In our house, regardless of the season, you are never more than an arms length away from a warm blanket. This is totally by my design because I am always freezing. Always! It could be the middle of summer with the sun shining through our windows and I will still have a blanket on top of me.

So, with this freezing winter season in Ohio, I have been looking for items to make that will keep me toasty. I was searching around Instagram and saw one of my favorite ladies had posted a fleece poncho tutorial. The picture that Melly Sews showcased looked like the perfect item to keep me fabulously warm.

For those of you who shop for fabrics, you know that fleece is on sale right now making this perfect for my first sewing project of 2018. I picked up a basic, neutral pattern that would match well with jeans or leggings as well as my black AND brown boots.

When you visit Melly Sews, you will see that she has both typed out instructions and a video tutorial. I suggest that you watch the video all the way through before starting. I didn't and ending up mis-cutting the cowl...even though she warns you, I always mis-cut at least once during a pattern. In knowing this, I also buy at least a half a yard extra on any fabric cut to help with my mistakes.

I trimmed my edges and cut the fabric for the main portion of the poncho. I used the video tutorial to cut the neck hole: folding the portion into four and measuring 2 inches x 4 inches and cut on a curve between the two pins. Before moving forward, be sure to place the poncho over your head. If it doesn't fit, then cut open a bit more. After opening the poncho up, I measured from shoulder point to shoulder point and multiplied by two to get the neck hole size for the cowl. If you have already cut the cowl (like I did the first time) you may not have the correct size based on what you cut.

I cut out the cowl and sewed a seam from the base to the top. I love sewing with fleece because you don't have to worry about fraying so the seam sewing is wicked easy. If you fold the cowl lengthwise in half, you'll be able to find four equal point which will easily line up to the back and front seam as well as the shoulder points. Placing right sides together, I pinned all four points together and sewed all around the neckline. 

Pull everything right side out and cozy up! You can use the cowl around your neck or pull it up over your head for a hood. Either way - you will be toasty all through the winter!

Tutorial can be found at Melly Sews here: https://mellysews.com/2017/01/top-tutorials-2016-2-sew-fleece-poncho.html  And be sure to sign up for her newsletter - it is totally worth getting for ideas and patterns?

This pattern was not created by me, just sewn by me after following the instructions from the original creator (www.mellysews.com).