The 17-Hour Hand Stitch Poncho

the 17-hour hand stitch

in reverence for slower living

The darker days often feel like an outbreath from the season prior. A release of held air dispersing into the winds of the night — an exhale into rest. Our animal bodies crave dormancy like our flora and fauna ancestors and although we might be unable to fall into deep slumber for months on end, there is a slowing down we can respect and possibly even revere. 

The 17-hour hand stitch poncho is the embodiment of this reverence for slower living. A way to cloak yourself in the hours of handmade work created to keep your body safe and warm through a beautiful story of stitching. The rhythmic push and pull of a needle and thread, following the pulses of the cosmos. 

A collaboration between Herderin and Helene Jones, the 17-hour Handstitch Teppi Blanket Poncho originally came out of the desire to create a blanket stitch on Herderin’s classic poncho. But without being able to find the proper machine, an experiment began — to create the aesthetic and function of the same stitch but by hand. 

We often believe we’re entering a journey for one reason and come out of it with brighter realizations. Through every stitch, Helene began to worry less about replicating what a machine could make and began understanding that hand stitching has its own unique qualities irreplaceable from what a machine could do.  

“I enjoyed seeing the rhythm that emerged in the stitching. Almost like playing a musical note on a page, creating a whole song.”
— Helene Jones, Herderin

The 17-hour hand stitched poncho is a blanket-style poncho inspired by the traditional outwear of Iceland. Generously blanketed on the body with a wrapping oversized scarf that can be tied, wrapped around the head, or draped on the shoulders. This piece has open arms and comes in one size. Designed and made in Northern California. Because this item is made to order, and our blanket stitch is done by hand over 17 hours, the price is reflected.

The Teppi Blankey poncho is made with Climate Beneficial Wool fabric. The stitching was created with single ply Navajo-Churro wool from Outlaw Valley Ranch, cleaned and carded at Morro Fleece Works, and spun at Valley Oak Mill. 

Climate Beneficial™ Wool is a by-product of employing carbon farming practices. Sheep raised on a farm that can sequester carbon back into the ground, as opposed to sending it into the atmosphere, are actually reducing their carbon footprint and creating a beneficial impact on the environment.

Follow the tempo of the seasons.
Slow down.
Exhale.