Tuesday Word: frogging

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In knitting and crochet, frogging is the act of unraveling stitches. A crafter may frog an old sweater and use the yarn to make something new, notice a mistake several rows or rounds back and frog to correct it, or lose interest in a project, frog it and roll the yarn into a ball, ready for future use. And of course knitters and crocheters as well as those with no particular interest in either craft may listen to Weezer's "Undone – The Sweater Song" one too many times and decide to re-enact the chorus. Just be sure to save the yarn! And, you know, maybe stop before anyone ends up naked, depending on your location and/or relationship to the sweater-wearer.

I couldn't find any information on the origin of the term, but after frogging some of my current crochet project (you see how seriously I take my duties to this community), I'm guessing it has to do with the sort of hopping motion as the stitches unravel -- as you pull on the working end of the yarn, each stitch comes apart from top to bottom, after which the yarn "hops" to the top of the previous stitch. The stitch hovers on the edge of destruction, awaiting your verdict. It's pretty fun as long as you aren't "hopping mad" at your past self for making an awful mistake in the 5th round of a 28-round rug, and quite satisfying when you're frogging something you made when you were young and foolish and horribly confused by granny squares in order to use the yarn for a more advanced project.