Little Red Riding Hood Wolf Finger Puppet

Having finished the wolf I am pleased to announce the Little Red Riding Hood finger puppets are complete for Kits for Kids. If I can hold off on the temptation to start more tiny projects I want to finish the rest of the swimsuits opening up a spot in my weekly projects for the projects without taking out a regular doll project.

This pattern is from Evgeniya Yunitskaya's no longer available Red Riding Hood Finger puppets.

Notes:

I used Cotton Faire cotton for this project and a my Tulip Etimo sized 2 crochet hook. The pattern worked up pretty well.

The one main change I'd make in the future is a more traditional oval snout. I understand the idea the designer was going for with this pattern but it is really hard to make it work and lots of work for a simple finger puppet. An oval snout attached to the head would work better and be more efficient with my time.

For my own notes I never crocheted smaller than 6sc into a magic circle as I found it looked terrible and made attaching pieces more challenging later.

I attached the arms, then the head and then the white front piece.

The scarf needed to be longer but perhaps not quite this long.

Little Red Riding Hood Hunter Finger Puppet

With the Hunter completed I only have to finish the wolf for this set to be finished.

This pattern is from Evgeniya Yunitskaya's no longer available Red Riding Hood Finger puppets.

Notes:



If my memory serves me the original hunter had an axe. This one had a weird looking gun and I chose not to make it for multiple reasons.

There are lots of controversies over weapons and donations and why risk it. Secondly, looking at the picture, even if I wasn't worried about it being rejected for a weapon, it kind of looks like a musical instrument more than a weapon. This hunter will have left set his weapon down before appearing in the puppet theater.

I used Cotton Faire cotton for this project and a my Tulip Etimo sized 2 crochet hook.

The hat and the vest proved to be the most troubling challenges of the puppet. I ended up doing the first row of each flaps in the front row of the stitch to get it to fold.

I'm not sure if it was where I attached my arms that was the challenge but I couldn't get the vest to fit as written so I just made it top down as I'd make something for one of my dolls. I started with the original count but decreased to keep it from gaping in the back. I also added to chain stitches for the arms as I found the vest tight around the arms. I crocheted around the outside of the vest and fpdc around the collar. This seemed to help the fit.

The bottom of the vest is sewn together to keep it from falling off and getting lost.

Dragon Finger Puppet

If all goes as scheduled the first donation for Kits for Kids will be dropped off tomorrow. I'm still preposting in March and even found some new potential donations during Amazon and Target Days that will make it for this year's donation or 2027 depending on how things work with shipping.

This was made using a Crochet World April 2010 pattern from Kathleen Stuart for a castle and finger puppets. I last made the complete pattern in 2020. Thankfully this time I only needed the puppets.

Sadly this used to be available as a free pattern on Crochet World's website and I gave the link when I made this in 2020. However, Crochet World's website no longer exsists.

Updated to add I did find the link available but with many of these old link recoveries they don't always last so I suggest you grab it if you want it as it may not be there again. Castle pattern here.

I made the Dragon with an H hook. I might try a G for future projects. I learned after I made this project as I was working on the knight to sew in ends as I go. The key is to make no mistakes or there is no frogging.

This dragon's head folds flat but as you are creating it it seems hard to imagine how the head will attach to the body but it folds therefore making it all work.

The tail and ridges also work as written although again I had to make it before I saw it.

I used a g hook for the legs and arms. If I shift to a g hook for the next set I'd likely go to an f hook for the limbs.

The eyes are made using the same technique I learned making the farm animals.

Purple Dress Monkey Finger Puppet

I started finger puppets to be given as a gift with Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed back in July.

After finishing the first 4 I paused after making the head when the family moved as I was preparing the October birthday and Halloween boxes.

I postponed the Halloween box a year but decided I'd still deliver the birthday gifts late. As the dates got moved off for delivering the gifts I put the last monkey aside to finish up the doll donations.

