Frog and Toad sparked my interest in knit toys, after years of being unsure of them. About 5 years into my knitting journey, my grandmother requested a knitted doll for Christmas. I tried my best and the doll was received well, but to my shock, I hadn’t enjoyed the creation process. There were a few factors that contributed, but the main one was that I didn’t enjoy the yarn I had chosen. For someone who often uses merino or white gum wool, I found the acrylic yarn I had chosen didn’t feel good to work with at all. After that first doll, I didn’t attempt another for many years.
A few years later, I was branching out into crochet and the idea of amigurumi was especially appealing. I had a lot of fun making some little koalas and a little Among Us character. So, when I was asked by a lovely customer if I could knit her a Frog and Toad, although a bit hesitant, I decided it would be worth another try at knitted toys!
Choosing the Yarn for Frog and Toad
Knowing more about the types of yarn I enjoyed working with, I decided merino and wool would be best to work with and set about finding the perfect colours for the much-loved Frog and Toad. Frog and Toad are the characters from a series of children’s books by Arnold Lobel. To be honest, before working in Japan, I didn’t know these characters. But the elementary school English textbook included one of Frog and Toad’s stories, which is how I came to know them. I was excited to make these characters and test out my knitting skills!
The pattern that I used is Frog and Toad by Frog & Cast. This pattern was well written and made following each step easy. For the yarn, I used beautiful yarn from Woodland Garden in the Bark colourway for Toad and a gorgeous green from Sweet Sparrow in the forest floor colourway, both of these in a DK weight. For the clothing, I used the recommended Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in the colourways Rye (C), Moss (D), Wren (E) and Burnt Umber (F).
The Process
Knitting these two characters was so much fun! The beautiful hand-dyed yarn kept me knitting just one more row as the subtle changes in colour really brought Frog & Toad to life. As the legs were teeny tiny skinny legs, I used my double-pointed needles again for the first time in years. I enjoyed using some different tools and techniques. Once finished, I blocked the two adorable characters and they were ready to fill.
Completing both Frog and Toad by filling them was a really special moment for me as my grandmother was visiting me in Japan for the first time ever! She helped me fill both the toys with some small plastic pellets, which gave them some weight and more manoeuvrability. Then we packaged them and sent them off to their new home in the UK!
You Should Make Frog and Toad Too
Because Frog and Toad were so easy and fun to make, I’ve been contemplating making them for myself as well! There are also a range of other knitted frogs that are popular, such as Green Frog by Claire Garland. If you like cute little frogs and want to try something new, then you should make your own Frog and Toad!
If you prefer knitting garments instead, check out my post on White Gum Wool. Let me know what characters you’ve made in the comments so we can all get some inspiration!
