If you’ve been wanting to take a stab at Needle felting, a roly poly needle felted frog is a fun beginner’s project.  Frog Needle Felting Kits are available to purchase that have instructions with lots of pictures, all the materials and felting supplies that you’ll need to make this cute little guy.

The most important thing to remember when needle felting is that you’ll be working with a sharp needle, and to keep your fingers out of the way!  It will hurt if you poke yourself.  Needle felting is the process of repeatedly poking a barbed needle up and down, over and over and over.  This process tangles the fibers together.  Do not push or try to put things in place, or you are apt to break a needle.  Keep that needle moving!  The more you poke, or needle, the firmer the surface will become.

The kit includes a nylon knee high and a generous amount of loose fiber for stuffing, green, white, and black Roving for creating a roly poly frog that is approximately 4” high, or two smaller frogs, as well as several other colors of roving for embellishing your frog.  The stuffing fiber in our kits comes from our own alpacas, and is the coarser, shorter fiber known as seconds and thirds.  It has been washed, and if you find a bit of hay or stray, rest assured that it is clean.   So, here are the instructions:

Using the nylon stocking, stuff it with the loose fiber, packing it down into the toe of the stocking. Use all of the fiber.

Give the unstuffed portion of the nylon a twist, then knot it at the top. Cut off the excess stocking close to the knot.

The knot should be at the top of your frog, and will eventually be easily covered by adding the eyes.

The next step is wrapping the green roving around the shape that you’ve created. Unroll the roving and with your hands slightly apart, pull off about a 12” piece of green roving.  Holding your hands slightly apart makes it easy to pull apart the roving. Pull the width of the piece of roving apart slightly making it thinner.

Finding the center of your shape, begin wrapping the piece of roving around it.

When you have used up the piece of roving, use the felting needle to tack the roving in place. Keep your fingers out of the way, and poke straight up and down with the felting needle. Poking at an angle can cause your needle to break.  Continue pulling off  pieces and wrapping half of your shape with green roving, tacking in place as needed.

Now, pulling off shorter pieces, lay green roving in the opposite direction, across the roving already in place. Tack in place with the felting needle.

Multiple thin layers of roving going opposite directions will cover and felt more easily than thick pieces.

Now with the white roving, repeat the previous steps.

Begin needle felting, poking the needle over and over, in a bouncing type motion.  The more the fiber is agitated (poked) with the barbs at the end of the needle, the firmer the surface will become.  Lots of poking is needed … you are finished when you are happy with how your shape looks.  If you have lines from the edges of the roving, they can be covered with a thin piece of roving going across the line in a different direction, and yep, more needle felting.

To make the eyes, pull off a short piece of roving, about 4”.

Loosely tie an overhand knot.

Wrap the remaining roving around the knot creating a ball.

You can roll it between your hands to help form a ball, then place on your piece of foam and needle felt it so that it stays together and is fairly firm.  You can use a pencil or felting stick to hold the small ball while you poke, to keep your fingers out of the way.

Repeat for the second eye.

Now with a small piece of green roving cover half of the white eyeballs.  Lay on foam and needle felt.

Needle felt at base of eyeball to attach to frog.

Pull off a very small piece of black roving.

Wet your thumb and index finger and roll between your fingers to make a ball.  Needle felt to center of eye ball.  This can also be done before attaching eyes.

For the mouth, needle felt a line where and in the shape you want the mouth to be.

Lay a very thin piece of black roving in the felted mouth line.  Needle felt in place. Remember to keep poking, not pushing needle.

Add hands/legs if you wish, spots or warts (guess that would be a toad), or perhaps a little flower. Use the small pieces of colored roving included in your kit to embellish your frog as you wish.

That’s it, you did it!

Enjoy the frog you created, or give as a gift!

Purchase Frog Needle Felting Kits here!