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

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.

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.