Operation ribbit, status report

Phase 1—Pattern cutting
Phase 1 status: Completed 10/29/2007, 23:30

Phase 2—Amphibious gear construction

This phase of costume creation was one of the trickiest. I used McCall's pattern #8953, an easy-to-sew pattern that can be customized as a lion, cat, rabbit, bear or kangaroo. While the body suit was fairly straightforward because I could follow the pattern, coming up with smaller details that made it look like a frog was a challenge.

Using some plain white paper and a pencil, I sketched to create a template for some froggy-looking digits. From the template, I cut them out of the green fleece and then sewed a layer of fleece to some thick batting. My plan was to then sew the back layer of fabric to the reverse, turn it right-side-out and voilà!—froggy hands! Sadly, the execution left something to be desired. I realized that I hadn't left enough seam allowance and that the thickness of the batting would make it impossible for me to turn the hands right side out. Back to the drawing board.

Above on the left you can see my first (failed) attempt at froggy digits. In the middle is my next (successful) attempt. I used my original template, but cut an extra 1/4" around the outside for a seam allowance. Then, instead of sewing one layer of fleece directly onto the batting, I just sewed the two layers of fleece together and then turned it right-side-out, as seen on the right. Finally, I stuffed it with little pieces of batting.

Here is the completed body of the costume. The froggy hands are pinned to the arms, but after Jimmy tries it on so I can place them in the right spot, I'll hand-sew them to the ends of the sleeves.

Phase 2 status: Completed 10/30/2007, 21:45

Phase 3—Headgear and footgear construction
Phase 3 status: In progress as of 10/31/2007, 10:15