Did the kit give the yarn amounts in yards/metres? I find that the oz weight means nothing unless you are using the exact yarn that is specified. It is the yardage that counts. More and more patterns are giving the "yarnage" in both ounces and metres/yards which is really usefull, but as you say it is an older pattern.

I would probably use a baby yarn that I liked, and do some test swatches for gauge. Then use whatever size hook gave me the gauge specified. I tend to crochet pretty loose/big so end up using a hook one or two sizes smaller than indicated after swatching.

In a baby afghan, the finished size isn't as important as say a sweater - after all you don't have to worry about "fit". You don't want it to be so much smaller that it is a washcloth ;). Or so much bigger that you run out of yarn.

So. A lot of writing and not much help LOL!

Since you like the Baby Softee, why don't you get it and make a practice swatch to see if the gauge comes out to 6 shells = 6". (Or even just get one skein to practice.) If your gauge is wrong then you could swich to a smaller or larger hook. As for how much to buy, Dances in Garden gave you some good advice. It wouldn't hurt to buy a couple extra skeins (same dye lot) just for "insurance" and return them when finished if you don't use them.

To make it bigger, you'd just have to chain more stitiches in the beginning to make it wider, then work longer to make it longer. You'll have to make sure to add the proper amount of additional chains so the pattern comes out right. I'm not sure what that would be--maybe 6 additional shells for the 6 additional inches. Why are you wanting to make it big? To fit a crib? Babies are so little, unless you have a specific purpose, the size 32x40 seems ok.

Have fun!

To make it larger, you could use a 4-ply soft yarn (like Caron Simply Soft) and a larger hook. Like the others suggested, you can make a small swatch to see which hook size feels comfortable with the yarn and produces a look you like. I've used the Simply Soft to make baby afghans before and it works great and you have more color choices than the baby pastels.

For my really old patterns, I tend to use larger yarn and hooks than called for. The old pattern books seemed to make much smaller blankets, and I like larger blankets. Today's patterns seem to be made to a bigger dimension, usually, so I do not dare increase the yarn size as I end up with a twin bed afghan. So, I would say if the pattern is from the 60s or thereabouts, go ahead and use a sport yarn.

I also read somewhere that the crochet hook manufacturers resized American crochet hooks years ago, and the G became today's size H. I have an old G hook from the 60's and it is today's size H.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I bought the Bernat baby softee yarn and it is working up just the way I wanted it to and looks like the original one I made 28 years ago for my first born son. I do enlarge the pattern by 6 inches in lenght and width. The reason for this is I found my son always got tangled in the smaller one when he moved in his crib. I made a second one for him, larger, and it not only solved the problem, but was able to use it until he went into a bed. The smaller one I used in a carriage.
Bought 5 skeins of each color, just to be sure I had enough yarn, but am really kind of sure that I won't need 25 ounces
of each color. This pattern does use alot of yarn though, since it is the reversible pattern and each inch in length is really 2 rows of the shell stitch.
Will let you know how it all turns out and how much yarn I end up using.
If anyone wants the pattern, e-mail me and I will send it to you.

I'm sorry but I am unable to send this pattern to anyone.
After posting that I would, I was contacted by the designer of the pattern and their attorney that doing so is a copyright infrigement. I was warned that I could be in serious trouble if I proceeded to do so.
At first I thought it was a joke but had my son, who is an attorney check out the info and the e-mails that I received.

He found the e-mails to be valid and authentic and the warnings accurate. His advise was to not give the pattern out to anyone as I could be in serious trouble if the matter was persued.

I am taking his advise and will not be able to give the pattern to anyone. Sorry.

That's amazing!

I happened to be a patent attorney with some expertise in copyright law. I also knit, which is why I participate in this forum. I've noticed for some time on here that posters freely exchange patterns and also scan cartoons and other commercial images into patteren graphs and exchange them as well. There's a good chance that these activities infringe someone's copyrights.

However, it wouldn't have occured to me that anyone would be monitoring a site like this for infringing activities and then issuing cease and desist warnings. But I guess some lawyers are fishing for smaller and smaller fish these days.

So watch what you say here because this is a public forum.

Feedingfrenzy, you aren't the only one that is amazed. Like I said, I thought it was a joke at first. I just talked with my son and told him what you said in your post.

He was quite surprised himself, yet in reality it is infringing when you make the offer on a public forum.

How far they would go, I don't know nor does he, but I really don't want to find out. Being that it is a legal matter and the administration is taking away more and more of our rights, I'd be afraid that my e-mail could be looked at to see if I actually did send the pattern and my son tells me that it is quite possible that that could happen.

Big brother is watching us now in more ways than one and it give me the creeps.

By the way, I purchased the kit from Leewards to make this baby afghan for my son 30 years ago.

http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/2sided.html
Here is a pattern that works up exactly like the one you talked about. I am in the process of making it. It says 173 chains but I am doing it in 183 chains. So far the blanket measures 40" wide. I am going to do it 40 x 40" or whatever makes it a square. My preference is the square shape. Might change my mind, still thinking about it. Any thoughts and reasons of which shape is better? Square or rectangle? I am using a G hook. And the yarn is Bernat Softee Baby it is a sport yarn. I have figured 2 skeins maybe 3, not sure yet. Sometime it stretches to 42" when measuring so I am not exactly sure of completed measurement yet. It seems the shell measures 1". It says 6 shells = 6". Mine didn't measure that but it is still looking good.
Also, in the old Crochet With Heart Magazine April 2000
it has the shell pattern called Doubly Delightful Duo.
It uses Worsted Weight Yarn and the H hook.
It takes 2,624 yards of one color and 2,624 yards of another color to make a blanket 45" x 60".
So far I am prefering the baby blanket done using the G hook and the Bernat Softee Baby sport yarn for a Baby Blanket.
You can sometimes find the magazine on Ebay.
Enjoy!

I almost forgot to tell you that Mary Maxim has the pattern in a kit for sale. Go the www.marymaxim.com
then BABY CRAFTS then Baby Afghans and Blankets to Knit or Crochet. It is located on page 3. It is Item No. 16984. Reversible Baby Blanket.
It uses a J hook and the size is 36 x 46 in. and it has stripes. Uses Baby sport yarn.