Crochet Hook / Yarn Question

Hi All!

I'm helping a friend learn crochet (blind leading the blind really) and
I selected a very simple scarf...

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-2colorScarf.html

Well, my question comes from the fact that she wants to do hers in
Chenille not what the pattern calls for.

So I got to thinking (dangerous I know) is the hook size determined from
the pattern or the yarn or a little of both?

I looked on the wrapper and it said use a P15 but I'm thinking that was
for the free pattern on the wrapper. The pattern we were doing calls
for a K10.5 but it is using the Homespun yarn.

I know I've done other things with Chenielle with a smaller hook. So I'm
baffled, easy to do I might add.

Anyway, is there somewhere that explains this or can someone clue me in?
We're doing this during our lunch breaks but I was going to try to
figure out the hook think for her tonight.


Thanks!
Wendy

PS My 3YO's Ponco is working up great. I made some changes but I'll post
when I'm done and have pictures to show too.

Thanks for such a wonderful group.

Hi Wendy,

Since I've only used the Homespun the thing I would say to do is make a swatch
and see what the gauge comes out.

Hugs,

Nora

Hi Wendy,

Since I've only used the Homespun the thing I would say to do is make a swatch
and see what the gauge comes out.

Hugs,

Nora

Hi Wendy --

At the risk of sounding insensitive (you know me, Nora! LOL), IT'S JUST A
SCARF! hehehhe. Honestly, if things go a little astray, the worst that
could happen is that the scarf is wider or narrower or shorter or longer.
No big deal really. Just tell your friend to have fun with it and use it as
a learning tool for perfecting her stitches and tension.

But on a serious note, to answer your question, I personally think that the
hook size is based more on the pattern. Different hook sizes and gauges can
create different effects with different yarns. You mentioned that you've
worked with chenille with a smaller hook before...this is a perfect example.
You may have liked the look and feel of the stitches with this hook whereas
a designer may be going for a different look with a pattern s/he designed
with the same yarn.

The type of yarn does play a part in it, obviously...when in doubt, it's
usually good to use the recommended hook and go from there, adjusting to
your own taste. But this is generally a guideline and ultimately, if you
follow a pattern, you're going to try your best to achieve the same gauge
whether you use the recommended hook size or not!

That's just my take on it. This is a great group, as you very well know, so
they might have some other insight on this issue. Hope this helps anyway!
Happy hooking!

Allaya

"Maeven" wrote in message
.. .
Hi All!

I'm helping a friend learn crochet (blind leading the blind really) and
I selected a very simple scarf...

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-2colorScarf.html

Well, my question comes from the fact that she wants to do hers in
Chenille not what the pattern calls for.

So I got to thinking (dangerous I know) is the hook size determined from
the pattern or the yarn or a little of both?

I looked on the wrapper and it said use a P15 but I'm thinking that was
for the free pattern on the wrapper. The pattern we were doing calls
for a K10.5 but it is using the Homespun yarn.

I know I've done other things with Chenielle with a smaller hook. So I'm
baffled, easy to do I might add.

Anyway, is there somewhere that explains this or can someone clue me in?
We're doing this during our lunch breaks but I was going to try to
figure out the hook think for her tonight.


Thanks!
Wendy

PS My 3YO's Ponco is working up great. I made some changes but I'll post
when I'm done and have pictures to show too.

Thanks for such a wonderful group.

Hi Wendy --

At the risk of sounding insensitive (you know me, Nora! LOL), IT'S JUST A
SCARF! hehehhe. Honestly, if things go a little astray, the worst that
could happen is that the scarf is wider or narrower or shorter or longer.
No big deal really. Just tell your friend to have fun with it and use it as
a learning tool for perfecting her stitches and tension.

But on a serious note, to answer your question, I personally think that the
hook size is based more on the pattern. Different hook sizes and gauges can
create different effects with different yarns. You mentioned that you've
worked with chenille with a smaller hook before...this is a perfect example.
You may have liked the look and feel of the stitches with this hook whereas
a designer may be going for a different look with a pattern s/he designed
with the same yarn.

The type of yarn does play a part in it, obviously...when in doubt, it's
usually good to use the recommended hook and go from there, adjusting to
your own taste. But this is generally a guideline and ultimately, if you
follow a pattern, you're going to try your best to achieve the same gauge
whether you use the recommended hook size or not!

That's just my take on it. This is a great group, as you very well know, so
they might have some other insight on this issue. Hope this helps anyway!
Happy hooking!

Allaya

"Maeven" wrote in message
.. .
Hi All!

I'm helping a friend learn crochet (blind leading the blind really) and
I selected a very simple scarf...

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-2colorScarf.html

Well, my question comes from the fact that she wants to do hers in
Chenille not what the pattern calls for.

So I got to thinking (dangerous I know) is the hook size determined from
the pattern or the yarn or a little of both?

I looked on the wrapper and it said use a P15 but I'm thinking that was
for the free pattern on the wrapper. The pattern we were doing calls
for a K10.5 but it is using the Homespun yarn.

I know I've done other things with Chenielle with a smaller hook. So I'm
baffled, easy to do I might add.

Anyway, is there somewhere that explains this or can someone clue me in?
We're doing this during our lunch breaks but I was going to try to
figure out the hook think for her tonight.


Thanks!
Wendy

PS My 3YO's Ponco is working up great. I made some changes but I'll post
when I'm done and have pictures to show too.

Thanks for such a wonderful group.

I looked at the pattern earlier, and if I'm remembering right, it's just
double crochet the whole time, changing colors every so often. Guage would
not be that important, really. Use the suggested hook size for the yarn and
do less chains in the foundation row, and crochet until the length of the
stripe is however long your friend wants it, then join the second color and
do the same number of rows.

