So a month or so ago I found a super cute pattern for a lovey while researching patterns for a student of mine. The little elf-like lovey seemed perfect to us both (it got her started on a lovey-making kick, and felt perfect for my nephew’s upcoming 1 year birthday).
She started hers first, and as she worked I decided that the pattern called for yarn (sport weight cotton) that would result in too tiny a project. I opted for a bulkier yarn (Cascade 128, which I love).
Well, not all projects are meant to be bulked-up. This is evidenced by the below picture.
Never mind my craptastic embroidery skills. That’s not the point! The point is that my student’s project is super cute, and mine looks like an oversized alien. The proportions are out of wack on my version, and make for a completely unstable, impractical doll. And something else the picture can’t show is the weight of its head… absolutely not ideal for a 1 year old baby boy that I really want no harm to come to!
So, I made a second one. I respected the designer’s call for sport weight cotton by going for Phil Cotton, a gorgeous cotton yarn that comes in wonderful baby colours, as well as bolder colours to suit your needs. And now, now I too can smile at making a perfect elf lovey! I gave it to my nephew this past weekend & have no worries about injuries coming to him because of me!
And this time I simply skipped the eyes. Know your strengths!
This is not to say that substituting is bad. It’s not. I’m a firm believer in well thought out yarn substitution. This particular substitution by me was not well thought out. And it also highlights the overconfidence of the more experienced crocheter. I TELL my students to look for yarns similar in weight and fabric content when substituting, but I did not.
Julie / ACCROchet
