The Checkered Crochet-A-Long

SIZE MODIFICATION OPTIONS

So! You love the checkered look but want a slightly different size…you’re in the right place! Read on to find out size modification suggestions for teeny tiny babies and for adult sizes.

PLEASE NOTE! These modification options have NOT been formally tested. The teeny baby modifications are based on the baby sized patterns and the adult modifications are based on the child sized patterns but these are just options that have worked for me, that I want to share with all of you, since I don’t officially have teeny baby or adult sizes. I am more than happy to work through helping with these sizes during the crochet-a-long, so please ask away if you have questions!

TEENY TINY BABY SIZES

The Baby Checkered Cardi and Checkered Vest patterns feature sizing instructions for 6 mos, 12 mos, 18 mos and 24 mos. But, what about those itty-bitty brand new babies? They may not fit in their teeny clothes for long but MAN they sure do look adorable in them!

If you’d like to adjust to make a teeny-tiny baby pattern, you’ll need the OG Baby Checkered Cardi Pattern here or the OG Baby Checkered Vest Pattern here. You can choose to stick with the OG checkered style written in the above patterns OR add a modification pattern to the backside. Any of the baby modification patterns will work – the Baby Ghost Mod here, the Baby Spruce Mod here or the Baby Mopsy Mod here.

Once you have your patterns, the change will come in with the type of yarn used – you’ll need to use DK weight yarn (size 3) rather than the worsted weight yarn (size 4) recommended in the patterns. Working with this smaller yarn will allow you to use the same pattern, but make an overall tinier project. For my sample, I used Lion Brand Truboo yarn and it is so silky smooth!

Next, you’ll need to choose your hook size to meet gauge. Remember, this is just what worked for me so these are estimates of what might work for you and your teeny one!

Check out the sizing information page in the OG pattern. Once you read through that page, this will make more sense! My recommendations are for a 0-1 mo old baby and then a 2-3 month old baby. For a 4-6 month old, I’d stick with the worsted weight measurements as written in the pattern!
– For 0-1 month old: Use a 3.5 mm hook for a 13.5 in chest estimate.
– For a 2-3 month old: Use a 4.0 mm hook for a 15.5 in chest estimate.

Don’t forget to check gauge!
My gauge square (18 sts x 18 rows) is (length) x (height).
– 3.5 mm hook: 3.25 in x 3 in / 13.5 in chest estimate
– 4.0 mm hook: 3.75 in x 3.5 in / 15.5 in chest estimate 

After you have figured out your hook size and gauge, that’s it! You can follow the rest of the pattern as written with these adjustments. When you get the to the sleeves and edging, you can make a couple of adjustments, if desired. For the edging, I made my teeny newborn size by omitting the ribbed edging along the bottom and simply working sc around the edge and then crab stitch back around. You can also choose to shorten the sleeves by taking out a few of the repeating rounds, if needed, and by shortening the number of chains used in the ribbed edging for the sleeve cuff. I started with a ch 5 and worked 4 sc for each of the rows, rather than the recommendation in the pattern.

That’s it for the teeny baby modification! Again, if you have questions, please please feel free to reach out to me!

ADULT MODIFICATIONS

Alright…on to the adult suggestions! Bear with me as this one is a little bit more hairy and continues to be a work in progress.

I started on the adult mod back in November 2024, when I was working on the Spruce Mod. I wanted a cute Christmas cardi to match my kiddos! But, I didn’t want to have to entirely re-do the graphs for the back (ie. the ghost mod, spruce mod, mopsy mod). So, I settled on trying to figure out how to make the child sized pattern, work for an adult sized person. Here’s what I’ve learned!

You’ll Need to Use Bulky Weight Yarn
To make an adult size, you’l used the OG Child Checkered Cardi pattern here or the OG Child Checkered Vest Pattern here but you’ll need to use bulky weight yarn rather than worsted weight yarn. So far, I’ve worked with double-stranded worsted weight and Yarnspirations ***. I’ll be honest…neither has been perfect.

The double-stranded worsted ended up a bit too BIG for me, and very heavy. The yarnspirations is pretty thin and ended up on the smaller size, but has a cuter fitted look. I’ll update with pictures once I’m finished. The yarnspirations is not nearly as heavy but it is a fuzzy yarn and I have a feeling it is going to pill…a LOT!

My next plan is to use my go-to Lion Brand Hue and Me yarn. I love this bulky weight yarn and it has always held up well to use for me! Not too heavy, beautiful fall colors. I think third time is going to be the charm!

You’ll Need to Do Some Work on Gauge
Like I mentioned, this is NOT a pattern size that has been tester through and through so I don’t know for sure what works for me, will work for all. But I do have lots of thoughts!

First off, take your chest measurements. You’ll want your cardi to fit fully around your chest. This should help which size you’ll fit into!

Then, work your gauge swatch as outlined in the OG pattern. You’ll need to try to meet these measurements so the chest size turns out correctly for your finished product! These hook sizes are merely suggestions. If you need to switch them up, do what works best for you to meet the suggested gauge!

Please Note! Unfortunately, I do not have size suggestions beyond size L. You could try using a super bulky yarn to get a larger size or try double stranded bulky yarn. Alternatively, you could add checkers top the starting count. I’m happy to help with this if you need some help!

You’ll Need to Make Some Adjustments to the Pattern
Once you have your yarn, and hook size figured out, you are ready to get started! You’ll work the pattern in the same way as written BUT we’ll add an extra set of checkers at the beginning and end of each row. Follow these modifications from the original child pattern. If you are using a modification, you can still use these modifications with the child-sized modification patterns.

– Starting count for your chain will be 103, working back 102 sc stitches.
– Rows 1-30 will repeat [ ] instructions x 8 instead of as written.
– Row 31 add an extra sc x 6 to the beginning of the row. Then continue the rest of the main panel as written in the pattern.

The front panels will end up a little tricky because we will need to accommodate the extra set of checkers we have on each side. The front panels will be part of the Week Two instructions for the crochet-a-long, so I’ll have an update on those next week!