Around Thanksgiving I realized I'd forgotten the monkey and started working on pieces of the monkey between doll donation projects. When finished I took pictures but never posted the project. Since this blog has been a great way to keep a record of my projects I decided it was time to get a record up about finishing the project.

I'm very glad I finished the puppets as they were a HUGE hit. You never know what will be "the" item but the monkeys were a good choice. The puppet pattern is available for purchase here.

Monkey Finger Puppet Pink Dress

I am so pleased to say I can see the end of the Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed project in sight.

These are not difficult puppets, just time consuming as they are made in thread and thus take me longer to make than the ones I've made with sport cotton or acrylic yarn. I think there is also the repetitive nature of making the same puppet 5 times. There was something nice about getting to make the dress this time instead of the overalls. The dress pattern is a little more fun to make and it also works up more quickly.

For those of you interested you can purchase the pattern here. I used Aunt Lydia Size 10 Cotton, Natural, Fudge Brown, and French Rose for this puppet.

Monkey Finger Puppet Grey Overalls

This is the next finger puppet for my Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed project for the October birthday box. This is the last of the overall monkeys. The next two have different outfits. You can purchase the pattern here.

I used Aunt Lydia's Crochet Size 10 Thread in Natural, Fudge, and Stone.

Happy Easter

I started off with a Father Rabbit Finger Puppet.

Next was Mother Rabbit

Took a break from the puppets to make Peter Rabbit

and his mother Mrs. Cottontail

Back to finger puppets:

Sister Rabbit

Baby Rabbit

Brother Rabbit

Rabbit Family

Something for the house:

Easter Hot Pad

Another Lots to Love Holiday Doll

Brother Rabbit Finger Puppet

With Brother Rabbit we come to the end of the Rabbit Finger Puppet project. You can purchase the pattern for this project here.

This project took me longer than I anticipated when I started it. In fact until I picked up the pattern to start it I hadn't realized it was a thread pattern. I had wrongly thought it was sport weight cotton when I had requested it as a gift. That being said I'm glad I took up the challenge because it has renewed an interest in working in thread and I really like the detail that came out in these rabbits.

In my quest to keep using thread I had on hand brother had green overalls instead of the suggested blue. I rather liked the color change. I didn't mention this in the sister post but I changed the bib portion of the pattern to make it easier for me. Instead of making the bib and sewing it on, I crocheted the bib directly on to the outfit. I tried the suggested method first but I found I ended up with better shaped bibs when I crocheted directly to the outfit.

No holiday boxes until Halloween. However, I have summer and fall birthday boxes to prepare. This is also a great time to get the doll donation projects underway.

Baby Rabbit Finger Puppet

When I finished the Mother Rabbit finger puppet I made a decision that I needed to pick up the pace if I wanted to be able to mail the package the Saturday before Easter. My choice was to make the last 3 heads all at once and then finish off the puppets individually.

One of the lessons I learned with Baby Rabbit is I make mistakes more easily the later it gets at night. I had no trouble finishing the heads without mistakes. However, you will notice Baby bunny's ears have a bigger block of pink than all the other bunnies. That was a result of making them late at night and sewing them on and finishing them off. It wasn't untl the next morning when I looked at all the bunnies lined up that I realized the baby had different ears but I wasn't going to cut them off and replace them. Baby Rabbit is just different from the other bunnies.

For those of you interested you can purchase the pattern here. The pattern suggests size 20 thread I used Red Heart Crochet, Thread Size 10 white, Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread Size 10, Orchid Pink, and Aunt Lydia's Crochet Size 10 Thread, French Rose. I changed the bib color to Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread, Size 10, Maize because I had left over yarn from an Our Generation doll project that I've been trying to finish off and I didn't have the color suggested by the pattern. The suggested 1.25mm hook worked with the size 10 thread.

Father Rabbit Finger Puppet

Having sent off the St. Patrick's Day box it is time to begin my Easter projects. I decided to begin with the Bunny Finger Family pattern that you can purchase here.

