric I find it easier to work with. I'm sorry I can't be any help. If anyone else has some insight, please feel free to comment. :)

[DustandDoghair]

Neat idea! Very clever. Love the denim detailing, too!

[soarfree4]

way back in the 70's, we used a round lace tablecloth.. it was trendy and so simple...

[Scarlet Moon]

awesome!gotta try this!

[VickiC19]

I love it and can't wait to find something to make this with. Wonderful I would have never thought of using round tablecloth.

[Paris121]

This is so creative and beautiful. NowI need to look around to see what I can use to make my own!

[BLASTFEMI]

I love this! My lil girl has just discovered ponchos so now I will make one for her. Thanks for the instructions! I'm terrible at binding edges but you really make it seem do-able! Thanks!