What does frogging mean?
Frogging is a term borrowed into modern knitting and crochet slang to describe unravelling a piece of work, usually to remove an error and reknit the affected rows. The whimsical name comes from wordplay: as the knitter rips out the stitches, 'rip it, rip it' echoes the croak of a frog. Frogging can involve just a few rows or an entire project, and while frustrating, it is regarded among crafters as an unavoidable part of the process — a badge of experience rather than a failure. Separately, 'frogging' also names decorative braided closures of looping cords and toggles found on military uniforms and ceremonial jackets, a much older use unrelated to yarn crafts. In everyday usage today, however, most people encountering the word will find it in a knitting context, where undoing work carefully and without shame is celebrated as simply part of making things by hand.
The unravelling of knitted or crocheted stitches, typically to correct an error before reworking the fabric.
"Frogging several rows felt painful, but the finished sweater was worth it."
Informal; specific to knitting and crochet communities.
Ornamental braided loops and buttons used as fastenings on garments, especially military and ceremonial dress.
"Her vintage band jacket featured dense gold frogging across the chest."
Often referred to simply as 'frogs' or 'frog closures'.
Rarely pluralised in practice; the singular is standard even for repeated acts of unravelling.
"Each frogging of that delicate lace risked breaking the mohair thread."
Knitters call unravelling 'frogging' because when you 'rip it, rip it' out, you sound exactly like a frog croaking.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does frogging come from?
The knitting sense of 'frogging' derives from the amphibian 'frog', with crafters punning on 'rip it, rip it' as a frog-like croak; it emerged informally within English-language knitting communities in recent decades. The clothing sense comes from 'frog', the braided loop-and-button fastening, which entered English via French 'frogue' and may trace further to Turkic dress ornaments; it has decorated European military uniforms since at least the seventeenth century. Both senses ultimately share only the word 'frog', not a deeper common root.
Related word forms
How frogging is actually used
'Frogging' is chiefly used in online and community knitting/crochet contexts and is informal in register; it is essentially unknown outside fibre-arts circles except in reference to uniform braid, where 'frog' alone is more common for the fastening.
Easily confused with frogging
Tinking means undoing stitches one at a time by reversing knit stitches, while frogging means pulling out whole rows at speed.
A frog is the amphibian itself, whereas frogging is either the act of unravelling knitting or a braided garment fastening named for its looped shape.