Sweater-breakwater knitting

Words from the author Natalia Zh. - By popular demand, I will publish my notes on knitting the poncho-sweater called Vornorez.
There will be no exact stitch-by-stitch description, nor will there be needle sizes. You need to decide this for yourself, according to your yarn and desired knitting tension. I only have general recommendations that I hope will help you.
First - the yarn. You need lightweight, voluminous yarn. I have Italian half-wool 50/50, but you can also use alpaca with merino, merino alone, or half-cotton; the composition is not critical, as long as it is not too heavy like 100% cotton, and does not obscure the pattern like mohair. I think the currently popular cord yarn would be perfect - it gives both volume and texture.
Yarn length. I used yarn of 1600m/100g, from a cone, in 6 strands. This article is quite voluminous, I got an excellent fabric on size 3.5 needles. But this is individual - I knit loosely. I think it would be ideal to use yarn of 200-300m/100g.
Tension. I honestly admit, I did not measure vertical tension - the patent rib is very elastic in height and width, my horizontal tension is 16 stitches (IMPORTANT: measure the tension after slightly stretching the sample), which is also not critical if your tension is +/- 2 stitches. But do not knit too fine patterns with thin yarn; I have seen implementations with 7 repeats that look, to put it mildly, not very good. 4-5 repeats in width is optimal for this model. I have also seen implementations with thick yarn, which is also interesting; then 4 repeats give a width from wrist to wrist, and 2 repeats in height are enough.
Cast on stitches in any way convenient for you; I believe that the Italian cast-on for patent ribbing is unnecessary. The entire model is free and relaxed in style, and I think the edge should also be free. Important! Cast on stitches loosely, so the edge is not tight when stretching the ribbing. You can use a thicker needle for casting on.
Count the number of stitches according to your tension - it should be 4 or 5 repeats; you can add a few stitches on the edges if the desired width is not achieved. I got 4 repeats (160 stitches), with 10 stitches on each side in a regular ribbing + 1 stitch for symmetry, so that the row starts and ends with a knit stitch, and 2 edge stitches + 183 stitches. You decide what you need - I knitted with a length of the "sleeve" 3/4, considering that we will add another 7 cm of ribbing. There are also options here. You can knit narrower, to the elbow, with a 3/4 sleeve, or to the wrist, at your discretion. I believe that skinny girls will look good in a wide poncho from wrist to wrist, but for size 48 and above, shorter sleeves are needed to avoid looking bulky.
Knit straight for 5-10 cm; this also depends on tension. If you need a longer length and your tension is low, you can knit exactly 12 cm, and then start making waves, also decide for yourself. I have 7 cm (20 rows) before the pattern. Then we start the pattern. Take markers, mark the beginning, middle, and end of the repeat, first knit the "right" pattern - where yarnovers are on the right, and decreases on the left. Make the yarnover in the knit row, in the purl row, knit 2 stitches from the yarnover - a knit and a purl according to the pattern. Decreases can be of two types. You can make one double decrease (3 stitches together) in the knit row, or in the knit row, knit two stitches together, and in the purl row, knit two purl stitches. I chose the second option for myself.
Alternate knitting the right and left repeats, three times, or as many as you want; I have seen implementations with thick yarn with 2 repeats in height. Then, to slightly increase the length, you can knit a few more rows straight with the patent ribbing; I knitted 10 rows. And we start decreasing for the shoulder slope. Here you also need to calculate for yourself what length you need and what neckline. I have a wide boat neckline, from 43 stitches 183-43/2= 70 stitches for the shoulder slopes; I decided to do them with partial knitting, not completing 3 stitches in each row. Continue knitting with patent ribbing, straight for the back, on the front, before shaping the neckline, I made 3 turns for the neckline to slightly deepen it; you can skip this step. 12 rows before the neckline, we start knitting the middle 43 stitches in garter stitch. In the original, the garter stitch is 6 rows, but there is also a rolled edge; I refused this rolled edge and expanded the garter stitch finish.
Assembly. Shoulder seams can be closed and sewn with a slip stitch, or mattress stitch, whichever seems convenient for you. I sewed with a mattress stitch, slightly stretching the fabric while sewing. I closed the neckline in the usual way, only based on purl stitches, so that the "braid" of the closure goes on the inside. You can close it with a needle or bind several rows with knit stitches and make a rolled edge, like in the original.
The hem is sewn for 10-15 cm; for me, this is half a repeat; you also decide for yourself to make it comfortable, but free around the hips.
Sleeves. At the edge, cast on stitches on thin needles; I used 2.25 (I knitted the body on 3.5). Important - if you are knitting from cone yarn, it is worth knitting the cuff ribbing with fewer strands; I used 4 instead of 6 strands for the body. I cast on at the edge of the selvedge, through 1 stitch, to pull the cuff in well. The first row is knitted in purl stitches, imitating a slip stitch; then knit 2/2 ribbing to a height of 7-8 cm, and bind off stitches, preferably with a needle.