How to Make a Felt Froggy ~ Pattern + Tutorial

Last year my daughter’s online class needed to complete a simple sewing project for their Family Studies class. Since everyone was learning from home, the kids could come up with their own project to complete on their own time. My daughter loves frogs and was keen to make something to do with them, so she asked if we could come up with a pattern together that would be good for practicing her sewing skills but also not too complicated that she would need a lot of guidance from me.

I made a simple pattern from a drawing my daughter had done and this Learn-to Sew Felt Froggy pattern is the result! We had a request to share the pattern and it occurred to me that I should post it up here for others who are looking for simple patterns to get their kids started with sewing and embroidery. I’ve got a few other patterns underway and hope to make a series of them, so make sure to check back here for updates!

all about little ones learn-to-sew patterns

All Little Ones Learn-to-Sew patterns are simple patterns with few pieces and easy-to-follow instructions that are designed so that older children should be able to do them with little help and smaller children will also be able to do them with just a little guidance. Of course, although these patterns are designed with children in mind, they are really for everyone to enjoy!

Little ones learn-to-sew patterns:

Use wool felt – which is thick, doesn’t fray and is easy for children to work with
Are small projects – easy to complete in a short time
Use few pieces – not an overwhelming amount to put together for a beginner
Use simple, easy to follow instructions

I hope you will enjoy these patterns! Please do let me know if you have any questions or if anything is unclear and I will amend the pattern instructions for clarity. Thank you ♥

Felt Froggy tutorial

what you will need

Printed Froggy pattern – see bottom of this post for free printable pattern
Wool blend felt – green, pink, white and black
Embroidery floss – green, pink, white and black
Raw wool or poly-fil stuffing
Embroidery needle
Pins
Sewing scissors (or scissors sharp enough to cut felt)

How to make your felt froggy

Step 1: Gather all your materials and tools – wool felt, embroidery floss, stuffing, embroidery needle, pins, scissors and printed pattern.

Step 2: Cut out all the pieces of your pattern. Cut just outside the black outline of each pattern piece. Keep the instruction card in case you need to refer to it as you’re working.

Step 3: Pin your pattern pieces to the wool felt. You should have 2 main pieces in green, 2 white pieces for the eyes, 2 black pieces for the eye pupils and 2 pink pieces for the cheeks. Some of the smaller pieces are difficult to pin, so it might be easier to trace these in chalk or a washable fabric marker.

Step 4: Carefully cut out all your felt pieces.

Step 5: Pin the white pieces onto one of your main green felt pieces in the places indicated by the dotted line on the pattern.

Step 6: Using a straight stitch, sew on each white piece.

Step 7: Once your white eye pieces are sewn on, it is time to sew on the black ‘eye pupil’ pieces.

Step 8: Decide on a ‘look’ for your froggy. You can trim the ‘pupil’ pieces smaller if you prefer that look. See above image for a few ideas!

Step 9: Once you’re decided on the position, sew on your black ‘eye pupil’ pieces using straight stitch again.

Step 10: If you’d like, you can add a few simple stitches in white onto the black pupil pieces to add a bit of a ‘reflection’ to the eyes. Just thread your needle with white embroidery floss, knot one end, then come up from the back and repeat 2 or 3 times, with the stitches close together.

Step 11: Once your eyes are sewn on to your satisfaction, you are ready to move on to the ‘cheek’ pieces.

Step 12: Pin the pink ‘cheek’ pieces on as indicated by the dotted line on the pattern. Make sure not to place them too close to the edge as you will need room to sew up the sides of your froggy shortly.

Step 13: Sew on the ‘cheek’ pieces using straight stitch.

Step 14: Using chalk or an erasable fabric marker, mark where you would like your forggy’s mouth to be. You can also do this without marking, but I find it helps to keep track of where I want to go!

Step 15: Using a straight stitch with the stitches close together, sew along your mouth outline using black embroidery floss.

Step 16: You can leave the mouth as is, or go back along your previous stitching: slip a stitch underneath each straight stitch to smooth out the line of stitching. This is called ‘whipped running stitch’. I hope to add a little video to demonstrate, but in the meantime you can also search for videos online demonstrating this stitch.

Step 17: Now take your FRONT and BACK ‘main’ green felt pieces (one with the face and one without) and pin them together with WRONG sides facing together.

Step 18: Thread your needle with a long strand of green embroidery floss (about 55 inches long). Knot one end. Starting at the bottom edge of your froggy, begin blanket stitching around the outside edge. Try to keep your stitches pretty close together and be sure you are catching both the front and back felt as you go. Stop when you are about 3/4 of the way around your froggy (leaving about a 3 inch gap).

Step 19: Now it is time to start stuffing your froggy! Begin by pushing some stuffing up into the ‘eyes’ and then continue until froggy is nice and stuffed.

Step 20: You will now continue with your blanket stitching, closing up the gap until you reach the point where you started sewing. If your stuffing is popping out too much, you can help keep the gap closed as you sew with pins your sewing clips.

Step 21: At the back of fabric, knot your thread and snip the end close to the knot.

Your new froggy friend is complete! Sit back and admire your lovely work ♥

If you would like to attach your little froggy to a backpack or bag, just cut an extra piece of felt that is 3 inches long and 1 inch wide, fold it in half and stitch it to the side at the back, then attach a clip or carabiner and your new little friend is ready to adorn your backpack!