Anyone else stuck on a Velvet Acorn pattern?

[tccbaby]

I bought a pattern from The Velvet Acorn on etsy or craftsy and CAN NOT figure out the hood. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same problem?

 

The picture for the pattern is adorable, but unfortunately the pattern seems to be written by someone who doesn't write patterns well. I tried to get a crocheting friend to help, but she couldn't figure it out either. The hood part of the pattern is written to make a tube, not a hood. Or at the very least it doesn't tell you where to make the face hole. I'm completely stumped!

[Granny Square]

I've never used one of her patterns, Here is her main pattern page on Ravelry

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/the-velvet-acorn-designs

 

Does the hood look similar to one of the pictures (fox and bears)?  This is a guess, but I've seen hoods made this way: they appear to be made in a rectangle that's folded in half, making a seam at the top (joining 2 halves of one long side of the rectangle).  The back of the head is the fold of the rectangle, the other long side of the rectangle is the neck edge, and the 2 short ends of the rectangle are around the face.

 

Edit, a rough sketch in case the above was confusing

 

[tccbaby]

Yes that is exactly it. This is part of the hood pattern:

 

Hood

The hood is worked on the remaining stitches: 36 sts (12/18 months)

42 sts (toddler)

48 sts (child)

54 sts (adult)

Note: Work the hood back and forth in rows on the remaining stitches (NOT in the round). The first row work across so the right side (outside)

of the cowl is facing you, turn, work so the wrong side (inside) of the cowl is now facing you, turn, continuing like this until the hood measures the length needed for the size you are making.

 

The problem is that this is worked ON the cowl, and she doesn't advise where to start crocheting and. Where to turn. If I just start at the back where I just finished the last stitch of the cowl, then where do you stop? The only thing that comes after the above instructions is how many rows for toddler, child, adult.

 

I even emailed the maker to ask the same question, and she could not help. She was very vague. I don't think it was intentional but regardless I cannot figure out this pattern. She even offered to refund my money but I just want the pattern to work. So I explained to her that if I just keep crocheting and I don't stop at one certain point then I'm just making a tube and there would be no opening for the head to see out.

[tccbaby]

Yes, you do fold together the top of the hood and stitch together. But since the hood is made on the cowl, I need a starting and ending point... Otherwise it's going to make a tube.

[Granny Square]

So, you know the number of stitches to make width of the hood for various sizes - let's say you're making the smallest, so the hood is 36 stitches (for the sake of the numbers I'm going to use below).

 

I'm also assuming that you have already made the cowl, and it was made in the round, and started with more than 36 stitches and decreased some number of stitches to fit from shoulder to neck/head and that it is no less than 36 stitches at this point.

 

You can't make a tube if you stop working in the round and begin turning, it will end up having an opening by definition of ceasing to work in the round; it will look like my drawing, where the area below my drawing will be a closed tube (well, cylinder).

 

I believe the bit of the pattern you quoted tells you exactly where to start and stop: "Note: Work the hood back and forth in rows on the remaining stitches (NOT in the round)."

 

You are at a specific spot in the pattern at the point mentioned in the above instruction.  This is the point the hood starts.  You must have 36 stitches (or more, it's possible you leave some stitches unworked for the face opening, or use all of them for more of a 'slit').  You will be creating a flat piece with an opening (like my drawing) that is however many rows high and 36 stitches across, back and forth, turning each row.

 

So, right now, if you have reached this point in the pattern, chain 1, turn, work 36 stitches, turn, and continue working over 36 stitches back and forth for the number of rows it tells you. 

 

Does that make sense?