This little frog is 7 cm across, almost a sphere, and it is built from two flat discs joined at the edge: a white belly and a green back. That join is the whole trick — the belly is a plain 60-stitch circle, the back a 60-stitch bowl, and you crochet them together around the rim with single crochet while stuffing, so there is no seam to hide and the body keeps a slightly flattened shape.
The rest is sewing: two bulging eyes with green lids, four webbed paws and a red tongue. Work it tightly on a 2 mm hook — the stuffing must not show through.
Every row is written out below.
What you need
- Yarn: cotton DK — lime green, paper white, a little pillar red and spearmint green
- Hook: 2 mm
- Eyes: 6 mm safety eyes or black beads
- Notions: hollow fibre stuffing, long needle, pins
Abbreviations
MR magic ring, sc single crochet, sc inc increase, sc dec decrease, dc double crochet, ch chain, slst slip stitch. Puff stitch here means 4 dc worked in the same stitch and joined at the top.
Belly
White, worked in a spiral.
- R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
- R2: 2 sc in each sc (12)
- R3: (sc, inc) x6 (18)
- R4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24)
- R5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30)
- R6: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36)
- R7: (5 sc, inc) x6 (42)
- R8: (6 sc, inc) x6 (48)
- R9: (7 sc, inc) x6 (54)
- R10: (8 sc, inc) x6, slst (60)
Tie off and cut the yarn.
Back
Green, in a spiral. Do not cut the working yarn at the end.
- R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
- R2: 2 sc in each sc (12)
- R3: (sc, inc) x6 (18)
- R4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24)
- R5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30)
- R6: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36)
- R7: (5 sc, inc) x6 (42)
- R8: (6 sc, inc) x6 (48)
- R9: 48 sc (48)
- R10: (7 sc, inc) x6 (54)
- R11: 54 sc (54)
- R12: (8 sc, inc) x6 (60)
- R13–14: 60 sc — 2 rounds
Join the two pieces wrong sides together, insert the hook through both edges and work single crochet all the way round, stuffing as you go. Finish with a slip stitch and hide the end inside.
Eyes (make 2)
White. Close the magic ring loosely enough to push the safety eye through later.
- R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
- R2: 2 sc in each sc (12)
- R3: (3 sc, inc) x3 (15)
- R4–5: 15 sc — 2 rounds
Insert the safety eye into the middle of the ring, then continue:
- R6: (3 sc, dec) x3 (12)
- R7: 6 dec (6)
Stuff the eye and leave a long tail for sewing.
Eyelids (make 2)
Green.
- R1: 6 sc in MR (6)
- R2: 2 sc in each sc (12)
- R3: (sc, inc) x6 (18)
- R4–6: 18 sc — 3 rounds
Paws (make 4)
Green, with three webbed toes.
- R1: 2 ch, 12 dc in MR, slst (12)
- R2: 4 slst, then three times (6 ch, puff stitch in the third loop from the hook, sc in the fourth, fifth and sixth loops, slst in the next loop of R1), 4 slst
Tongue
Red.
- R1: 4 ch, from the second loop 2 sc, 3 sc in the last chain, then without turning 1 sc, 1 sc inc (8); slst to finish
Assembly
- Put the eyes into the eyelids, sew them together and tie off the white yarn at the bottom of each eye.
- Sew the eyes to the body between rows 4 and 8.
- Sew the front paws on the bottom, symmetrical to the muzzle; the back paws go further round, as in the photos.
- Sew the tongue to the muzzle.
- Embroider French knots on the back with dark green, or sew small beads.
Notes
The join between belly and back is the only structural step, and it decides whether the frog looks round or flat. Work the single crochet into both edges, not into one and then the other, and stuff a little at a time so the rim stays even.
More small toys: Bunny Teether Rattle is the baby one, Penny is the palm-sized plush, and Baby Sunflower is the flower with legs. Everything is on the patterns page.
Pattern source: 2 in 1 Frog, crochet PDF pattern.
For another figure crocheted in a single piece, Baby Alien changes colour mid-body instead of seaming a neck.
The toy with the most parts in the collection is Plush Plane: two wings, two tail panels, two engines, three blades.
The other toy built from two joined discs is Avocado Family, whose halves are joined at the rim in the same way.
The 11 cm animal of the collection is Elephant Elf, with a wired trunk for posing.
If you want a project with structure, Amanita Mushroom House uses taped cardboard inside the walls.
If you want a toy with moving parts, Anglerfish SAM has a hinged jaw that opens on a wire frame.
If you like toys with a garment, Pig in a Granny Square Blanket sews its blanket on rather than dressing the pig.
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