The Mexican poncho is an iconic item of Mexican clothing. In essence, a poncho is a blanket with a hole cut out of the middle. Designed to provide warmth and freedom of movement, the poncho slides over the wearer’s head and has no arm seams. It is a very utilitarian piece of clothing, but it can be embellished with fringe and bold patterns and colors. Based on personal preference, lengths vary from just covering the seat to hanging longer to the knees or calves. Historically, primarily men wore ponchos, but in modern day culture, both men and women wear ponchos.
A serape is another item of Latin American clothing that is very similar to the poncho. The key difference, however, is that ponchos were worn by Mexican laborers as a functional piece of clothing while the serape was designed by Spanish upper class and aristocracy to be worn as an adornment to their clothing. Today, it is difficult to delineate between the two.
Today, take we’re going to design our own Mexican poncho!
What you will need:
- poncho template printed on regular white printing paper (not cardstock)
- colored pencils
- black felt tip or permanent marker
- scissors
- glue (not pictured)
- colored card stock paper
- ruler (optional)
- completed poncho example 1, example 2, and example 3
Fold the poncho pattern in half horizontally so that the fold dissects the head opening.
Color ONE side of the pattern with colored pencils. You may choose a vivid color palette or design a more muted palette after the examples shown above. 
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Using a felt tip pen or permanent marker, add geometric patterned designs on various lines of color. Be creative!
Once the coloring and patterns are completed, cut out center diamond and trim off excess side edges of the paper along the dotted lines.
Add fringe by cutting off the excess paper and then cutting along the dotted lines at the bottom of the colored side of the paper.
Finally, squeeze glue onto the uncolored side of the poncho and place on colored piece of cardstock.
If you enjoyed this project, print another template and create another design! You’ll find the color and pattern possibilities are endless!