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Gauge Now, or The Five Stages of Grief Later

11/22/2013

Why is it that some crocheters (including me) skip a gauge check?

Though politely worded in patterns, "PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO CHECK GAUGE" is all caps -- and bold face, to boot.

And -- despite the caps and bold face type -- a gauge check is often ignored by crocheters eager to start their projects.

My excuse is that I pretty much know what gauge I'm going to get with a particular yarn and a particular hook. I'm usually right on target -- but not always.

The consequences of not taking time to check gauge are inevitable, yet somehow surprising to the gauge non-checker:

Denial: This hat's looking a bit small. Oh, well, I'm sure that it'll all work out by the time I get to the bottom edging.

Anger: [Expletive deleted.]

And so it goes. Through the bargaining, the depression and the acceptance.

Next is the ripping out. The starting again. The bigger crochet hook. And this time, one hopes, a ruler at the ready.

NOTE: This is the fifth in my "Hundreds of Hats Later: What I've Learned" blog posts. Next up: "Pushing the Gauge."

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Hat Sizes, and What's Normal

11/10/2013

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Most adult heads are within a range of 21 in./53 cm to 23 in./58 cm in circumference.

But it's not unusual for special-order customers in my Etsy store to describe their heads as incredibly tiny. Or as big as Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons.

Just how much are these heads off the norm? Most often, about an inch. But an inch can make a big difference in how a hat fits.

I have a series of hats in my shop that I call "Teeny Beanies." They're short-ish hats, only 6 in./15 cm tall, hitting near the top of the ears on most people. However, I have customers who say that these height-challenged hats fit them like regular beanies.

Recently I made a personal discovery about sizing outside the norm. Beanies kept creeping up my head, leaving the bottom half of my ears out in the cold. (Not that that's a frequent problem here in San Antonio....) I took my depth measurement for a perfectly fitting beanie -- from crown to the bottom of my ear -- and found that it's longer than the standard 8 or so inches.

Oddly, some people who have large heads look like they don't. And some people who think they have large heads are mistaken. (The tape measure tells all....)

Once I delivered a hat in person to someone who described her head as exceedingly large. In inches, yes. I'd made her an extra-large hat. But visually, no. Her face looked average size, even narrow.

My friend Lois has an open, friendly face. She thought she had a huge head. She measured it. The verdict? 22 inches. Medium.

NOTE: This is the fourth in my "Hundreds of Hats Later: What I've Learned" blog posts. Next up: "Gauge Now, or The Five Stages of Grief Later."

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Do You Speak Crochet?

11/7/2013

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I just finished conducting the test of my newest pattern, The Starflower Beanie.

One of the things that I loved about the test group was that four countries were represented -- France, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S.

Ah, crochet, the universal language!

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Gauge Now, or The Five Stages of Grief Later

Hat Sizes, and What's Normal

Do You Speak Crochet?

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