Frolic Toque

Frolic Toque by McGehee Textiles

What Is Being Made

The Frolic Toque is an adult-sized winter hat designed by Mindy McGehee-Cox and published by McGehee Textiles. This downloadable knitting pattern creates a cozy toque with a finished circumference of 20-21 inches, sized for standard adult heads. The design is the third pattern in a series of three colorwork hats specifically created for gift knitting projects. The toque can be completed in just 2-3 hours, making it an efficient project for crafters looking to produce handmade gifts quickly.

Knitting Techniques Used

The Frolic Toque employs stranded colorwork as its primary decorative technique. Stranded colorwork, also known as Fair Isle knitting, involves carrying two colors of yarn simultaneously across the back of the work while knitting with the active color in the foreground. This method creates intricate color patterns on the fabric surface while building extra insulation through the floats of yarn running behind the stitches. The combination of stranded colorwork with super bulky yarn produces a notably warm and dense fabric ideal for winter wear.

The pattern uses circular needles for the majority of the construction, with a transition to double-pointed needles (DPNs) or the magic loop method when the decreasing stitches no longer comfortably fit on the circular needle. This transition typically occurs during the crown shaping at the top of the hat.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitch (K): The fundamental stitch that forms the base fabric of the toque
• Purl stitch (P): Used selectively within the pattern structure
• Stockinette stitch: The primary stitch pattern, created by alternating knit and purl rows, which provides a smooth, classic fabric surface ideal for displaying colorwork
• Knit two together (K2tog): A right-leaning decrease stitch used to shape the crown of the hat and reduce stitches as the pattern progresses toward the top

Materials and Specifications

Yarn: The Frolic Toque requires super bulky weight yarn (category 6), with a total yardage of 90 yards split between two contrasting colors. The main color requires 60 yards, while the contrast color requires 30 yards. The designer used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Cranberry for the main color and Fisherman for the contrast color, though crafters may substitute other super bulky yarns of similar weight and yardage.

Needles: The pattern calls for two sizes of circular needles: size US 11 (8mm) and size US 13 (9mm), both in 16-inch length. The larger needles (US 13) are used for the colorwork pattern where the gauge is established, while the smaller needles (US 11) may be used for ribbing or other sections. As mentioned, double-pointed needles or the magic loop technique serve as alternatives for the crown decreases.

Gauge: The pattern establishes a gauge of 10 stitches and 14 rows equaling 4 inches when worked in stockinette stitch with the colorwork pattern on the larger US 13 needles. Achieving proper gauge is essential for the finished hat to fit the intended 20-21 inch circumference.

Difficulty Level

The Frolic Toque is rated as an intermediate knitting project. While the basic stitches involved are fundamental, the stranded colorwork technique requires knitters to manage two colors simultaneously and maintain even tension across color changes. Crafters should have prior experience with basic knitting and be comfortable with circular needle construction before attempting this pattern. The intermediate difficulty reflects the colorwork complexity rather than complicated shaping or stitch techniques.