FROG AND TOAD

If you knit, you are aware of this pattern of the adorable Frog and Toad by Frog and Cast who are the main characters in Arnold Lobel’s famous children’s books. Arnold Lobel wrote these books in 1976 at a time when featuring a same-gender couple was not common in children’s lit. As soon as I saw this pattern I knew I needed to knit them. I put out into the world that I would auction them off to benefit The Ali Forney Center but after I made them I fell in love- so its likely I will make them again. Arnold Lobel died at a young age from AIDS. The Ali Forney Center provides homeless LGBTQIA youth with programming, housing, sex-ed, and so much more to empower the community. When I was a lot younger in my career I was fortunate to be on a panel about the fashion industry at the center- and it changed my life. They are now the charity I support over and over again whenever I can. EDIT: We raised $1014 for The Ali Forney Center with the sale of Frog and Toad!

Alright let’s get into this pattern!

The pattern comes with Frog, Toad, Frog’s jacket, Frog’s pants, and Toad’s batheing costume pieces. As you can see from my finished Frog and Toad, I followed all patterns except Frog’s jacket because I drafted my own YUCK Sweater pattern for him. The pattern for Frog’s YUCK sweater is at the bottom of this post!!!!

For these patterns I used a lot of stash yarns but I couldn’t help myself when it came time to make Toad’s bathing costume. I went to my LYS in Rhode Island Knit One Purl Too for the ochre wool + mohair and the bright blue alpaca.

YARNS:

• Frog: 2 Ends Purl Soho Line Weight discontinued color
• Frog’s Sweater: 1 end stash singles yarn + Purl Soho Posy in Sour Gooseberry for the Y.U.C.K. letters
• Frog’s Pants: 1 end stash singles yarn
• Toad: 2 ends Bernat tweedy yarn I inherited from my grandmother
• Toad’s Bathing Costume: Madeline Tosh Tosh Sock in Spicewood with Canard Mohair in color 3048 + end ends Juniper Moon Farm Herriot Fine in Aquamarina
• White + Black remnant Koigu KPM yarns for the eyes.

I found this pattern actually pretty easy to follow. I do not often do other people’s patterns so I was a little nervous but it all went fine taking it one step at a time. The one thing I messed up was the instruction beginning “with RS facing.” In sewing you need right sides together- so I thought it wanted the right sides of the piece to face each other but it really wanted the right side to be facing you as you knit- now I know. Also there is a cutting your knitting step at the end of making frog and toad for the eyes. That was a little scary too but went fine.

One of my friends on instagram gave me crushed walnut shells to fill my new friends but I was afraid it would spill everywhere (and it did while I was removing the bag from the box) so I ended up using “Pigeon Peas.”

YUCK SWEATER PATTERN FOR FROG: knit bottom up in similar weight yarn to pants

CO 60sts and join in rnd.

*K1, P1* (repeat between *’s to complete the rnd)

Continue in 1×1 rib pattern (K1, P1) for 3 more rows

*K5, KFB* (repeat between *’s to complete the rnd) (70sts)

Knit 13 rows in stockinette stitch

Divide front and back (35 front, 35 back with the tail of your cast on at what would be the side seam of the sweater

Front:

-Knit 1 row (35 front stitches) now knitting back and forth across rows.

-Purl 1 row

-Knit 1 row

-Purl 8, bind off 19 stitches purlwise, purl 8

-Knit row, only knitting the 8 stitches before the bind off neckline. (frogs left sweater shoulder)

-P1, P2tog, P5 (7)

-Knit row

-P1, P2tog, P4 (6)

-Knit row

-P1, P2tog, P3 (5)

-Continue in stockinette stitch for 3 more rows and place 5 stitches on stitch holder or waste yarn or spare needle.

-Now going back to Frog Sweater’s right shoulder with the purl side facing you, P5, SSP, P1 (7)

-Knit row

-P4, SSP, P1 (6)

-Knit row

-P3, SSP, P1 (5)

-Continue in stockinette stitch for 3 more rows and place 5 stitches on stitch holder or waste yarn or spare needle.

Back:

-With knit side facing you, knit the row.

-Continue in stockinette stitch for 8 more rows

-P7, Bind Off 21, P7

-Knit row, only knitting the 8 stitches before the bind off neckline (7sts)

-P1, P2tog, P4 (6)

-Knit row

-P1, P2tog, P3 (5)

-Knit row

-Purl row and place 5 stitches on stitch holder or waste yarn or spare needle.

-OTHER SHOULDER Now going back to Frog Sweater’s right shoulder with the knit side facing you. Knit row (7)

-P4, SSP, P1 (6)

-Knit row

-P3, SSP, P1 (5)

-Knit row

-Purl row and place 5 stitches on stitch holder or waste yarn or spare needle.

Kitchener stitch the shoulders together.

Sleeves:

Pick up 20 stitches around the armhole starting at the underarm

Work in stockinette for 8 rows

SSK, knit until there are 2 left before the end of the rnd, K2tog.

Work in stockinette for 4 more rows

Knit 2, K2together until there are 2 stitches left

Knit a rnd

*K1, P1* (repeat between *’s to complete the rnd)

Work in pattern for 3 more rows.

Bind off loosely.

Repeat for other sleeve and tuck in ends!

Collar Rib: For the collar, pick up stitches evenly around the neck opening edge. Its important to pick up an even number of stitches so that you can work in a 1×1 rib.

Work 4 rows of 1×1 rib (K1, P1)

Cast off (I cast of tightly to ensure that it lay flat against Frog’s neck.

YUCK: use your favorite embroidery technique to embroider YUCK across the front. I used a chain stitch. Here is a link to a tutorial on chain stitch hand embroidery.