Knitter Kristina McGowan Creates Adorable Knitted Frog And Toad Plushies And You Can Buy A Pattern To Make Them Yourself

Published 4 years ago

Frog and Toad are the main characters in the series of children’s books created by American author Arnold Lobel back in the ’70s. And even though the characters are almost 50 years old, they still remain popular even to this day.

A little while ago, Kristina McGowan, knitwear designer and the creator of Frog & Cast, shared some photos of the adorable knitted Frog and Toad plushies and they went viral all over the internet. And here’s the best part – she even has a pattern for sale so you can make these characters yourself!

Check out Kristina’s Frog and Toad plushies in the gallery below!

More info: frogandcast.com | Instagram

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Kristina McGowan recently shared these adorable Frog and Toad plushies that she knitted and people instantly fell in love with them

Image credits: Frog & Cast

In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the woman said she has worked as a knitter for many years and has even written books about it before starting her own company back in February. As for the unique name, Frog & Cast, the woman explained that in knitting, ‘frog’ means taking out or undoing and ‘cast on’ means beginning or starting again – and that’s what this project has been for her, a new start.

Kristina says she became interested in knitting when she was just a child and taught herself by reading all of the how-to books she could get her hands on. “Later as a teenager, I would spend summers in Austria and one of my favorite things to do was wander to a nearby park and sit with the elderly women there underneath these giant linden trees and watch them as they knit and gossiped and showed me tricks and shortcuts,” said the woman.

Kristina had found an old copy of Frog and Toad Are Friends in her parents’ house

Image credits: frogandcast

“I’ve always loved the saying that ‘reading is dreaming with your eyes open,’ and as a child, no book filled my dreamscape more vividly than Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad series,” explained Kristina. “Tucked under our quilts, my parents would often read the books to my twin sister and me before bed and the sense of comfort and home they provided was immense.”

Kristina had found an old copy of Frog and Toad Are Friends, a book that her parents used to read to her and her twin sister, in her parents’ house when visiting them for Christmas, and says the magic of it all came back as she was flipping through the pages.

Finding the book inspired her to knit the main characters

Image credits: Frog & Cast

“My father likes me to make him a Manhattan after dinner so I’d had one myself and was feeling no pain, sitting by the woodstove as everyone had gone to bed,” shared Kristina. “I had yarn with me and just started to imagine what a knitted frog might look like. Usually, when trying to create a pattern I’m careful to take notes and write things down, but that evening was more about good feeling and not overthinking or being too careful.”

Image credits: Frog & Cast

Kristina even has a pattern for sale on her website

Image credits: Frog & Cast

For the filling, the artist chose to use pellets that she found at a local craft store. However, she also wanted to try out a non-plastic option and eventually chose to use a material created out of ground walnut shells and lavender buds.

Image credits: Frog & Cast

 

Image credits: Frog & Cast

If you would like to try your hand at creating these characters yourself, you can purchase the knitting pattern on Kristina’s website.

Aušrys Uptas

One day, this guy just kind of figured - "I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?" - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that's trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that's too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!

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Frog And Toad, knitting, Kristina McGowan, plushies
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