Plaid Poncho Scarf

Classic and Classy, and the one that travels furthest into ordinary life. A plaid reads as tailoring rather than as a print, so it sits down next to a blazer or a plain shirt without arguing with either.

Wear the seam at the back and the line across the chest stays unbroken, which is the version that looks most like a piece of outerwear. Move the seam to the front and the same plaid forms a V-neck.

When people buy this one

When the rest of the catalog is too loud for where they are going. Offices, restaurants, autumn weddings, the flight home. This is the one that works somewhere with a dress code, and it is the reason we started making a plaid at all.

Four colorways

All four are built to disappear into a wardrobe rather than dominate it.

• Black. The one that goes with everything already in the closet.
• White. Lightest of the four to look at, and the easiest over pale summer clothes.
• Light pink. Soft enough to read as a neutral, warm enough to lift a grey day.
• Navy. The ultimate in classy. 

Five ways to wear it

One size, and it flatters more people than it fits. It does not fit the body, it wears from the shoulders, so it skims rather than clings. It slips on over your head, and you choose where the seam sits.

• Seam at the front. Gathers into a soft cowl at the neck. The warmest and most covered.
• Seam at the side. An asymmetric drape, and the position that covers front and back evenly.
• Seam at the back. A clean, unbroken line across the chest.
• Looped at the neck. Nothing goes over your head. Loop it once and let both ends hang forward over your shoulders.
• Open on the shoulders. Left unfastened like a shawl, for an evening that is only slightly cool.

Moving the seam changes where the length falls, so the same piece hangs differently in each position. If you have broader shoulders or a fuller bust it will sit a little shorter, which is the only thing that really changes.

A printed instruction sheet comes with every order. There is a fuller guide, with photographs, on the how to wear it page.

How it is made

One piece of fabric, folded once and joined with a single seam. Nothing is cut. The opening your head goes through is the gap left between the fold and that seam, which is why it cannot lie flat the way a classic poncho does, and why moving the seam changes the whole shape.

On a plaid this matters more than usual. Because the fabric is never cut, the check runs unbroken from front to back over the shoulder, and the pattern lines up with itself at the seam.

Fabric and care

A soft woven blend. Hand wash, or machine wash cold on a delicate cycle, then lay flat to dry. No dryer and no dry cleaning. Because the fabric is woven, small threading variations are natural rather than a fault. Keep it away from rings and rough jewelry, and if a thread pulls, do not cut it. Tug the fabric gently in every direction and the weave will settle back.

Made by hand

Sewn by hand, one seam at a time. We have been making these and selling them at art fairs and music festivals for over a decade. Because each one is sewn by hand and the weave varies bolt to bolt, no two are identical.

Is it a scarf? Is it a shawl?

You will hear these called scarf tops, and we have called them that at markets for years. The shop is called Love My Shawls. Both terms now cover several different garments, so they are worth a word of explanation.

• Not a scarf top in the current fashion sense, which means a silk square tied as a halter or bandeau and worn as the top itself.
• Not strictly a shawl either. A shawl has no openings and is simply draped, so it needs holding in place.
• Technically a poncho. One piece of fabric, folded once and joined with a single seam, leaving a head opening. Nothing is cut, and there is no hole in the middle of a panel. You pull it on and it stays where you put it.

A shawl falls off. A scarf has to be tied, and most people do not want to learn how. The seam fixes both: it lets this be worn as a garment, hands free. It does not have to be wrapped, and it is not going to fall off.

We call it a poncho scarf because it is lighter and more drapey than a winter poncho. There is a plain-language guide on the poncho, shawl, ruana or scarf top page.