Tumbling Toads
Although I’ve been crafting away, there isn’t terribly much to show for it, so let’s continue with my holiday knitting before we end up in February, shall we?
These fun fellows made up in no time. I tucked a homemade hacky-sack / footbag into each of them to weigh them down for better juggling.
| The footbags are what took the time with this project! After dithering among several stuffing options (beans? rice? plastic beads?) I ended up going with little glass pellets in the hope that they’d weigh more than plastic. I didn’t want to go with dried foodstuff, as these were going straight into the hands of an adventurous child. Who knows if they’ll take a spill into the river or a bucket of water at some point. | 
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| The footbags are made from a ruined pair of chinos. By the third bag, I was getting better at sewing and filling them. I originally tried a baseball-type design, which would have worked with a larger bag. With the size I was going for, though, I had better luck with a four-panel bag. I used this tutorial from Daniel Botkin to construct the bags. I filled them with teeny 1mm glass pellets. If I ever use up all the pellets I bought, I’ll buy larger ones next time; using these is like using sand. | |
The toads themselves were crocheted from Wool Ease and stuffed with a little fiberfill. I have standing orders from my hubby and sons for more toads, so you may see them again someday.
Details:
| Started: | 14 Dec 2008 |
| Finished: | 18 Dec 2008 |
| Pattern: | Halloween Toads from Brigitte at Roman Sock. |
| Yarn: | Lion Brand Wool Ease (worsted weight; 20% wool, 80% acrylic) in Avocado and Fisherman. |
| Hook: | 3.5 mm (E) |
| Notes: | 10mm safety eyes.
Footbag instructions from Daniel Botkin’s tutorial. I altered the pattern size, but can’t find it to measure it at the moment! Footbag stuffed with 1mm glass pellets. Toads stuffed with the footbag and polyester fiberfill. |
Pat said,
January 30, 2009 at 1:14 pm
OMG – they are the cutest little toads!!!
Wormie said,
January 31, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Oh my gosh – those are soooo cute!
Angela said,
February 14, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Those are fantastic! How cute!! I want to make some for my kitchen window sill
)
Ethel said,
April 21, 2010 at 1:01 am
Could someone tell me how to make these cute tumbling toads?
Stacy said,
April 21, 2010 at 9:52 am
Hi Ethel,
I’m glad you like the toads! The pattern is linked in my original post. If you look back up at the post, there’s a ‘Details’ section. Inside that is the yarn, tools, and pattern I used for the toads. This pattern is the ‘Halloween Toads’ pattern from Bridgitte over at Roman Sock. Good luck – these little guys are fun to make.