Far Away Frog

Description:  Far Away Frog looks like he is shouting to something in the distance. His comical appearance and unique design makes me wonder if he is saying: “Make Me, I’m Cool!”

Supplies Needed: 

• 6mm Green Macrame Cord, braided style (54 yards total)
• Frog Eyes or Beads
• Craft Wire
• Dowel, Ring or Branch (optional)
• Project Board and Pins
• Glue

Knots Used:

• Larks Head Knot
• Double Half Hitch (DHH), both Horizontal and Vertical
• Alternating Square knots (ASK)
• Overhand Knot
• Mirror Square Knot (MSK)

Cutting and Preparing Cords

You’ll need to cut: 

• 9 Cords, each 72 inches long (2 yards)
• 10 Cords 108 inches long (3 yards)
• Two 60-inch cords
• Two 30-inch cords

Top of Head and Eyes

Step 1:  Take one 72-inch cord and place it on your project board, secured with a pin. This will be a holding cord.  It should be curved upward slightly, in a half moon shape.  In the images, this area is in between the eyes of the Far Away Frog.

Step 2:  Take one of the 3-yard cords and mount it to the holding cord with a Reverse Larks Head knot, folding it in half in the process.  It should be placed at the center of it.  Tie a Half Hitch with each half of the cord, so they rest to either side of the Larks Head.

Tip:  A Reverse Larks Head is tied by passing the working cord over the holding cord, rather than under it.  Bring the ends under and through the loop. It takes advantage of the back of the knot, which resembles a Half Hitch.

Step 3:  Mentally number the strands 1 through 20, from left to right.  Take cords 4 and 5 and tie a sennit of Alternating Half Hitches.  Make a total of 10 knots (5 HH with each cord).

Form a loop with the sennit, so it rests above the curve of the holding cord. One eye of the Far Away Frog will fit between this chain of knots and the DHH. Attach both ends to the holding cord with 1 Half Hitch, near the center of it (between cords 10 and 11).  You may need to push the other cords aside slightly to fit them in.

Repeat this process with cords 16 and 17. 

If all you can find are the eyes with the stems, it’s fine.  Simply pass the stems between the 2 portions of the 30-inch cord, and apply the washers to hold the eyes in place.  You may need to add a drop of glue to keep the knots snuggled close to the eyes.

Repeat this process with the other eye.  Bring the ends together above the design, and tie a Barrel knot with all 4 strands.  This is the hanger for the Far Away Frog. 

Step 5:  Mentally number the cords again, left to right.  Do not count the holding cord. Tie rows of Alternating Square Knots, with 4 strands per knot (2 fillers), as follows:

Row 1:  Use cords 7 –10 and tie a SK.  Tie a MSK with cords 11-14.
Row 2:  Tie 3 knots with 5 thru 16 (2 SK and 1 MSK).
Row 3:  Use cords 3 thru 18 (2 SK and 2 MSK).
Row 4:  Use all the cords (3 SK on the left, 2 MSK on the right).
Row 5:  Repeat row 3.
Row 6:  Repeat row 2.

Creating the Mouth

Step 6:  Take 2 pieces of Craft wire and measure them against the head of the Far Away Frog, from edge to edge.  Curve the wire as you measure, so the lips are similar to the photo above. The mouth is supposed to stand out in a 3-D effect. Add an extra 4 inches to each wire, and cut.

Start with the wire for the top lip. Direct the ends into spaces along the edge of the head, front to back.  Loop the ends of the wire to secure them to the face, in the back of the Far Away Frog design.

Step 7:  Mentally number the strands, including the holding cords, 1 thru 22.  Attach cords 3 through 18 to the wire with DHH.  Make sure the wire is completely covered.  If it can be seen, add as many extra HH as needed. 

Step 8:  Weave cords 6 thru 17 through the ASK for about 2 inches, on the under side of the design.  If you look closely at the images, this is the area that creates the inside of the mouth of the Far Away Frog.  

Step 9:  Direct the ends of the second wire through the same spaces as you did the first one.  You can twist the 2 wires together if you wish.

Attach all the cords to the bottom wire with DHH (including the holding cords).  Increase the space between the 2 wires as you approach the center.  The first and last 2 knots at the outer edges should be tied so the upper and lower bars are close together.  Add extra Half Hitches as needed to fill the entire wire with knots.

