The Purl Frog

 

We named these amiable amphibians Rosemarie and Hilaire, after the friendly neighbor who shared the pattern with us, and the author of the poem that accompanied the pattern.  Rosemarie instructed us to use mung beans as the stuffing; the simple child's rhyme, composed by British author Hilaire Belloc, tells us how to treat our new friends:

The Frog

Be kind and tender to the Frog,
And do not call him names,
As "Slimy skin," or "Polly-wog,"
Or likewise "Ugly James,"
Or "Gap-a-grin," or "Toad-gone-wrong,"
Or "Bill Bandy-knees":
The Frog is justly sensitive
To epithets like these.

No animal will more repay
A treatment kind and fair,
At least so lonely people say
Who keep a frog (and by the way,
they are extremely rare). 

 

Materials and Notes

 

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
The Purl Frog measures about 7 1/2 inches long.

 
PATTERN PIECES
Click here for The Purl Frog Pattern Pieces and a set of printable directions.

MATERIALS

one 1/2 yard Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabric

thread

patchwork pins 

3/4 cup of dried mung beans, lentils, or buckwheat

two beads for the eyes

Cutting and Sewing the Frog

1. Wash, dry, and press the fabric for the frog.
2. Using the Purl Frog Template, cut two Frog Bodies from the fabric.
3. Pin the two pattern pieces right sides together.
4. Stitch a 1/4 inch seam around the frog, beginning at the inseam of one leg and finishing at the inseam of the other, leaving a gap at the base of the body.  Remember to back stitch at the beginning and end of the seam.
5. Clip into the curves of the arms and legs to ease the fabric a bit, then turn the frog right side out.

Filling the Frog

1. Fill the frog about 85% full with dried beans.
2. With needle and thread, hand sew the hole closed. 

Attaching the Eyes

 

You may choose to embroider the eyes.  We chose green beads and sewed them on with closely matching thread. 

Sew the beads to the top of the head, toward the seams, to imitate a frog's wide-set eyes. 

Ribbit!

Enjoy your new frog friend!  

We hope you'll share your version of the Purl Frog with us by posting your photos in our Purl Frog Group on Flickr!

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