It looks nice enough in the photos, and the color is lovely. Frog it and make it again starting with 10 or 12 fewer stitches. But good reminder for those of us who also like to wing it- “Swatch and wear, or don’t do either!” I hear my grandma’s voice echoing in my ears….
It's so true! I can never be bothered to swatch for a small project, it feels like such a waste of time. But less of a waste of time than having to frog it and start again...!
The same thing happened to me with my first hat, a Mussleburgh hat that I knit for my partner. It was ridicoulusly big. I frogged most of it and re did it, but still not great.
Now my puppy has eaten it so it is no longer but perhaps in 2026 I will give it another go with proper counting and measurments....!
Yeah, I'm definitely a fan of making an immediate decision one way or the other. I don't like having WIPs hanging around - I would rather frog/donate/gift/sell immediately!
Thanks for your kind words about the sweater! It's the Jared Flood Fort :)
I'm terrible with swatches - I generally just opt for a larger needle and think oversized is always okay, whereas too small isn't. But I guess it doesn't apply for hats!! Colour and material is great though, it will look really nice ones adjusted!
Oh I so know that feeling. I've just spent an age knitting a cardigan and becasue I used the yarn recommended in the pattern I didn't bother to swatch. The cardigan is huge! 😕
Love that you're treating this as a learning moment rather than a total loss. The mohair halo probably makes the oversizing less noticeable in photos, but I totally get how annoying that nape fold would be in actual wear. Skipping the swatch when working with a yarn combo you haven't tried before is such aclassic trap, especially when you've done the pattern before. At least frogging mohair held double should go pretty smoothly compared to working with it solo.
That's what I'm hoping 🤞🏻 I'm planning on remitting the hat smaller with the same yarn combo as well, so it should be easy enough to frog and then reknit
You made a "hat swatch" a la Elizabeth Zimmermann!
It looks nice enough in the photos, and the color is lovely. Frog it and make it again starting with 10 or 12 fewer stitches. But good reminder for those of us who also like to wing it- “Swatch and wear, or don’t do either!” I hear my grandma’s voice echoing in my ears….
It's so true! I can never be bothered to swatch for a small project, it feels like such a waste of time. But less of a waste of time than having to frog it and start again...!
The same thing happened to me with my first hat, a Mussleburgh hat that I knit for my partner. It was ridicoulusly big. I frogged most of it and re did it, but still not great.
Now my puppy has eaten it so it is no longer but perhaps in 2026 I will give it another go with proper counting and measurments....!
Sounds like your puppy enjoyed it though!
I sympathise as I'm terrible at doing swatches but have learned the hard way that they are worth doing. Love your sweater!
Thank you! It's the Jared Flood Fort pattern
You need to find a friend with a bigger head!
Haha, true!
Frog it! No mercy! I learned to always swatch the hard way too. Loving your sweater!😍
Yeah, I'm definitely a fan of making an immediate decision one way or the other. I don't like having WIPs hanging around - I would rather frog/donate/gift/sell immediately!
Thanks for your kind words about the sweater! It's the Jared Flood Fort :)
I'm terrible with swatches - I generally just opt for a larger needle and think oversized is always okay, whereas too small isn't. But I guess it doesn't apply for hats!! Colour and material is great though, it will look really nice ones adjusted!
Thank you! I'm determined not to waste the yarn so frogging it is!
Oh I so know that feeling. I've just spent an age knitting a cardigan and becasue I used the yarn recommended in the pattern I didn't bother to swatch. The cardigan is huge! 😕
Oh no, that's rubbish! Can you rip back to a certain point and reknit? Or do you think the whole thing will need to be reknit?
I shall wash and block and see. I’ll prob just wear it huge!!
Love that you're treating this as a learning moment rather than a total loss. The mohair halo probably makes the oversizing less noticeable in photos, but I totally get how annoying that nape fold would be in actual wear. Skipping the swatch when working with a yarn combo you haven't tried before is such aclassic trap, especially when you've done the pattern before. At least frogging mohair held double should go pretty smoothly compared to working with it solo.
That's what I'm hoping 🤞🏻 I'm planning on remitting the hat smaller with the same yarn combo as well, so it should be easy enough to frog and then reknit