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.

Squirrel Nutkin

I made Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit for the Easter box. I wanted to continue with the series and next up is The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin which appeared in the supplement of Simply Crochet issue 110. You can purchase a digital copy of the magazine that includes the supplement patterns at Ravelry here. The supplement includes four Beatrix Potter patterns Squirrel Nutkin, Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten, and Samuel Whiskers.

While the pattern calls for a UK brand of DK yarn I chose to use Vanna's Choice Rust and a D hook as I am determined to use up as much yarn on hand as possible for my projects. It took almost a complete skein to finish this project.

As this is a UK magazine the terms are UK crochet. However, since the stitches don't change, I didn't have to write down any changes. I was able to easily remember the dc was the US sc. I tend to get more confused when the pattern moves between stitches and I need to keep converting as I'm working through a pattern.

Monkey Finger Puppet Yellow Overalls

During the Christmas book sales I'd picked up a copy of Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and put it away for this birthday box.

At the time I had a different finger puppet pattern in mind for the box. It was on my wish list but when I went to buy it the pattern was gone. As luck would have it I was looking through e-pattern central and found one I liked even more as these puppets had clothes and I had limited experience clothing finger puppets. It seemed like a fun challenge. You can purchase the pattern here.

This pattern requires size 10 thread and with my ever growing thread collection I had the colors I needed for the monkey in my stash. I'm choosing clothing colors from my stash. This is a brighter yellow than suggested but I'm happy with the color.

I was concerned I'd get the tail hole placement on the overalls wrong but instead my mistake was following the directions for the back right strap. I'll watch this more carefully on the next monkey. I'll also decrease the number of chains as I found the straps to be a bit long for the pants.

This was a unique construction pattern that allows the pants to be open for the finger portion of the finger puppet. Most of my finger puppet patterns are finger tubes with perhaps heads and arms. Only a few like this one include additional features like legs and tails that extend below the tube. It was fun to see how it came together. Only 4 more to go. I will be spreading these out with other birthday, Halloween, and doll projects.

I used an Etimo Steel 1.8 mm Crochet Hook for the monkey body and clothes. The facial features were made with a Tulip Etimo 1.25mm Steel Crochet Hook. I was able to use safety eyes because I crocheted the eye sections before decreasing the head and then placed the saftey eyes through the crocheted eye sections with their backings before finishing the decreases.