Pattern:
This is my second attempt to make this scarf with a rounded hood.
This time, I am more or less happy with the result, as the yarn was the right ply equivalent for the pattern, unlike my first attempt (Hooded Scarf No 1), where I was directed to the wrong ply equivalent by Ravelry, with an unsatisfactory result.
But see below for changes I made to the pattern, which I think improve its workability.
Changes I made to the pattern:
Special treble foundation chain (called ‘dcch’ in the pattern): Although I had slightly more success this time attempting this special stitch (see description of my previous unsuccessful attempt at my Hooded Scarf No 1 project), I found that the stitch did not actually work in a straight line. Even when using a larger hook it was too tight and the front of the hood sat weirdly (see attached pic which shows the way this stitch worked a curve). Luckily, and to the designer’s credit, this pattern has the option of starting with a normal chain instead of ‘dcch’. So I unravelled my wip and began again, using an 8 mm hook for the starting chain. I then stitched the first row into the back bumps of the starting chain to give a nice edge. This worked much better than the ‘dcch’. However, the hood edge (around the face) is STILL tighter than the nice drapy look in the pattern’s illustration. I will probably go up yet another hook size next time.
Making the hood more ‘rounded’ than prescribed: I found that my previous attempt at the pattern made a hood that was still a bit more pointy than I like - sort of ‘roundly pointy’ and requiring smoothing down to keep it rounded (which is annoying). So this time, I made a more gradual rounding of the hood by starting the decreases one row earlier using alternate treble decreases and ordinary trebles. This meant that the decreases were made over three rows, not two, resulting in a more rounded effect.
Joining the scarf to the hood: I joined the scarf using crochet, not sewing as prescribed (why sew when you can crochet!!). After trebling about 44/45 trebles on the last row of the scarf, I joined the scarf to the inside (wrong side) of the hood, using slip stitches at the hood and alternating decreases and trebles into the scarf. This worked really well and it sits nice and flat on the right side. A pic of the join is attached to this project.

Yarn: This 14 ply yarn (designated ‘super bulky’ on Ravelry) is an acrylic/wool/alpaca mix which is lovely and soft. It was clearly the right ply for the pattern as it worked up exactly right. My previous attempt was foiled by Ravelry’s incorrect designation of recommended yarn’s ply equivalent. Lion is unavailable here so I had no choice but to substitute. Ravelry really needs to do something about getting ply equivalents right on the database, as the current system doesn’t work well for non-US Ravellers. In my case, it has cost me money (buying the wrong ply yarn) and a lot of wasted time trying to fix problems that should never have arisen if the ply equivalent had been correct. WPI does not assist, as inches have not been used in this country for over 40 years so there is no way to measure this. The US is the odd one out in this situation. Sure, keep your weird and wordy terminology, but please, please, can we have accurate ply equivalents for users in the rest of the world!
I have blogged about my crochet adventures with this pattern on my blog, http://nandinasplace.blogspot.com.au/