The weirdest things I’ve ever made

The strangest thing I've ever been asked to make is a poncho. Which, at face value, isn't a bizarre thing to make. But the occasion I was asked to make it for made it all the stranger.

One of my very best friends got married a couple of years ago, and she decided to have a mountain cabin wedding in a climate that's a little bit cooler than where we live. She's also kind of a non-traditional gal who wanted her wedding to be full of black and gray, and she loves skulls and bats. Knowing all of this, she asked me to make her a wedding poncho, which seemed very bizarre, but of course I wasn't going to turn down a challenge.

Pattern on Etsy here: etsy.com

A Wedding Poncho With A Hidden Skull Square

So this poncho took me about two and a half months to make. I was glad she gave me enough advance notice, but I think she knew all along she was going to ask me to contribute to her wedding in some way, which I was very honored by. I found a pattern that uses a bunch of granny squares, which you crochet together to shape it like a poncho.

Now, a poncho in and of itself is an easier thing to make because you don't necessarily have to worry about size. There are no armholes, and it's as big as you want it to be and in the shape you want it to be. She chose a myriad of colors that she would like in her granny squares, between silvers, grays, white, and black, which, again, is not traditional for a wedding, but it's exactly what she wanted.

I was able to add in a couple of little details for her that I don't think everyone else could see, but one of the squares had a small skull on it. And another square had a little bat on it as well. I wanted her to have a little personality on her wedding day.

It Was Very Her At The Wedding

I don't think anyone was surprised when they saw it. Of course, it's not traditional for a wedding, but her dress wasn't traditional. The wedding itself wasn't traditional. And the feedback I just kept getting was that it was very her.

Everything around the ceremony, and especially the poncho and the outfits, was just her. They showed her personality. She was smiling so big. Everyone just seemed to really enjoy the different ways that we celebrated her and her husband that day.

Piecing All Those Granny Squares Together

I think I was most worried about actually getting all the squares put together. It's very simple to sit down and get into the muscle memory of making these granny squares as fast as you can. I had piles and piles of them everywhere.

But then, when it comes time to actually construct them, put them together, and make sure they lay flat and everything fits together nicely, that's what I was most worried about. Especially as I was under a time crunch and wanted to make sure it looked really nice for a wedding.

Proud I Made My First Ever Poncho For Her

Ryan's just really proud that I took the leap to make something I'd never made before, especially for such a big day like this. I'm really proud that she even thought of asking me to share in her big day like this. It was a huge honor to know that my creation would be in her wedding photos, which will last a lifetime.

I was really proud that I pushed myself to do something I'd never done before: making all the granny squares and a poncho in general. And I was just really proud that we were able to make it look just like her.