Frieda the Frog

Materials:

one pair of red-heeled socks
scissors
thread
stuffing

Cut both socks according to illustrations in figure A.

• Eyes - Take the heel of Sock #2 and cut it in half as shown in Figure 3. Take one half and put a running stitch through the outside edges. Put stuffing in the center, pull it into a ball, and sew it firmly into a ball shape. This will be an eyeball (figure B). Make the other half of the toe section into the second eyeball.
• Body and Head - Use the foot of Sock #1 for the frog's body. The red heel of this sock will become the frog's mouth. Stuff frog body fully, including the mouth area. Position the eyeballs above mouth so that the red triangle of each eye has the tall point at the top. Place the eyeball so that the white part just touches the white over the red mouth. Fold under about one inch of the loose brown material over the eyes. Pull it down over the top of the eyeball so that the whole red triangle shows. The brown flap over the eyes will also come down to meet white of the mouth for about an inch or so between the eyes. Add desired amount of stuffing in the head, and sew eyeballs and flap in place. Take a few tucks in the brown area behind each eye so that each eye area has more of a round, ball-like shape. To flatten the head out, take a few stitches through the head, going in under the chin where white hits brown and going up through the area where the brown flap is sewn down between the eyes. This gives Frieda's head a broader, more frog-like appearance.
• Front Legs - Take one of the shorter legs from sock number one. Fold wrong sides together. Seam by hand or on sewing machine. Sew white end shut (with square corners) but leave brown end open (figure C). Leave about 1/2 inch unsown at the brown end of the seam. Turn inside out and stuff. Stuffing in white end should be fairly thin so you can flatten it out; leg (brown section) can be stuffed full and round. Do the same with the other front leg.
• Feet - At the edge of the white section (which will become the ends of the toes), trim off the end that has elastic thread through it. This will help the toes lie flatter. To produce the toes, use red embroidery thread and stitch two lines all the way through the foot, so that you have the red lines on the top and bottom. This makes the foot flatter and makes the toes look more delineated. You may have to take two or three red stitches in the same place to make the red stand out. Next, you need to make the foot bend out from the leg. Where the white turns into brown, pull the brown down about 1/2 inch over the white in the front half of the leg, and stitch it in place. This will make the foot angle out. Do this to the foot of the other front leg. Attach the front legs to the body about one inch back from the white of the frog's face. Front legs should hang down with feet pointing forward rather than to the side.
• Back Legs - Take the longer legs, cut from sock number two. Make them up just as you did the front legs: seam, stuff, add toes, and sew foot at an angle. Since these legs are longer, the white foot area will also be longer. Attach these legs at the back of the frog, right where the brown body turns into the white rear end. Then attaching the back legs, face the feet out to the side, rather than forward, as you did with the front legs. Frieda should be able to stand up with back legs out to sides and front legs propped up under the front of her.