Frances Frog

Description:  Frances Frog is a fun Macramé project suitable for kids and beginners. You could modify this design to be used as a towel rack for the bathroom or kitchen.  Simply attach Frances’ feet to a wood dowel.  This pattern uses the classic knots commonly seen in Macrame, as well as one vintage knot. So it’s a good pattern for someone new to this craft.

• 6mm Braided Cord (60 yards)
• Two Frog Eyes or Beads
• One 6-inch Ring
• One 8-inch Ring
• Craft Wire

• Larks Head Knot (reverse variation)
• Double Half Hitch (DHH)
• Alternating Square Knots (ASK)
• Wrapped Knot
• Venetian Picot Mount

Frances Frog's Head

Step 1:  Cut 10 strands of material, each 4 yards long (144 inches).

Step 2:  To make the Venetian Picot Mount: Tie an Overhand Knot in the center of 6 of the cords, folding them in half in the process.  Mount 3 of them to the upper left part of the 6-inch ring with Double Half Hitches.  Do the same on the right.  The OH knots should rest above the ring, and there should be at least 2 inches between the two groups of knots.

Step 3:  Mount the remaining 4 cords to the space left at the top of the ring, using reverse Larks Head knots.  The “head” of these knots should be facing away from you (towards the back).  When finished, you should have 20 strands to make the head of Frances Frog.

Step 4:  Mentally number the cords 1 thru 20, moving from left to right.  Add one Frog Eye (or Bead) to cord 7 on the left.  Do the same on the right, applying the second eye to cord 14.

Tie 4 rows of Alternating SK as follows, using 4 strands per knot (2 fillers):

• Row 1: Tie 2 knots, using cords 7 thru 10 and 11 thru 14.
• Row 2: Use cords 5 through 16 to make 3 knots.
• Row 3: Tie four knots with cords 3 thru 18.
• Row 4: Use all the cords to make 5 knots.
• Row 5: Tie four knots with cords 3 thru 18.

Step 5:  To make the mouth, direct cord 1 (on the far left) horizontally, towards the right.  Secure it so it’s taut, since it is a holding cord.  Attach all the other strands to it with Double Half Hitches. 

Step 6:  Direct cord 20 to the left, to be used as the second holding cord.  Attach all the strands to it with DHH.  Make sure you pull each knot tight, so the two rows are next to one another with no space between them.

Step 7:  Re-number the cords 1 thru 20.  Tie the remaining rows of ASK as follows:

• Row 1:  Use all the cords to make 5 ASK.
• Row 2:  Tie four knots with cords 3 thru 18.
• Row 3:  Use strands 5 thru 16 to make 3 knots.
• Row 4:  Tie 2 knots using 7 thru 10, and 11 thru 14.

Frances Frog's Body

Lay the cords horizontally at the top of the 8-inch ring.  The center of these cords should line up with the center of the ring.

Cut 1 piece of Craft wire, 36 inches long.  Lay it down horizontally and centered, in between the two cords you were just using.

Step 11:  Attach all the remaining cords from the head, to the top half of the ring with DHH.  Pull the cords taut as you attach each one. Cords 1 thru 7 should be attached to the left of the knots in the center.  Cords 14 thru 20 should be attached to the right of them.  You can add extra Half Hitches as needed to cover the upper half of the ring.

• Row 1:  Use cords 9 thru 12 (1 knot).
• Row 2:  Tie the SK with 7 thru 14 (2 knots).
• Row 3:  There should be 3 knots in this row, using 5 thru 16.
• Row 4:  Use 3 thru 18 for this row, so you end up with 4 knots.
• Row 5:  All the cords should be used to make the 5 knots.
• Rows 6 thru 9:  Repeat row 4, then row 5, two times (total of 4 rows).
• Row 10:  Repeat row 3.
• Row 11:  Repeat row 2.
• Row 12:  Repeat row 1.

Step 13:  Attach all the cords to the bottom half of the ring with DHH.  Add extra HH as needed so the entire ring is covered.

Frances Frog's Legs

Step 15:  Cut 2 pieces of cord material, each 18 inches long.  Use them to tie a Wrapped Knot around the cords and wire at the end of each leg.  Make the knots 1 to 2 inches long. Apply glue to the wrapped portions, and allow it to dry.  Cut off any excess from the cords used to make the wraps.  Trim the remaining cord from the legs to 2 inches, and unravel.

Wrap the wire around the bottom of the ring 2 or 3 times, in between the knots.  You can place them anywhere you wish.  Cut off any excess.

For a Towel Holder: Wrap the wire around each end of a dowel 2 or 3 times.  Instead of trimming all the cords for the feet, you can direct 2 of them in front of the dowel and 2 others behind it.  Tie a tight Square knot with the four ends to hold the feet to the dowel.   Do the same at the opposite end of the design.

Step 16:  Cut 4 strands of material, each 72 inches long (2 yards).  Attach 2 of them to the left lower edge of the ring with reverse Larks Head knots.  The heads of the knots should be in the back of the design.  Repeat the process with the other 2 strands, attaching them on the right side of the ring.

Step 17:  Cut 2 pieces of wire, each 36 inches long.  Wrap the end of one wire onto the left lower portion of the ring, where you want the rear leg to be.  Do the same on the right.

Step 18:  Tie 2 sennits of SK as you did with the front legs, making a total of 20 knots.  The wire will be the fillers.  Shape the legs so they look natural and are bent.

Step 19:  Repeat step 15.

Attach a small piece of scrap cord between spaces at the top and center it.  Tie an Overhand or Barrel Knot.  Use this cord to hang Frances Frog on your wall.