I must apologize for not having been here for a bit. I recently found out that the back problems I have been experiencing are not cause by a herniated disk, as previously thought, but by a combination of severe arthritis and degenerative disk disease. So, sitting to type, or even craft has been a rather painful endeavor and I have not been able to get on here as I would have like.
Now then, enough personal information, I'm sure if you are here, it is not to hear about my pains but rather to get your craft on!!
This post is to add some information to the Giraffe Hat pattern that was previously posted, as well as to address a small problem that also added to my absence. Ah, the problem....that being the attempted filching of my pattern by someone who left a comment stating that they had been searching for just such a pattern and two days later, actually posted it as their own on the same online community that I had posted it on(back in December). Needless to say, the issue was resolved to my satisfaction, but I am now fairly timid about every sharing my original patterns again.
I do believe that in the future, I will have a "give-away" of sorts for those honest folk who would like to help me test my patterns, if/when I ever write another.
On then, to the pattern additions, or suggestions provided to me by the original tester, my friend Pam G. who was kind enough to allow me to post her suggestions/changes here on ye old blog!!
What Pam had to say:
Ok, here goes...
Since I had issues with the size when I first tried it, I went up one
hook size on each, so I used a K and G hook. The hat worked fine, but
has to stretch to get on a two-year olds head. That, I'm sure, is a
result of my tight crocheting. One thing is (and maybe you have done
this) that you should mention Color A or Color B. When I started the
horns, not paying attn I started them in yellow. After a few tries and
getting it going, I realized I should have done brown and not yellow.
LOL Silly me, I know but I was so excited it was actually working out
to that point that I guess I wasn't really paying attn. If I were you I
would try and work the horns in a way that you can get a count at the
end of each round. That was hard for me because I wasn't sure if I was
doing it right or not until it started to take shape. I did not stuff the horns or ears, I think they held up
good on their own. (and I didn't have anything to stuff them with LOL)
Now, the EARS!! The first one I worked came out perfect. Not quite as
curvy as yours but still with good shape I thought. Then the second
one was lopsided. So, I unraveled that one and started over using that
same yarn. What I noticed when I got to about Round 7 or 8 (when it
starts to look like a little sombrero) was that one side of the 'bill',
where I was joining rounds, was bigger than the other side. I think I
was adding stitches towards the end of the round because when I was done
with the 2nd try ear there was about a handful of yarn left over. So,
(got sidetracked there, sorry) I went back and started again at Round
6...but this time I counted stitches. You will have to work up to the
end of round 5 to use this but I figured this would be a start to help
get those ears right each time.
:)
These counts DO NOT include the (ch 1, sc in same stitch) and, I think
there was one round I had to skip over one stitch to keep my count
right. Here are the counts at the end of my Rounds:
Round 6 - 15
Round 7 - 21
Round 8 - 33
Round 9, 10, 11 - 33
Round 12 - 22
Round 13 - 22
Round 14 - 16
Round 15 - 16
Round 16 - 11*
Round 17 - 11
* on this round I ended on a sc but going by the pattern should have
ended on a sc2tog. I was OK with it because it turned out fine in the
end.
Let me know if this helps you and I will happily try out any
other patterns you may need tested!
I'd love for everyone to visit Pam at:
www.pamelalegue.stampinup.net...she's quite the crafter herself!!
Hopefully that will help anyone who is having trouble with the ears!! And again, I apologize for not being available lately to answer questions or respond to comments.
Before I go, I did actually start the slippers...but the pattern is written like one big run-on sentence so they aren't going very well!! :0( Well, that and my crafting ADD kicked in and I've been working with paper for 2 days!!
Hope you all have a lovely afternoon and a pleasant week!!