The chenille must be a heavier yarn than Homespun, which accounts for a
larger hook size being indicated on the wrapper. If this was something more
complicated that needed to be a certain size perfectly, guage would be more
important, but for a scarf I think it's not. Your friend should decide how
long she wants her scarf to be and how long she wants each stripe to be. I
recently made a Harry Potter-inspired scarf for my roommate that looks
similar, and I just made a chain the width I wanted it to be, and using an
online page that said how tall each stripe was supposed to be and the number
of stripes, I just did a little math as I was starting and ended up with one
really cool scarf that I can't wait to give her next week!

~Kristen

"Maeven" wrote in message
.. .
Hi All!

I'm helping a friend learn crochet (blind leading the blind really) and
I selected a very simple scarf...

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-2colorScarf.html

Well, my question comes from the fact that she wants to do hers in
Chenille not what the pattern calls for.

So I got to thinking (dangerous I know) is the hook size determined from
the pattern or the yarn or a little of both?

I looked on the wrapper and it said use a P15 but I'm thinking that was
for the free pattern on the wrapper. The pattern we were doing calls
for a K10.5 but it is using the Homespun yarn.

I know I've done other things with Chenielle with a smaller hook. So I'm
baffled, easy to do I might add.

Anyway, is there somewhere that explains this or can someone clue me in?
We're doing this during our lunch breaks but I was going to try to
figure out the hook think for her tonight.


Thanks!
Wendy

PS My 3YO's Ponco is working up great. I made some changes but I'll post
when I'm done and have pictures to show too.

Thanks for such a wonderful group.

I looked at the pattern earlier, and if I'm remembering right, it's just
double crochet the whole time, changing colors every so often. Guage would
not be that important, really. Use the suggested hook size for the yarn and
do less chains in the foundation row, and crochet until the length of the
stripe is however long your friend wants it, then join the second color and
do the same number of rows.

The chenille must be a heavier yarn than Homespun, which accounts for a
larger hook size being indicated on the wrapper. If this was something more
complicated that needed to be a certain size perfectly, guage would be more
important, but for a scarf I think it's not. Your friend should decide how
long she wants her scarf to be and how long she wants each stripe to be. I
recently made a Harry Potter-inspired scarf for my roommate that looks
similar, and I just made a chain the width I wanted it to be, and using an
online page that said how tall each stripe was supposed to be and the number
of stripes, I just did a little math as I was starting and ended up with one
really cool scarf that I can't wait to give her next week!

~Kristen

"Maeven" wrote in message
.. .
Hi All!

I'm helping a friend learn crochet (blind leading the blind really) and
I selected a very simple scarf...

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-2colorScarf.html

Well, my question comes from the fact that she wants to do hers in
Chenille not what the pattern calls for.

So I got to thinking (dangerous I know) is the hook size determined from
the pattern or the yarn or a little of both?

I looked on the wrapper and it said use a P15 but I'm thinking that was
for the free pattern on the wrapper. The pattern we were doing calls
for a K10.5 but it is using the Homespun yarn.

I know I've done other things with Chenielle with a smaller hook. So I'm
baffled, easy to do I might add.

Anyway, is there somewhere that explains this or can someone clue me in?
We're doing this during our lunch breaks but I was going to try to
figure out the hook think for her tonight.


Thanks!
Wendy

PS My 3YO's Ponco is working up great. I made some changes but I'll post
when I'm done and have pictures to show too.

Thanks for such a wonderful group.

Kristen wrote:
I looked at the pattern earlier, and if I'm remembering right, it's just
double crochet the whole time, changing colors every so often. Guage would
not be that important, really. Use the suggested hook size for the yarn and
do less chains in the foundation row, and crochet until the length of the
stripe is however long your friend wants it, then join the second color and
do the same number of rows.

The chenille must be a heavier yarn than Homespun, which accounts for a
larger hook size being indicated on the wrapper.

snip


To me the chenille is smaller which really got me as the hook that it
called for was so large! That's what got me to thinking that the hook
size was determined by the pattern and not the yarn, which is what I
believed previously (that it was the yarn).

But as many have stated, it is just a scarf. So we dove in, she was
using a size N I'm using a K. Which has proved educational for her. I'm
showing her how the different hook size is changing the scarf. We're
just doing double crochet and I showed her how to turn and we're just
going to do it for 6" then switch colors. We've only done a couple of
rows but already she's picking it up well and having fun.



Thanks so much all!

Wendy
remove the ferret to email me.

Kristen wrote:
I looked at the pattern earlier, and if I'm remembering right, it's just
double crochet the whole time, changing colors every so often. Guage would
not be that important, really. Use the suggested hook size for the yarn and
do less chains in the foundation row, and crochet until the length of the
stripe is however long your friend wants it, then join the second color and
do the same number of rows.

The chenille must be a heavier yarn than Homespun, which accounts for a
larger hook size being indicated on the wrapper.

snip


To me the chenille is smaller which really got me as the hook that it
called for was so large! That's what got me to thinking that the hook
size was determined by the pattern and not the yarn, which is what I
believed previously (that it was the yarn).

But as many have stated, it is just a scarf. So we dove in, she was
using a size N I'm using a K. Which has proved educational for her. I'm
showing her how the different hook size is changing the scarf. We're
just doing double crochet and I showed her how to turn and we're just
going to do it for 6" then switch colors. We've only done a couple of
rows but already she's picking it up well and having fun.



Thanks so much all!

Wendy
remove the ferret to email me.