What a Difference a Day Makes!

After I posted yesterday morning, I began to have second thoughts about what I had written. I mean, after all, it's not all about me when I am making chemo hats, which is kind of how the post sounded. Too bad if I am working outside my comfort zone. (Although I do think that the heat frying my brain does help to explain yesterday morning's post!)

But then I realized that, no, my concern with my hats coming out well does have to do with the comfort of the patients who are going to be wearing them. Back last winter, I was making about a dozen hats for my guild, and at the same time I was working with one of my part timers who had a good friend going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. My part timer and I spent some time talking about her friend's use of various chemo hats. I learned some interesting things that I hadn't realized. For instance, you feel differently throughout your chemo experience, and a hat that might work for you initially can become very uncomfortable mid-way through. My part timer's friend actually came to prefer a sewn fleece hat rather than a knitted or crocheted hat. So I think that I am trying to create the perfect hat, when in reality there is no such thing. There isn't even one perfect hat for each patient.

With all of this on my mind, I went off to Borders for my "Coffee, Chat & Crochet" session with fellow guild members. While we were there, Dee inaugurated me into the mysteries of linked stitches, which I had read about on some of the blog entries from the CGOA conference last month, and I had a "Eureka" moment! I really think this may be the answer to how to use double crochet stitches, which are softer, in a chemo hat, without having so many gaps between stitches. I haven't tried this out yet, but I can't wait to get started.

To tie in some more of my previous posts, Dee also examined my Tunisian double crochet swatch, and we talked more about drape in crochet. I get the impression that the trend in crochet may be to use larger hooks with all sorts of yarn to create a softer, drapier fabric. I mentioned to Dee that I didn't understand why so many published patterns by professional designers are crocheted at such a tight gauge, with such small hooks. She replied that it is because too often, people look at the suggested needle size on the yarn packaging and use that as a guideline for crochet. I found myself thinking "Yes, this is why it is important to think through things like equivalent hook and needle sizes." I came away from the morning feeling like I might eventually give up crochet patterns entirely and just do my own thing, at least with hats and scarves. So really, what a difference a week makes! I feel like I have learned so much this week about crocheting, and I think it will really make a difference in my confidence in at least some of my finished projects.