Changing size help

[donnalynn2]

There's a beautiful filet rose duster jacket in an old Crochet Mag I noticed that I really really like. Problem is that the instructions are only for small sized people. I would love to make one and am wondering if I could make it a plus size by doing the following:

 

Using WW yarn (it calls for size 10 cotton)

Using a G hook (it calls for a 7)

 

I can't really just add more rows as it's Filet and that would require changing the whole graph... Has anyone else ever tried this before? I actually would rather make it with a yarn of some sort as I don't like to wear things made with cotton thread, it feels scratchy to me...

 

Any ideas would be helpful! THANKS!!!

 

P.S. I'm not in a rush for the answer... Won't be able to get to this til way after the first of the year!

[natalie058]

I would suggest swatching... So you can get as close a fit as you want...

 

A jump to ww seems relatively drastic... there's so many weights in between... Maybe try fingering or sprot weight, figure out how many times larger your swatch is than what you're supposed to have... [you should probably make a thread swatch also]... continue moving up in weight until you make a swatch that will give you the correct measurements you need...

 

Here's a mathamaticl example:

 

Say your pattern has size 34-36-38" bust, and you need a 45" bust. I personally would try to swatch off the small size, because usually that is the simplest set of directions to follow, right? But, it shouldn't matter which you pick, it should all come out to roughly the same final product...

 

Okay, so what you would do is divide 45 by 34 to get an answer of 1.324, rounded off. What you need to do now is figure out what hook and yarn will give you a swatch that is 1.324 times larger than what they call for. [i hope this is making sense!] Suppose that the gauge swatch they give you is 25sc by 10 rows high = 4" sq. [totally guessing here.] You need to make a gauge swatch that with 25sc and 10 rows is going to get you 4" x 1.324, or about 5.3" Then, it stands to reason that if you stick with that gauge for the whole pattern, you will have a proportionately larger item.

 

Wow, I can't believe I actually wrote that out. I've never figured that out for *myself* before, LOL, but it does show that math is good for something, at least! One thing to keep in mind, though, is that since all those decimals are rounded off, you're measurements aren't going to be *exact,* and added up over the course of a garment, this could make a difference of a few inches. To avoid this and get as close to exact as you can, use as many numbers after the decimal point as you can.

 

Now, did that make any sense at all?

[donnalynn2]

Wow! I actually had to think to understand that (I try not to think on Mondays ) but I think I get it...

 

Sport weight yarn is a great idea and to me, it's softer than WW... Thanks! When I decide to tackle this I'll give your idea a try!

[natalie058]

When you get around to it, if you email me what they suggest for a gauge and measurements, as well as what measurement you need, I should be able to figure out how big you'd need to get your swatch to.