Frogging the Moose Hat

Frogging is a knitting term meaning “ripping out”. I have tried to knit this Moose hat twice with different colors of yarn (link to pattern below).

First I knit a yellow beginning row then brown for the brim. I tore that out. The pattern sample hat is white with two contrast colors, but I didn’t want a white hat. I was also trying to use up stash yarn.

I thought this would be a quickly done FO using up DS sharing HOTN within a day or two. Instead I had a TOAD! (Don’t understand Knitcabulary? Read this fun post at Knitfarious.)

This time I used Yarn Cafe Creations merino wool (blue, “The Ring”) with brown Spincycle for the moose motif. For the third color I used an off-white light fingering wool and combined it with mohair (think snow).

I’ve learned how to carry floats with the left and right hand yarns while knitting projects like this. I’m no expert, and this was good practice. No knitting is a complete waste!

Trial and Error and My Mistakes

I did a little purl ridge to give some texture with the white (not a great idea!) and I began the moose design first instead of the trees. Many Ravelry comments from previous knitters mentioned that they should have done the moose first and that the hat gets too long with all the motif sections.

Because I wanted the moose, but no white, I envisioned the moose walking in snow with snowflakes falling above. The pattern actually has a row of trees, then moose, and more trees at the top. Each section is divided by two rows of a third contrast color. If the hat is knit according to the pattern, it will be quite tall.

I Love to Knit Hats… But

The trouble with knitting hats is that you can’t actually try them on until they are nearly finished. The moose stranded knitting area seemed tight, which I guess usually happens with colorwork. From the brim to the main hat area the needle size goes up by 2, and I used a size larger than that because I know I am a tight knitter.

Yesterday I got past the moose rows and wanted to do snowflakes instead of trees along the top. The off-white with mohair blended in with the blue variegated yarn and could barely be seen.

Now the hat was tall enough that finally I could try it on …. and I hated it! It was loose at the brim (I made the brim half the recommended length) and tight around the moose motif section. This is not the type of yarn I want for a hat either! (Note to self: don’t use sock / fingering yarn for a winter hat – unless it’s a man’s cap.)

I’ve decided to frog it. The pattern is not something I will try again, but I have the moose motif to save for another time – maybe a scarf / cowl / or mittens.

Link to the Moose Hat Pattern

Most of the problems I had with this hat were brought on myself and I don’t blame the designer. If you want to buy this pattern, or read comments from other knitters, find it at Ravelry: Beware of the Moose.

I prefer my winter hats to be chunky, or at least knit in worsted weight, like my Quarry Hat, Simple Rasta Hat, or Star-topped Hat.

My next stranded knitting project will be a pair of mittens when I join the Woolly Thistle KAL.