The Very Hungry Caterpillar Hand Puppet

When I posted the cygnet last week I thought The Ugly Ducklingwould be my last new project for this birthday box. I still have to finish up projects but I was sure this would be the last set or single item that would be started. Then I saw a free pattern for a hand puppet to go with the ami I'd already made to go with The Very Hungry Caterpillarand I couldn't resist. Especially when I realized I had the colors I needed right in my stash.

You can find the free hand puppet pattern here. For those of you interested there is a free finger puppet pattern here too. I almost wish I'd found the finger puppet pattern first but I'm not sure I have the same colors available so perhaps it is for the best that I went with the hand puppet. For my own reference there are free stuffy patterns that closer to the book than the one I used here and here if I decide to make this project again. I often find myself searching my blog posts when I am trying to remember what I made and where I found the pattern. Leaving myself suggestions about where else to looks seems like a great decision

As always I did change this pattern to fit my purposes. This pattern is written so you can make it as a puppet or a stuffed animal. I wanted the puppet but in making the puppet I realized the head needed to be stuffed and closed to support the head to avoid it being top heavy. To accomplish this I added a final sc in the front loops leaving the back loops open for sewing. I then crocheted a round panel that would fit in the hole left by that last row of sc and after stuffing the head I sewed the head section closed. This allowed there to be more support for the antenna and the overall weight of the head. By adding a row sc in front loops I was able to continue the pattern into the body while still closing off the head.

I've been using more of Joann's Big Twist worsted weight yarn as it is inexpensive and they have a wide selection of colors that I often can't find. I picked up Peackcock recently at an online sale and I was thrilled that it was the shade I wanted for this project. I had previously tried various turquoise colors of different brands and hadn't been happy with the outcome. Again I note this because it will be nice to remember what I used when I come back to this project at a later date. The other colors are colors I've been using for years from a variety of yarn companies.

I used three different shades of green for the body and I added a section to the body to finish in Peacock, since I closed off the head and the hand would no longer be able to access the head. This just gives a little more room for parents to use the puppets with kids, too.

Cuddly Caterpillar

It is time to start prepping summer and fall birthday gifts. This is for a fall birthday present so it probably could have waited, but while I was looking at doll clothes I saw this guy and he made it to the fall birthday list and then to the top of the must make list. He will be accompanied by a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar as I like to match books and toys when I can.

As I mentioned before I was looking through Crochet World's Best Animals, Toys, and Dolls for 18" doll patterns. While I have a print copy of the magazine I picked up a digital copy at e-pattern central recently so I could easily print the patterns I wanted and store them in my pattern binders. They have a variety of sales, some better than others. I had held off buying this until I got it for $1.99. At that point the ease of printing was too hard to resist. Sadly, I often misplace my magazines so that was also an incentive. I know where to find it when I want it. For those of you interested in the pattern you can find the e magazine here. Patience is a virtue when it comes to getting the best price on their patterns. They almost always hit that $1.99 spot if you can hold out long enough.

While this pattern does call for cotton yarn and an f hook I am still trying to use up yarn on hand. I had cotton for the head and the first body section. The grey is the AC Moore sport yarn I've been using up. The Red is Red Heart Sport. The blue was the most challenging because I only had light weight darker blues on hand. So I used a Bernat worsted turquoise with a D hook to make the circle.

Note for myself if I make this again I would seriously consider not closing the circles for the body and instead changing colors and continuing the increases and decreases as one joined piece to avoid sewing the caterpillar's body together. There is no way to avoid sewing the head, but decreasing the need to sew the body together would be a plus.