Astrid is a top down sleeveless poncho “thingy” that I created using our new Fluffy Mohair yarn. The yarn is a luxurious blend of kid mohair and wool that is light, airy and incredibly soft. And I love how it knits up especially for this kind of slouchy, relaxed fit top. This is a great pattern to try if you’re new to top-down knitting because it isn’t terribly complicated. One reason for this is that there are no sleeves. Another is that it doesn’t have any body shaping to worry about. As a result you can focus on the knitting, especially if you’re new to mohair. The armholes are created by knitting the front and back separately, then joining them together for the waist. And you can experience the beauty of top down knitting which is that you can try the piece on as you go and make sure you like the fit. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

MATERIALS
2 x Cowgirlblues Fluffy Mohair, I used Shorebreak
5.5mm 100cm circular needle
4 x stitch markers and one more in a different colour or style
If you’re not keen on variegated yarns then you can use two of the same or different solids. It will work well as a colour block, and it also looks good if you create stripes of two alternating colours and make the stripes different widths, or the same, depending on your preference.

SIZE
This is a loose fit top that I’ve only created in one size but it’s quite easy to make it bigger or smaller. The bust fit is a 36-38inch with ~20 cm positive ease, the actual measurement is ~65 cm. And the finished length is 60cm
You’ll need extra yarn if you’re going to knit it bigger than the pattern as I used the full two skeins in my sample ie ~400m.

MEASUREMENTS
Neck opening: ~20cm across
Neck edge to armhole opening: ~32cm
Armhole opening: ~20cm
Armhole to hem: ~14cm
Width at top of armhole: ~80cm
Width at hem: ~70cm

GAUGE
~11st and ~17 rows to 10x10cm in stocking stitch

STITCH GLOSSARY
K: knit P: purl
PM: place marker SM: slip marker
EOR: End of round BTM: before the marker
KRPR: Knit 1, Return this stitch to the main needle, Pass the second stitch on the main needle over the one you have just slipped and passed, Return the stitch to the working needle
SKP: Slip 1 as if to knit, K1, pass the slipped stitch over
M1bl: Make one backwards loop (See the video tutorial on cowgirlblues blog)
Join: To join in the round I use the “crossed stitch” method (See the video tutorial on cowgirlblues blog)