This was was my first chance to try out my Tulip Etimo Rose Steel Crochet Hook-Size 4/1.25mm and I was pleased both with the the hook fits in my hand and with how it holds the thread. I've used both the Rose and Red Etimo thread hooks now and I'm working to fill in my missing hooks with the Etimo and Armor brands. So far the Etimo are my favorite of the two. I still love my Bates Bamboo best but as they've discontinued their thread hooks; I'm working with what I can find online, buying when I find deals, coupons, sales, etc.

The designer used size 20 cotton thread for her puppets. I find 10 to be challenging when working in the round. That being said when I looked at my stash I had Coats Crochet Thread Size 3, White on hand and no size 10. So Father Rabbit is made with Size 3. This worked out for me as the pants and shirt are made with scraps left over from 2 doll thread dresses I made. The blue is completely used up and I made a significant dent in the yellow. I love gettting rid of scraps.

I did pick up some Coats White Crochet Crochet, Thread Size 10 to try making the other puppets but if I end up making them all in size 3 I'm good with that too. I think Father Rabbit is adorable and it would allow me to finish off the yellow I have left on one of the other bunny outfits.

Dragon Finger Puppet

This is the final puppet from the free set I started posting about last week. You can find the pattern here.

The Castle Tote will be going out with finger puppets and a copy of The Knight and the Dragon as part of this year's Christmas box. I'm running out of time to get this box finished but I'm getting close.

Chicken Finger Puppet

I started working on Leisure Arts Farm Box from Busy Baby Boxesand I finished all the squares. Looking at the project and seeing some other projects in progress from people who had made the box, I decided I wanted to line the squares I made with plastic canvas before assembling. The only challenge is plastic canvas is not the hobby it once was and therefore stores are not stocking it the way the once were in previous times. Therefore I will need to order it before I can continue on with that part of this October birthday project as I've depleted my supply.

So I moved on to the finger puppets. These are rather unique puppets. For the most part when I've made finger puppets they are made in sc in rounds to form the body casing. I won't give away trade secrets but these are very different and much quicker to assemble. When I finish the farm animals I want to add the princess from the other cube project to the castle I'm making for Christmas.

I used an H hook and worsted weight 4 yarn to complete this project. The trims were made with a combination of worsted and sport weight scraps.

Spring Finger Puppets

As you may have noticed if you drop by here and read about my holiday package posts, I've become intrigued with finger puppets to add to the packages. I found a free Spring Finger puppets pattern here. While great for Easter, I should have dug this out for the farm puppet project. These would have been great additions. However, I'm sure these little creatures can find their way to the already established farm puppet colony.

These patterns work up really quick. I had the three worked up in a couple of hours. I made my bag slightly larger than the egg sized suggested as I have plans to stuff some other items in there.

There are some unique features to the construction of these finger puppets which I would like to visit again. The bunny's ears are made as one piece. For someone like myself who finds sewing the pieces together to be a huge chore this was a wonderful gift. It also meant the ears weren't at different heights which can happen to me when I'm sewing them on separately. The sheep's fleece has texture due to the stitch chose made which is different from the other two characters.

Notes for me.

I sewed in the ends as I went along to avoid trying to have to turn the very small puppets inside out later. I added a beak to the chick that isn't in the pattern.. I am coming to like grey bunnies. The pattern had brown which I knew I wasn't going to use, but I didn't want a white sheep and I white bunny.

Little Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets

I love when I can make crochet presents that encourage literacy. Finger puppets make great book/puppet sets. Kids read or have the story read to them and then they can enjoy acting out the story while it is read or retelling the story later.

This Handmade Kitty pattern was a present from my husband and now the finished products will be heading off for a December birthday. Trina Schart Hyman's version of Little Red Riding Hood seemed like a great partner for my project. I love her classic illustrations.

I have several projects that I am working on all at the same time. I have finished a reindeer that I will post soon. I have another one of Handmade Kitty's finger puppet stories, The Three Little Pigs started. I have finished one pig and the mud house. I am thinking this will likely go in the Easter box. I am working on an old Annie's Attic pattern for the Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe. I think this one will make the Christmas cut off. I have almost completed a polar bear that is in the same pattern set with the reindeer. I will have to see how things progress. Since the projects all need to be mailed, finishing early is required.

