from 70 cm knitted to 54 cm by crocheting

KnitBeg · 01-03-2013, 10:27 AM

The pattern I am currently working on is a bit of a mess, but it does turn out beautiful in the end so I do want to repeat it...

The pattern is a hat, or well, they call it a baret. It is knitted, but has an edge with 4 rows crocheted, this is the part that really goes around the head and needs to be fitted. The "lose" part of the baret is knitted, and when done it has a (round) edge of about 70 cm.
I tried this pattern before and managed to make it 54cm in the end, by crochetting very tight around the edge. However, it was pure luck that it turned out OK as I had no idea how to measure such a thing...

I did notice that the first row I crocheted reduced the size to 56 cm and the second row dimished this by another 2 cm while the next two rows didn't change a thing anymore... Not sure why (but it was very lucky

)

So I wonder: is there a more organized way to go about this? Like knitting a gauche and crochetting the edges to see how much stitches one would need for a diminishment of 16cm ?!? Or rather a "measure as you go" way ?!? Or a way in which you split up the hat-edge in parts and diminish per part or something?

I hope I made myself clear

If somebody thinks it will be easier to understand my problem by reading the pattern his/herself I can post it - but I'll have to translate it first (that would be a small effort though

).

suzeeq · 01-03-2013, 03:44 PM

I understand what you're asking, and as I don't combine knit and crochet together am not sure what to advise. If I were to do a top down hat knit all the way, I would probably just measure as I went along to make sure the band cam out the right size.

GrumpyGramma · 01-03-2013, 06:33 PM

I'd love to see your hat, just the picture would be great, I don't want you to have to translate. If you can't do the picture, that's OK.

I'm thinking your hat is worked from the top? I wonder if it would work better to somehow work the crocheted band first, then knit pick up stitches and start knitting. As much as I dislike seaming, it might work out to crochet the band separately and the sew then two pieces together. I really hope you figure out a solution you like and I'd love to see the hat you make.

KnitBeg · 01-04-2013, 10:13 AM

Thanks for your kind remarks

@GrumpyGramma, I will post the picture I have when I get the time to upload them

salmonmac · 01-04-2013, 11:10 AM

I like the idea of playing around with a swatch. You could try decreasing on the last knit row so that you have fewer stitches as you start the crochet. Perhaps a crochet chain as you transition from knit to crochet would pull in the fullness more predictably.

KnitBeg · 01-04-2013, 07:43 PM

@Salmonac
A good idea, but the crocheting goes around the row-end. Erm... how to explain... I would have to diminish the amount of rows to get a length less than 70cm.

I will post the pattern tomorrow - I am a bit pressed for time right now.

I do really appreciate all the ideas. Thanks.

KnitBeg · 01-05-2013, 11:48 AM

I posted the pattern here:
FO - Threecoloured Baret in Beige :D

As to why I do not make the edge 54cm instead of the given 70cm - I think it will take the chunkyness out of the baret and make it look more like a normal hat. The idea of a baret is that it goes wide and then narrow again - the 70cm is the wide and the crocheting down to 54 is the way to make it narrow. I hope this makes sense?