Last weekend, I set out to make a Lovey for a little girl who loves the book One Green Frog by Yvonne Hooker. By the time I decided to start making it, I had only a few days until I wanted to gift it, so I went with a simple granny square blanket, and a great free amigurumi frog pattern by Maarja Härsing-Värk. The lovey turned out just as I hoped, and was a great quick crochet project. It is pretty beginner-friendly, but the frog may be a little tricky if it’s your first amigurumi. The true measure of success was the reaction upon gifting Green Frog, which was the perfect blend of wonder and excitement. I only hope I attached the frog with enough reinforcement to hold up to all the love it will get in the form of dragging, swinging, and hugging.

To complete this project, you will need to know the following stitches: sl knot and ch, sc, sc inc, sc dec, magic circle, dc

You will also need the following materials:

5mm (US H) and 3.5mm (US E) crochet hooks [Affiliate Link]

Tapestry Needle [Affiliate Link]

Stitch Markers [Affiliate Link]

I Love This Cotton Yarn in: #4 Lime Ombre (less than one skein), #100 Bright Citrus (one skein), and #2 Black (scraps for details) [Available at Hobby Lobby]

Polyester Stuffing [Affiliate Link]

For the blanket, use a 5mm hook and Lime Ombre yarn.
Magic circle, ch 3. Into magic circle 2 dc, *ch 3, 3 dc* x3, sl st to top of ch 3
Round 2: ch 4, *3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc into corner ch 3 space. Ch 1* repeat around, ending with 2dc next to ch 4. Join to 3rd ch with sl st.
Round 3: ch 3, 2 dc in ch space from previous round. *Ch 1, 3 dc into ch space* repeat around, putting *3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc* into each corner. Join to top of ch 3 with sl st
Round 4: ch 4, *3 dc, ch 1* repeat around, putting *3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc* into each corner, ending with 2dc next to ch 4. Join to 3rd ch with sl st.
Repeat rounds 3-4 for 12 total rounds.
Final round: sl st in each stitch around (dcs and chs). Tie off and hide ends.




For the Frog, I followed the free pattern from Smartapple Creations for Fred the Frog, but with the below changes.
Use a 3.5mm hook and Bright Citrus yarn. For the eyes, nose, and mouth use black yarn.
I opted for a smiling rather than frowning frog, which was easily accomplished by placing the yarn as I desired before attaching.
Instead of using safety eyes, crochet with black yarn.
Make two eyes: magic circle, 6 dc. Tie off and leave end long to sew to green eye pieces.

Once the blanket and frog are each complete, attach them to each other with a tapestry needle and length of bright citrus yarn. Once I felt like it was secure enough, I practiced pulling on it like I was a small child, and then added a bit more yarn for good measure. After the affectionately named Green Frog had spent some time being played with, I double checked the security, and am hopeful for his long life. In a previous post I talked a bit about how much I love being able to make and gift things that I know will be loved and appreciated by people I love, and it has never been more true than when seeing the look on the face of a girl with a new green frog.