Following are some hints for making an oval pattern smaller or larger. For example, this can be helpful if you want to make a tablecloth to fit a certain size table and you need to change a pattern to result in that finished size.
I wrote this to help a crocheter who wanted to make a tablecloth that would fit a table smaller than a certain pattern was designed for.
After many years of crocheting experience and figuring out stitch placement for pattern designing, it's possible for me to pick a pattern apart now and generally understand what would be needed to make it become a different shape, size and so forth (sometimes involving some trial and error as it progresses, to make it work out just right). The more experience that you have in crocheting, the easier it is to figure out the changes needed to adjust the size of a pattern, with a pleasing outcome. However, you need to be aware that it will sometimes come out differently than you pictured it in your mind. If you are willing to change ideas midstream when that happens, you can always keep it fun and adventerous. Some of my projects that I enjoyed the most originally started out as something else and went a different direction midstream. If you're ready to try some pattern adventures of your own, the following guidelines can help you get started.
Ovals Made in One Piece - Making it Smaller To adjust to a smaller size for an oval pattern, that is made in one piece, you could start with a shorter starting chain. This can require some adjustments in the number of repeats used, so you would need to decide how many stitches are used to crochet a single repeat on the straight part of the first round (or the round where a repeat pattern begins), then use a mutiple of that number to subtract from the starting chain. In most oval patterns, this will give you the number of stitches needed to come out correctly with the repeats. You can then crochet from the directions, as given, with the exception of the number of chains that you use in the starting chain and the number of times that you do the repeats in any given round.
Hint - The reason that it is best to adjust the pattern by changing the number of repeats made on the straight part of the oval is that the ends require a specific number of increases in order to keep the piece from curling. You would want to stick with an increasing formula that keeps the piece flat, on the rounded ends of the oval.
Ovals Made in One Piece - Making it Larger To adjust to a larger size for an oval pattern, that is made in one piece, one way would be to start with a longer starting chain. The same principal for figuring the number of repeats to increase would apply as outlined for the Making it Smaller information above.
For Experienced Crocheters Who Like a Challenge - Another way to arrive at the size you want when starting with a pattern for a size that is too small, would be to keep to the same starting chain but to make additional rounds on some part of the pattern that is easily continued with minor changes or increases. This isn't easily doable for all patterns but, for instance, a pattern with a section of rounds that are only chain loops would be easy to continue. Because this would result in extra chain rounds to work into when doing any other repeat design (that might follow after the chain loops section), you would need to do any repeat more times than originally called for in the pattern, to keep a consistent look all the way around the piece. If the repeat design is worked over more than one loop, notice how many loops are used to do one repeat. Divide that number into the number of chain loops that are in the last round before the other repeat design starts, so you will know before actually crocheting the round if you will end up with too few chain loops available to do the last repeat (then adjust to the needed number of chain loops so that the repeats will come out evenly).
Swatch to Determine Measurements
- If you want to figure a finished size ahead of time, use the size thread or yarn that you will be crocheting this project with, along with the size hook you will use and crochet a small swatch, using the first part of the repeat within it, then measure how wide that repeat is. That can help you decide how many additional (or fewer) repeats you need to achieve the finished size you want.
- Next, multiply the number of stitches used in one repeat times the number of repeats that you decided to adjust.
- Now you can add or subtract that final number from the starting chain given in the pattern.
This is not an all-inclusive answer because the adjustments you might need to make can vary from pattern to pattern but it can be a starting point to help you think of ways to make those adjustments.
Adjusting someone else's copyrighted pattern can raise copyright law issues. Note that if you made some alterations to another designer's pattern that is currently copyright protected, the resulting pattern would be for your own personal use only. The copyright would still belong to the original designer. You couldn't legally claim your own copyright on your changed version of the copyrighted pattern. But if you started with a pattern that was originally published in the USA before the year 1923, so it is now in the public domain, then you could copyright your changed version of the public domain pattern. The key words here are public domain. There are copyright myths that fool people so it's best to research and know the facts. Disclaimer: This paragraph is only a summary of some basic facts and is not intended to be legal advice, for which you could contact an intellectual property lawyer.
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