Easy DIY Fall Poncho

So I've been loving the look of a camel poncho for fall, and came across this one on Pinterest (the photo of the girl on the left). 

When I clicked to find out where to get it, I saw that this particular poncho is 100% cashmere and is on sale for $220 (it was originally $389). 

After some sticker shock, I went on the hunt for a similar poncho for less.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find one that I really liked, so I decided I would take the plunge and try to make one myself. 

Disclaimer: I am NOT a seamstress! I can sew buttons and straight edges on things if I have to, but I'm not the best at it. However, knowing a poncho is 1-2 pieces of fabric at the most, I figured it couldn't be that hard.

I went to my local Hancock Fabrics actually looking for cashmere (which they did not have), but instead found a warm, camel color wool. It also was 50% off, so that was a plus! I also found a cute wooden button that I wasn't sure how I was going to use it.

I came home and found this tutorial online from a blog called Cut Out And Keep.

Click to enlarge

  I didn't follow it exactly, but this is a great tutorial for anyone wanting to make a poncho.

Here's what I did:

• I cut out a 40"x40" piece of wool (in hindsight, I wish I had cut it just a tad bigger).
• Fold the fabric in half and then fold that in half to make a square.
• I skipped the directions about the belt, as I didn't want to do that.
• I also didn't want my poncho rounded so I skipped that part.
• Follow the directions about cutting out the hole for your head...and be conservative. Don't make it too big. You can always go back and make it bigger.
• I then took the scrap circle from where I cut out the opening for the head, cut that in half and made a peter pan collar. I folded the collar fabric around the opening for the head and glued it all around the inside of the opening with my glue gun. 
• I then hand sewed the wooden button to the front of the collar. 

So this is the finished poncho, and I'm rather happy with it. It would be 100% no-sew if I hadn't attached the button...but you could always glue the button on if you really wanted to.

It looks great with boots and I also like how it looks with a scarf. And since it's wool, it's rather warm as well.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and I'd love to see your own DIY fall ponchos! Post them to my Facebook wall!

Happy Fall Y'all!