The one with the tadpoles

Yes, you did read that correctly.

TADPOLES

You see, a couple of weeks ago, we (not me, I hasten to add - this was something the Mister and kids are responsible for) picked up a teeny little bit of frogspawn from a muddy puddle in a field.

And now we have tadpoles.

Eleventy-billion of them, to be precise.

(For anyone who hasn't seen tadpoles before, they are the aquatic lavae of amphibians - in this case, frogs. Find out more about them here.)

We are feeding them all sorts of stuff (so far, raw minced meat has been their favourite) and are enjoying watching them change and grow. And grow.. And grow...

I'm even documenting their daily progress on my Instagram Stories (it's Day 28 of #frogwatch, if you're interested) which is proving very popular with my followers and I receive lots of comments from people telling me how much they enjoy tuning in each day to see how the tadpoles are getting on.

And so it seemed appropriate to crochet one. In fact, I'd like to make a whole set for every stage of their development, but we'll see.

If you fancy making a crocheted tadpole (I cannot think of a single reason why you wouldn't) then here's the pattern in UK terms (US below):

Tadpole Pattern (UK)

Pattern notes:

The tadpole is crocheted in continuous rounds. Use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of every round. Stuff as you go.

You will need:

A small amount of yarn in black and grey and a hook to match. 

I used Rico Creative Cotton Aran in Black and Mouse Grey and a 3.5mm hook 

Toy Stuffing

2 x 9mm safety eyes

Head and tail

Rnd 1: using Black, 6dc in magic ring, or 2ch, 6dc in 2nd ch from hook (6 sts)

Rnd 2: 1dc in each st around.

Rnd 3: 2dc in each st around. (12 sts)

Rnd 4: 1dc in each st around.

Rnd 5: (1dc, 2dc in next st) around. (18 sts)

Rnds 6 - 9: 1dc in each st around.

Insert eyes between rnds 4 - 5; 6 sts apart.

Rnd 10: (1dc, dc2tog) around. (12 sts)

Rnd 11: 1dc in each st around.

Rnd 12: dc2tog around (6 sts)

Rnds 13 - 25: 1dc in each st around.

Rnd 26: dc2tog around (3 sts)

Rnd 27: 2dc, leaving 1st unworked.

Fasten off, weave in ends.

Tail Fins (make 2)

Using Grey, 15ch.

Along the length of the chain, make one of each st in each of the chain stitches:

1sl st, 2dc, 2htr, 5tr, 2htr, 2dc, 1sl st.

Fasten off, leave long tail for sewing to tail.

Using the yarn ends, stitch the tail fins in place.

Tadpole Pattern (US)

Pattern notes:

The tadpole is crocheted in continuous rounds. Use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of every round. Stuff as you go.

You will need:

A small amount of yarn in black and grey and a hook to match. 

I used Rico Creative Cotton Aran in Black and Mouse Grey and a 3.5mm hook 

Toy Stuffing

2 x 9mm safety eyes

Head and tail

Rnd 1: using Black, 6sc in magic ring, or 2ch, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook (6 sts)

Rnd 2: 1sc in each st around.

Rnd 3: 2sc in each st around. (12 sts)

Rnd 4: 1sc in each st around.

Rnd 5: (1sc, 2sc in next st) around. (18 sts)

Rnds 6 - 9: 1sc in each st around.

Insert eyes between rnds 4 - 5; 6 sts apart.

Rnd 10: (1sc, sc2tog) around. (12 sts)

Rnd 11: 1sc in each st around.

Rnd 12: sc2tog around (6 sts)

Rnds 13 - 25: 1sc in each st around.

Rnd 26: sc2tog around (3 sts)

Rnd 27: 2sc, leaving 1st unworked.

Fasten off, weave in ends.

Tail Fins (make 2)

Using Grey, 15ch.

Along the length of the chain, make one of each st in each of the chain stitches:

1sl st, 2sc, 2hdc, 5dc, 2hdc, 2sc, 1sl st.

Fasten off, leave long tail for sewing to tail.

Using the yarn ends, stitch the tail fins in place.

The plan, of course is to watch them grow into froglets and release them back where they were found ... (before they take over the house like a Biblical plague).

Enjoy!

Sarah xx