Hooded Jacket by Sue Whiting

I recently started crocheting Sue Whiting's Hooded Jacket from her book Weekend Crochet for Babies. The pattern recommends using Rowan All Season's Cotton which is 60% Cotton and 40% acrylic microfiber. Being rather eager to start the pattern and not all that keen on searching for the exact yarn I substituted this for some left over yarn that I had on hand. Usually when substituting yarn I look for something that has a similar make up, texture, recommended hook size and stitches per inch guide. In addition I check how many meters each ball of yarn contains to ensure that I purchase enough yarn. However, this time around I broke those rules and have used Cascade Yarns Cloud 9 which is 50% Merino Wool and 50% Angora. I suspect that my version of this Jacket is thicker and fluffier than the original. Despite this my almost finished jacket is thus far adhering to the measurements given in the pattern.

It has been fairly quick to make. The pattern is straightforward and can be followed with ease (well mostly). The stitches are simple and I have completed most of the jacket whilst watching TV without needing to refer back to the pattern. There was, however, some guesswork required on the first row: the author has not stated what should be done with the last 2 of the foundation chain. Using the stitch diagram (rather than the written instructions) I was able to infer what stitches to use.

I have only one dilemma left to solve in order to finish this pattern: round buttons (as used in the pattern) or animal shaped buttons?