Stitch a friendly Rainy Day Frog

Cheer up a drizzly day with this eye-catching amphibian in a technicolour raincoat!

If April showers have you holed up indoors, create your own fun by sewing this froggy friend! This project is perfect for zingy fat quarters or using up brightly coloured oddments from your stash.

Kit List

◆ Template from the Members Area

◆ Sewing Online Summer Song 5 Piece Cotton Craft Fabric Fat Quarter Bundle (to purchase this head to createandcraft.com and type in product code 220120)

◆ Corinne Lapierre Pastels Felt Bundle of 10 Squares (009373)

◆ Toy stuffing

◆ Sewing and embroidery thread and needles

◆ Scissors

◆ 2x toggles or buttons

◆ Fabric pencil

◆ Pins

◆ Iron and ironing board

Frog toy

1 For the frog, mark two arms, two legs and one body on green felt using the templates. Lay on top of another piece of felt and pin together through the marked pieces. Cut out, keeping the pins in place.

2 Cut out a tummy and separate the body pieces to stitch the tummy in place. Embroider the face, then pin the two bodies together again. Blanket stitch around the arms and legs leaving the straight, top edges open and fill with stuffing.

3 Blanket stitch around the head and body pieces, adding in the arms and legs. When attaching the arms and legs, first bring the needle between the layers of the body pieces and through the arms and legs to attach, then blanket stitch over the top to keep the line of blanket stitching looking uniform. Stuff before finishing the stitching.

4 For the raincoat, use a seam allowance of 0.5cm. Fold cotton in half with right sides facing. Along the fold line, mark out one raincoat back piece. Away from the fold line, but still on the double fabric, mark a hood and a front piece so cutting out two mirror image hoods and fronts. Repeat for all pieces with a contrasting, lining fabric.

5 Open out the outer back piece and match up two front pieces on top, with right sides facing. Stitch along the top horizontal lines only. Open out and press the seams flat. Repeat with the lining pieces.

6 Lay both the outer and lining together, with right sides facing. Stitch all round, leaving a 5cm turning gap along one edge. Make small snips in the seam allowance around corners. Turn through to the right side and close the gap.

7 Fold in half, with right sides facing, to a more jacket-like shape. Pin then stitch along the underside of the arms and down the sides. Snip the seam allowance at the underarm corners and turn the raincoat through to the right side.

8 Pick up the outer hood pieces. Stitch together round the curve only, as marked on the template. Repeat with the lining hood pieces. Tuck one hood inside the other, with right sides facing, and pin. Stitch the straight open edges together only. Turn through to the right side through the gap, press and

Helping Hand

◆ Blanket stitch with sewing thread or one separated embroidery thread strand for delicate, subtle stitches

◆ Cut the felt pieces out together and keep them pinned together before blanket stitching round so they're lined up perfectly close the gap with ladder stitch.

◆ To personalise your frog, why not add pockets for the jacket, a frill on the umbrella or a felt puddle for the froggy to splash in?

9 Pin the bottom edge of the hood along the collar of the jacket, on the lining side and with wrong sides facing. Whip stitch together, making tiny stitches through just the tip of the fabrics. Leave 2cm unstitched on each end of the hood. Stitch two toggles or buttons on the jacket and a loop of embroidery thread to finish.

10 For the umbrella, mark an umbrella template on felt, layer a second piece of felt underneath, pin along the handle and cut out. Blanket stitch all around, leaving a gap along a bottom, side edge then filling with toy stuffing before finishing stitching.

11 Cut out two circles using the canopy template. Stitch together, with right sides facing, leaving a turning gap. Turn the umbrella through to the right side, close the gap with ladder stitch and press.

12 Pleat the canopy round the felt handle to look like an umbrella and make small stitches to hold in place. Wrap embroidery thread around the tip of the umbrella to finish.

Stash buster