AJK0207 - resizing an afghan pattern

A friend gave me a knitting pattern for an adult afghan and I would like to adapt it to a baby afghan but not sure how many stitches to start with.

Also, this pattern is knit singly but when finished you can separate the back from the front - I don't understand why that is but I love the feature of it.

The adult pattern is as follows:

Number 5 round needle
14 skeins of Dazzle yarn (more or less depending on how long you want the afghan. (use of skein for fringe)

Cast on 240 stitches.
Knit for 6 rows

1st row of pattern

Knit 3 stitches *yarn over, slip stitch, knit 1 stitch*
Repeat between asterisks up to the last 3 stitches
Knit the 3 stitches
2nd row of pattern and all following rows.
Knit 3 stitches *yarn over, slip one, drop next stitch, knit 1* Repeat between asterisks up to the last three stitches. Knit the 3 stitches.

(Note the stitch that is dropped is always the yarn over of the previous row)

Continue to repeat this last row over and over until piece is about 3/4 of an inch less than desired finished length. The final row of the pattern stitch is the same as the previous row, except that you DO NOT make any yarn overs.

After completing the last row, work 6 rows in garter stitch and bind off loosely. Cut 8 inch lengths for fringe.

Can you tell me how many stitches I would need to cast on for a baby afghan?

Thank you so much. (Also how does this create the space in between the front and back.

YOUR ANSWER

You have me intrigued with this one. The answer to one of your questions is quite easy.

Basically what you need to do is to measure the adult size and do a bit of math to calculate the number of stitches for a smaller version.

You divide 240 by the total width measurement, so that you get the number of stitches per inch or per centimetre depending on which measurement you use.

Then multiply the number of stitches by the width you want the baby afghan to be to get a rough number of stitches. To make the pattern work you need 6 plus a multiple of 2, so if you have an uneven number in your rough total add or deduct one stitch and you are good to go.

The other part of your question, how does the finished article "unfold" I am assuming that it is due to the stitch pattern. I haven't knitted this stitch before so I am going to have to try it and see how the effect works!

I will come back and add to your answer when I have had a play...