Sunday, July 8, 2012

Getting there...

So I've had a few more attempts at a shaped beanie over the weekend.

I'm getting better at it, thanks to Jennie's advice on how to mark the beginning of your round. Makes all the difference.

The shaping is coming along nicely, although my end result in sizing is somewhat unpredictable.

The first pattern was in a 1980's Womens weekly book and had all sorts of terminology I didn't understand. I get the DC, HDC, CH, SL ST... but was thrown by a few others MC, ISC and INC for example and they didn't have the key to their little codes anywhere, so I had to call in the big guns .... Mum to the rescue.

Seems MC = main color  CC1 = color change one and inc h tr means you have to increase hmmm. I reckon these pattern writers are LAZZZYYYY. Is it so hard to just write stop using blue and start using the red!

And how about saying... do two htr's in the next hole, then one etc...not just inc h tr, rep from *

My goodness, it's like learning Morse code. You know, the crochet bit is easy easy it's reading the lazy patterns that does your head in. Thank god I have my interpreter on call ( Mum xx)

So anyways, rant over...


I made this, which worked out well and to the correct size based on instructions from my 1980 Woman's day book.

Then I made this one following a pattern I found on Ravelry. Whilst it was my best attempt yet at having a shaped crown, the sizing was way off. It was supposed to be a 3-5 year old and I reckon it's 3 - 6 month old.



I think ... after googling and staying up far too late last night trying to conquer this thing, I think I'm doing it wrong. Well obviously! But to be precise I think I'm putting my stick into the middle of stitches and not in between the top two. That's the only thing I can think that might effect the out come. My stitch count is spot on, per round, so it's not that.

I dunno.
I have not been beaten though. I will carry on with my experiments as with each attempt I can see I am getting better.
I'm knowing where my rounds start and stop, counting my stitches... two little changes that make a big difference and hats are a perfect size project to test on. They don't take too long to do and they'll always fit someone.

I know I'd be too sad if I'd devoted that time to a Cardigan only to see it wasn't working and had to be unravelled.
But a few more attempts and I reckon I'm ready for a garment...

This perhaps:


 Pattern available here:

Oh ... blessed readers who are not into crochet...My apologies for boring your socks off.
Other types of crafting to resume shortly.
Jay xx

4 comments:

  1. I think that you're doing a great job!
    A couple of things that might make a difference:
    There are two crochet languages, US and UK/AUST. But they use the same terms for different stiches. For example, a US sc is a UK dc. So you need to work out where your pattern is from.
    The other thing is that I think you are right, and you might be putting the hook between stitches instead of under the two stitches that make up the "v" at the top of each stitch.
    Either way, I love your tenacity and the way you just keep on sticking at it!
    And I LOVE that Women's Weekly beanie - colourwork and all! It's fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It still looks pretty cute despite your trials and tribulations. Think you should def attempt the "health garment" - I can just see my ManBeast in a set like that - super sexy! Your tenacity is very impressive!
    x
    sue

    ReplyDelete
  3. I too find the old patterns a mystery code! THey assume you know so much. Mind you, I have also discovered I need to trust the pattern and take a leap of faith at times. US terms are different to Australian/ English terms too and I find the US ply and hook size terms different as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tutorials by Attic24 are great, because she gives that level of instruction. I spend half my time GOogling the crochet terms, and trying to figure out if things are written in UK terminology or US (usually US). Also, the US's standard wool thickness is 10ply where ours is 8ply, so if you follow a US pattern without making more repetitions to compensate in the different ply/hook size then you end up with something tiny. I've given so many beanies to child clients at work! Best tip for Ravelry is to do the advanced search and only look for things written for the ply you've got. You get a lot less options, but at least they work out!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to drop by. I'd love to hear from you and have the chance to discover your blog too, so drop me a line anytime (: