I feel foolish for asking, but here goes...

[Horsy]

Suppose I want to make a fairly simple shawl, the kind that stays on your shoulders, ie, not your usual triangular style, and is mainly just a bunch of double crochets consisting of 5 segments.  

However, the pattern calls for #4 yarn, and I want to use something thinner, such as Lindychain, to get a lacier look.  It is fingering weight.  I have some lying around and want to put it to use and I love shoulder coverings that stay on your shoulders. 

So, to keep the size correct, I would have to use the hook receommended for the #4 yarn.

Now - can I expect any problems with doing this?  What might I consider?  Thanks. 

[Granny Square]

Try a swatch and see how you like the fabric. 

I had a pattern kerfuffle on a shawl a few years ago when Ravelry identified a particular yarn the pattern called for as fingering but it should have been classed as a heavier weight  (was a European yarn I wasn't familiar with), and the pattern called for a G hook.  I used the G hook with the fingering yarn and it looked fine, in fact I probably could have gotten by a hook size or 2 bigger than a G with the fingering and have it look OK.   I didn't find out it was the 'wrong' size yarn until later.  This might depend on your personal stitch tension.

Most (bottom up) shawls are expandable if you need to add a few rows, or a pattern repeat of rows if necessary (I ended up doing that on the above shawl)

 

 

[Lilol]

If it’s not a difficult pattern then you could just add stitches to your starting chain. I did that with a prayer shawl recently and it worked out fine. 

[Horsy]

Hi.  Thanks to both of you for your helpful comments and advice!  

 

@Lilol. Yes,, that would work with my all-DC project but I imagine that if I am trying a pattern with something other than all-HDC or all DC or all SC, then I'd  have to make sure I figure out if the number of increased chains can accommodate a more complicated pattern stitch.  EG, sometimes you need a multiple of 3 + 3 more or multiple of 6, etc.  Of course, that's not rocket science but it just occurred to me.  

[Lilol]

I hate math and if it’s too complicated I add more stitches than needed. When I get to the final pattern repeat pull out the extras from the starting chain.