What if you want to make something with a different yarn weight than the pattern calls for? For example my new shawl pattern The Most Picot uses fingering weight yarn.

Maybe you don’t like working with fingering weight yarn or maybe you don’t have any in your stash and you really want to use what you have. You don’t have to use what the designer uses!

If you plan to subsitute a heavier yarn like sport, dk, or worsted weight I estimate you still need a minimum of 125 grams of yarn to make small version and 200 grams to make the large Most Picot. Keep in mind when you follow The Most Picot pattern and similar patterns you will likely do less row repeats to get the same finished shawl dimensions as a fingering weight shawl. If you don’t mind a larger shawl keep going until you run out of yarn!

Because I’m breaking from the pattern, I like to have 10-15% more in grams than the designer called for as kind of crocheters insurance. So I’d choose something I had 137-145 grams for the small and 220-230 grams for the large. I call this my crocheters insurance.

Then I work up a swatch following the directions in the pattern using the hook recommended on the ball band of the yarn you are using.

If the ball band doesn’t give a hook size look for the knitting needle size for example the ball band on the left above calls for a 3.75mm -4.5mm. I’d use the larger needle, 4.5mm. I looked that up on a crochet hook chart on the Yarn Council website which showed US 7 4.5mm. This hook is a little unusual because it doesn’t have a letter. The yarn on the right calls for a US F/5 hook or 4.00mm. Another anomally because the Yarn Council says a 4.00mm hook is a G/6. I’d always choose the correct millimeter size over the letter size as a starting point.

Now that you have your yarn and hook complete the gauge swatch recommended in the pattern. If the pattern doesn’t have specifc gauge swatch directions do a simple swatch using the predominent stitch like double crochets if it uses double crochets. If the fabric feels too stiff go up a hook size if it feels to loose to you go down a hook size.

Maybe even experiment a little with hook sizes and use a larger hook than you might think. Knitters use much larger needles when making lace like shawls than they would for a sweater. I often use a larger hook than the ball band calls for when makeing shawls. Below is a sample of The Most Picot shawl using Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport worked up using an H/8-5.00mm hook.

I’m working up another Most Picot shawl using using fingering weight La Biene Aimee Cashmerino in Anemenamu.

If you really want to get into the details you could read about using handspun here. It might inspire you in how to determine hooks or needle sizes for you future projects if you spin or not.