Ponchos are the perfect San Francisco outerwear option. Sometimes you just need an extra layer to protect from the wind, but nothing that needs to cover as much as a coat. Plus they’re a little hippy which is perfectly San Francisco (or haven’t you heard).

Modeling by Hanalei, Styling and Photography by myself

I’ve been loving my poncho from Madewell (also in this post) so much that I thought it might be fun to try making my own from a thrifted wool blanket for a cozy, easy, throw-over-everything type of piece.

I was secretly hoping to find an old pendleton throw but this blanket above I found thrifting totally worked.

It takes only about 10 minutes to make, and the only supplies you need are an upholstery (knitting) needle, scissors, and some wool yarn to match the blanket.

Keep reading for the full tutorial!

1. Lay your blanket out flat on the ground and mark off the middle (which was easy in this case since I had that gray line as a guide)

2. Measure your head hole to be centered on the middle  (I used another sweater to measure the length of the hole, that seemed easiest). Pin it on either side and cut with the scissors.

3. Pull out any excess thread until only loops are on each side

4. With your knitting needle, thread some similar color yarn through all the holes one at a time. Be careful to allow enough slack since it will pull and stretch a bit with weight. Go up and around the entire hole and knot off the end (again, allow lots of slack).

5. For the sides, use your knitting needle to thread yarn through each of the stitches. The way to make it invisible is to grab the stitch just below the top one, and as shown above.

6. When you pull on the thread it should align as shown above

Enjoy your new cozy sweater!

Wardrobe: Thrifted boots, thrifted and DIY distressed jeans (tutorial here), Fabric and Handle bag

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