If you arrived here looking for free holiday or toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Grandma's House Finger Puppet

I finished the second puppet from Red Riding Hood Fairytale Finger Puppet set. I still have the wolf dressed as Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood to go. For fun I think I am going to add the wolf from The Three Little Pigs Pattern to add more story telling options. If I use grey for both they will match. It also provides more options for the children to create their own stories later. There will be lots of extra wolves by the time I'm done making the puppets. Perhaps enough to retell the The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig if they want to try something different.

I've been working on items for swap packages so this project has taken a back seat. However the puppets work up quickly so I am sure I will have no problem finishing the project in time for my Easter deadline. Once my swap packages are received I can start posting more about those projects as well.


If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Tree Finger Puppets

I started on the Red Riding Hood Fairytale Finger Puppet set by making the trees.

I like finger making finger puppets as gifts for kids for a variety of reasons. One they are great for encouraging kids to retell stories when you make them in connection with a story like Red Riding Hood. However, they also can help get kids to start creating their own stories when you have puppets that can mix, match and inspire kids to create new stories. I love the way this designer has added backgrounds to her puppet sets. These set pieces encourage the retelling of this story, but also can be used for other stories, or as the basis for new stories, the child creates.

Another reason for finger puppets is they transport easily. They fit into a pocket or purse and are great when parents need something to keep kids entertained, but do not have a good deal of space to carry toys or for them to play with toys. I like to make finger puppets to donate to hospital charities because they are good for patients who often have long waits in the hospital or in doctor's offices or for their siblings who often are along for the trip.

Lastly, I like them because they are a good break from longer projects. They work up quickly and can be a great addition to a gift box or a last minute present or donation when you need something quick.

I hope to get started on Granny's house today.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Knight Finger Puppet

I purchased the Little People Play and Go Castle at Kohls for a December birthday present. I decided I would try to add some characters using Bizzy Crochet's free finger puppet patterns. The holiday finger puppets were a huge hit, so I thought adding some characters to the set would be fun. I also suspect they are small enough and flat enough they can fit right in the carrying case.

The knight was made using small amounts of Red Heart Super Saver for the grey and Caron One Pound for the yellow and red.

These finger puppets make great stocking stuffers or additions to other toy sets even if you don't make the crochet castles she has on her site. I have made several sets now for gifts and donations and they are quick and fun gifts for children.

Thanksgiving Finger Puppets

I love simple quick projects to make to keep kids entertained. These worked up nicely as a set.

If you are interested in making them you can see the following blog pages:

Male Pilgrim

Female Pilgrim

Turkey

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Fairy Tale Finger Puppet Set

Thankfully you can finally see the new dragon face in this group shot. The finger puppets can be challenging to get good photographs of when they are not taken in use.

I really like this set and hope they enjoy many hours of story telling. I am planning on adding additional friends and maybe working on the Crochet World castle as part of my Easter package. We will have to see where my crocheting and writing take me before spring comes. It is odd to be discussing Easter when most people have not begun to think of Christmas, but when you are making stuff, you have to plan ahead to have it finished.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Dragon Finger Puppets

Around Easter last year I wrote about the Crochetme Dragon finger puppets I was making as part of Easter basket fillers. I posted pictures and did not feel I had the skill to work on the human characters that went with the set.




When I started this fairytale project I found an additional dragon finger puppet pattern in the April 2010 web bonus patterns at Crochet World. As of the date of this blog entry that pattern is still available at Crochet World for subscribers if you are interested in finding it.


This picture does not do him all the justice I hoped, but he actually looks rather cute when in his natural shape.

As I mentioned when discussing the farm project, I am hoping to recreate in crochet some of my favorite childhood toys. I had the original Fisher Price Castle and loved the figures. The dragon and knight were two of my favorites from the set. Being able to find some fun crochet options has made preparing my Christmas packages fun.



If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.