Vintage patterns are a pain.

I respect the hell out of people who can just pick up any ol' patterns and whip it off like nobody's business. My late grandmother could do that. I didn't realize the extent of her knowledge until I started trying to make things from vintage patterns. And when I say vintage, I'm not talking about 1990s. I'm talking about patterns from the 1940s, '50s, and 60s. There is a distinct lack of standardized sizes for yarn or crochet hooks for a good lot of this.

I sat down with a hat pattern and attempted to work it up with a size 'E' hook, as per the pattern. I wound up with something that was toddler sized. It was supposed to be an adult sized hat. I was extremely annoyed. It isn't the first time something like this has happened with vintage crochet patterns. It gets even harder when you start looking at crochet patterns from before then because hook size is a thing that barely gets any mention. And good luck guessing what weight yarn you are going to be working with if you go by the pattern directions.

Reverse engineering some of these patterns after the abysmal failure of creating things as per the pattern is an interesting challenge. It is almost enough to satisfy the nerdy side of my brain. I confess, however, sometimes it is a lot of work for something that just isn't going to get used.