Finger Puppets for All Reasons!

A quick and easy kid project is to knit and sew finger puppets. It is very simple - even an adult can do it! My niece in England asked me for finger puppets so I devised this very basic pattern. If you can knit garter and stockinette stitch reasonably well, it will be a doddle! This would be a great chance to teach a child that knitting and sewing is fun!

Once upon a time, there was a pair of number 3mm knitting needles, several scaps of coloured yarn, a darning needle, some embroidery floss - and an inquisitive child, longing to learn something new and have fun at the same time!

I am sure that I am not alone in having little balls of yarn left over from major projects, which are really too small to do anything with. (by the way most of my yarn is Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand) The perfect way to use these oddments up is to knit finger puppets - you can create a whole scenario, just by using a bit of imagination.

Are you sitting comfortably, then we'll begin.

With a brightly coloured yarn of your choice, begin at the lower edge and cast on 16 stitches and garter stitch two rows. Continue in stockinette stitch, beginning with a knit row, and knit 10 rows.

Break off the first yarn and join on pink or brown or any colour you like for the head. Stockinette stitch 6 rows.

Break of the face colour and join on your hair colour. If you like green or purple hair instead of yellow or brown - go for it!

Stockinette stich for two rows, beginning with a knitted row.

Next row
Knit two together to end (8 stitches)

Take a darning needle and run the cut off thread through the 8 stitches on the needle and bind of very tightly.

You now have a little finger guy!

With the purl side on the outside sew up the little body, starting at the hair and work down, being careful to use matching colours on your needle as you go. You can use up the ends of yarn that you cut off when you changed colours.

DO NOT SEW UP THE BOTTOM, as this is where the finger in "finger puppet:" comes in!

Turn right side out and you have made your basic finger puppet.

With your darning needle and a strand of embroidery floss, carefully embroider two little eyes and a cute mouth. Use a contrasting colour to the face colour for this.

For the little scarf, cast on 35 stitches in a contrasting yarn - do not knit any rows, but cast off immediately.

Attach the scarf round the neck of the little fellow and catch together with your darning needle where the scarft overlaps.

Variations are endless and depend solely on you or your child's imagination.

You can embroider lazy daisy flowers on the body of the puppet. You can add buttons down the front by sewing a French Knot. You can braid three pieces of hair coloured yarn and attach them to the sides of the face at the hair line - and behold - girl puppet. You can add little yarn bows, sew on pieces of lace or ribbon - whatever takes your fancy.

I am sure that you and/or your child will have a lot of fun creating these little puppets and maybe even put on a puppet show or two!

And as the story ends, they all lived happily ever aft.