Pattern Round-up: Finger Puppets!
A couple of weeks ago, Elizabeth sent me a link to this CBC article about a children's hospital in Nova Scotia looking for donations of hand-knit finger puppets. It was just before our September knitting tea, and I was inspired to quickly print off the patterns provided by the IWK Health Centre and gather some scrap yarn to make a puppet or two. (Update March 2019: these patterns are no longer available from the IWK website. Please see below for alternative free patterns available through Ravelry).
Both are good basic patterns, and they do work, but they tend to leave some steps (such as hair) to the knitter's imagination... And since a few other people attending the tea offered to lend their needles to the cause as well, I decided to go on a pattern hunt for other puppet-making inspiration.
The two right-hand puppets pictured below are from the patterns on the IWK site (I made the duck, the person is Elizabeth's creation).
There are a number of free finger puppet patterns out there. I knit the bear on the left from Frankie Brown's excellent pattern for animal puppets (available as a free Ravelry download) and I'm super-happy with how it turned out. Here's a small collection of other free patterns that caught my eye:
TUFTY - Finger Puppet by Marianna Mel. This one looks simple but fun!
Photo © marianna-mel
Fast and Easy Finger Puppets by Lisa M. Beamer. Another basic pattern, with some fun variations.
Photo © Lisa M. Beamer
These Basic Finger Bobs by Chloe Blunn have a slightly different shape, and a great suggestion to draw on the faces if you don't like embroidering!
Photo © www.clobelle.com
If you're willing to invest a little bit of money in a pattern (and probably quite a bit more time knitting it) there are a few designers who specialize in finger puppets and have some extra-cute patterns for sale.
Amalia Samios has some great pattern sets for making people-shaped puppets, including the Families set pictured below and a fun Superheroes collection.
Photo © kooklacreations
If you're looking for animal patterns, the Down on the Farm and Safari collections by Lindsay Mudd both look like excellent options.
Photo © Lindsay Mudd
And last (but definitely not least!) the intricate patterns by Loly Fuertes are likely to inspire a whole new world of finger-puppet-knitting. With patterns available for all kinds of character sets (such as Peter Pan, Hansel and Gretel, and the Wizard of Oz) the storytelling possibilities are endless. I think my one of my favourites is this sweet little Lamb Family, I'm just astonished at the level of detail!
Photo © HandMadeAwards
I've been having lots of fun with the couple of puppets I've knit so far. They're a fast and satisfying little project, and great for using up yarn scraps (which I have an endless supply of). If anyone else is inspired to knit one or two of their own, you can find the address to send donations here. Or if you're in the Montreal area, bring them to our October knitting tea and I'll be happy to ship them along with mine.
3 Responses
Debbie
Hi Cathy,
Thanks for letting us know that the link isn’t working anymore. I checked and it looks like the pattern is unfortunately not available through the IWK website anymore. There are lots of other great finger puppet patterns available for free though, that would also be perfect for using up your scrap yarn for the donations you’re planning. Some links to try for a start are:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/finger-puppets-2
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fast—easy-finger-puppets
https://mariannaslazydaisydays.blogspot.com/2016/04/tufty.html
If you’re on Ravelry you can find tons of other free (and adorable) finger puppet patterns there as well.
I hope that helps, good luck with your puppets!
Debbie
Cathy V.
I tried to find the finger puppets pattern you said you found on the IWK Health Centre website but I couldn’t find it. Maybe since you posted this, they have removed it? do you still have the pattern? I have a group at church that makes prayer shawls and lap robes. we are always generating little bits of leftover yarn that we could use to make the puppets. My thought was to donate them to the fire department for the ambulances and to the hospital emergency room since we are in Western NY. I would love it if you could forward the pattern. Thank you. Cathy
marianna
What a great round up of cute little finger puppets! Children are sure to love these!
And thank you for including the link to my simple Tufty pattern. I hope lots of knitters are inspired to make some!
Best wishes. M
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Sweet Paprika Designs offers high-quality materials for knitters and crocheters, with a focus on locally-sourced and sustainable products. Co-owners (and sisters) Debbie and Elizabeth create their own hand-dyed yarns, knitting kits and patterns in their Montreal dye studio and organize knitting and dyeing events in the community.
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