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Resizing chevron cardigan


Frey

Question

I recently made a cardigan from this pattern:

 

http://www.freevintagecrochet.com/baby/no106-baby-set-pattern.html

 

I definitely loved the pattern, it was really easy to follow (big deal considering english is my third language and that it was my first time following an english pattern) and I just love the chevron stitch. And the final result was a complete success with my entire family! However, I have an issue with it: the idea was to make the cardigan for my cousin's newborn baby, but the result was quite bigger than I expected and it even fits my 2-year-old-and-quite-big-for-her-age niece. I mean, it's way too short for her, but the width is perfect... it looks really cute as a bolero! I used a very soft baby acrylic yarn with a cotton-like finish, and I definitely LOVE it, it's just perfect for babies. I used a 2,5 mm hook and it's like the perfect hook for the yarn, I think a smaller size would be too tight. So... any idea on how I could make a smaller version (3-6 or maybe 6-9 months) with the same yarn and hook?  How many stitches would I have to chain to begin? The design has 14 chevron "sections" so I guess I should try with only 12, but I am a complete failure when it comes to maths and I don't have such a good understanding of how the chevron stitch works as to figure out how many stitches my foundation chain should be. I would really appreciate some advise! 

 

What confuses me is that the first rows are not completely symmetrical: row 1 has 2 dc, then 3 dc together, *4 dc, 3 dc together* and so on, then ends in 3 dc. So my guess is that it's not so simple as "cutting" the last 2 chevron sections. Is there a trick to it? I've never modified or designed a pattern before.

 

Thanks in advance! I hope I'm not asking a stupid question LOL!

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Hi, welcome to the ville!

 

older patterns often do not have a gauge listed or give any measurements, and use old terms for yarn and hook that are no longer in use now.  All of that seems to be true with this pattern.  i think it may have turned out too big because you used a bigger thread and hook than it calls for.  Steel hooks are for thread and i think 3 ply yarn would be very fine; the term 4ply is used now in the UK to denote fingering weight yarn.  I am guessing the yarn you used was about sport weight, but I don't know how "baby" yarn is classified in your area, so I could be wrong on that.  

 

to downsize the pattern you will have to figure your stitch gauge and the measurements you want it to be and then figure out how many stitches you need in each section.    

 

You don't have to always use a complete "V" of the chevron, you can start and end with only one leg of the V, or even a partial leg.  

 

I don't like to do math either so for me it would be easier to either start this pattern again with smaller hook and yarn, or look for a modern pattern that includes gauge and schematics for measurements.  

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I don't know how yarn is classified here either LOL. Yarn categories are a HUGE problem for me actually. I live in Chile, and we have no 'official' classification for yarn weights. Sometimes the yarn label says how many meters you get every 100 gr of yarn and then I can look for the proper category in Google or something, but most of the time I don't even get that. And some yarn labels don't even give you an estimated hook size...  :bang  :rant so yeah, it is very likely that the cause for the sizing issues was the gauge. I know I could just go and buy a thiner yarn but the one I used is so perfect that I would like to try something else first.

 

I was measuring the cardigan I made and comparing it to some of my nephew's old baby sweaters and I think reducing 2 ripples and then adjusting the lenght would do the trick. Because of how the sleeves are constructed, the number of ripples needs to be a pair, so the other option would be reducing 4 ripples... but I think that would be too small. I've been doing some counting and I THINK I should chain 58 instead of 72. Each ripple section in the first row is 2 dc - 3 dc together - 2 dc which makes a total of 7 st per ripple... so if I wanted to cut the pattern by 2 ripples I guess I would have to reduce the original chain by 14. Does this make any sense? I'm not sure why but I've always found chevron patterns confusing somehow. 

 

Thanks for the help and the welcome! 

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