Failed Crochet Project

Well, I had to frog another crochet project. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last.

I tried to make the cloche hat that you see pictured to the right...probably three times now. I tried it once a couple of years ago using some navy yarn. That time, my cloche turned into a beret. It was so flat that I started decreasing my stitches as an attempt to make something other than a pancake--thus, a beret was born. My husband told me that he thinks it looks cute on me, but I haven't had the courage to wear it outside the house.

A few days ago, I tried this hat again, this time using some of the lovely red wool that I had left after finishing my Sweet Pea Shawl. I could just imagine how pretty that hat would look, especially if I used some darker red to add a little contrast to the flower. So I grabbed my hooks and yarn again on Sunday afternoon, but I soon found myself with another pancake on my hands.

Yesterday, over lunch at work, I frogged the new pancake and started the hat all over again. This time, using the same red wool, I adjusted the pattern a bit, trying to use a method my mother-in-law uses with success. She never uses a pattern. She just shapes the hat as she goes...increasing some rows and crocheting other rows with any increase to give it shape. Her hats always seem to turn out well.

For a while, my revised pattern looked like it would work. It was turning into more of a head shape than a pancake this time, but then I tried it on last night in front of a mirror...and saw the little point at the top of my head.

So today, as I started lunch here at work, I added a few more rows. Perhaps I was thinking that I could pull the hat into a better shape, smoothing the little point away somehow. But it soon became obvious that the point wouldn't go away. So I frogged my project again.

I'd still like to make a cloche hat, but I think I'd better buy the kind of yarn the pattern calls for the next time, rather than trying to use what I already have in my stash.