Step 10:  It’s best to finish off the holding cords now by directing them to the back of the design and weaving them through spaces in the face.  Trim them first, to approximately 2 inches.  Save the scraps.

Designing the Body

Step 11:  Organize the cords and tie 3 rows of Alternating Square Knots, using 4 strands per knot (2 fillers).  The first row should have 1 knot just under the corner of the mouth at each end, using cords 1-4 (SK) and 17-20 (MSK). 

The second row should have a total of 4 knots (2 SK, 2 MSK). Use cords 3 thru 18 for these knots.

Tie a third row of ASK using all the cords (3 SK and 2 MSK). Alternate cords, and tie a 4th row of knots, similar to the second row.

Step 12:  Add a 2-yard cord to strands 3 and 4 before you begin the next row of ASK.  Simply center it under and around the two cords and tie the SK with the original strands, not the new ones.

Repeat this process and add 5 more cords in the same row.  Attach them to cords 5 – 6, 9 – 10, 11 – 12, 15 – 16, and 19 – 20.  When finished, you should have 32 strands to make the body of the Far Away Frog.

Step 13:  Using 2 new strands with 2 original ones, tie several SK (or MSK), so these knots nestle in between the ones just tied.

Next, tie a row of ASK using all the strands.  They may not “alternate” perfectly, because of the additional strands.  Remember that MSK are tied on the right half of the design.

Step 14:  Separate cords 11 – 14, and 19 – 22.  Move them out of the way for now.  These will be used for the front legs later on.  Finish the row by tying ASK with the remaining cords. It’s OK if some knots don’t alternate precisely.

Step 15:  Tie 5 more rows of ASK. 

Step 16: Mentally re-number the cords 1 thru 24.  Separate cords 5 – 8 and 17 – 20 for the back legs of the Far Away Frog.  Move these cords aside for now.  Complete the row using the remaining strands.

Step 17:  Re-number the cords 1 thru 16.  Tie another row of ASK.

Step 18:  Use cords 1 and 2, combined with 7 and 8, bypassing cords 3 thru 6. The omitted cords should be pushed to the back of the Far Away Frog design.

At the right edge, bypass 11 thru 14, tying the ASK with 9 and 10 along with 15 and 16.  This will tighten the bottom and make it more rounded.

Step 19:  Re-number the remaining strands 1 thru 8.  Tie the last ASK with cords 3 thru 6.

Step 20:  Take 2 strands at a time, and tie tight SK with no fillers, so they rest along the bottom of the body.  Trim the ends to 2 to 3 inches, and weave them through spaces in the back of the Far Away Frog so they can’t be seen.  Apply glue to hold them in place.

Creating the Legs and Feed

Step 21:  Take the first groups of 4 strands you set aside in step 14.  Tie a Square Knot sennit in each group.  You can tie 6 to 8 knots, depending on how long you want the front legs to be.

Step 22:  Use one of the 60-inch cords and secure it to your board, next to the left side of one front leg.  There should be a 3-inch tail at the left end. This is the working cord. Make a Vertical DDH onto each of the 4 cords from the leg, which are the holding cords. Move left to right as you tie the knots.

Tip:  It works out better if you start the Half Hitch by passing under the holding cords first.

Step 23:  Make the second row of Vertical DDH heading right to left.

Step 25:  Direct both ends of the working cord to the back of the foot.  Trim them to 2 or 3 inches.  Weave the end through any spaces you can fit them through.  Apply glue to secure them to the foot.

Tie Overhand Knots in each of the holding cords.  Apply glue, and cut off the remainder when it is dry.

Step 26:  Repeat steps 22 through 25 for the second front foot.

Step 27:  Use the cords for one of the back legs next.  Tie a sennit of Alternating Half Hitches using cords 1 and 4 as the working cords.  Stop when the design is 2 inches long.  This creates the thighs of the Far Away Frog.

Step 28:  Tie a sennit of Square Knots for 2.5 inches using the same working cords.

Step 29:  Repeat step 22 thru 25 for the foot.  Use a 72-inch cord, and make a total of 6 rows of Vertical DHH knots.

Step 30:  Repeat steps 27 thru 29 for the second back leg.

Finishing Touches

Step 31: You can secure the Far Away Frog to a branch using scrap cord or wire.  Try attaching a dowel or ring to his back feet and using him to hang towels. 

Step 32: Use scrap cord to attach his front feet to either side of the mouth, so he looks like he is shouting.