Finger puppets may not grab your attention like a toy that sparkles and squawks but they are
- fun to make and pretty cute
- lightweight and take up so little space that they’re easy to take with you everywhere
And they can
- easily distract a fussy baby or keep a toddler occupied while waiting for your meal to arrive.
- take your story reading to a whole other level (a higher one)
But best of all the puppet master (that’s you, or the child) use their imagination and decides how the toy will be played with and when and how it will squawk, not the toy dictating how to play with it. And that can be the best kind of toy – plus you can add sparkles.
I made these 20+ years ago and found the idea and the pattern in a library book that I have no recollection what it was called. But, I think you can figure out what shapes and size from these pictures. Plus I have some tips.
The body pieces are about 2 3/4 inches – 7 cms tall and a generous inch – 2.5 cms wide
Use felt it won’t fray.
Cut out your front and back but don’t sew them together until you have attached eyes, embroidered noses, glued spots down, etc.
Ears can be sewn in between the layers or on the top or back when sewing the front and back together
Yarn was used for the horse’s mane and tail (and could be used for a lion’s mane too)
The eyes here are beads which are totally not child safe; maybe use french knots instead for eyes.
Snouts and other flat shapes were glued on but you could stitch them down too
The pig’s tail is knotted at the end (see photo of the back sides below)
Machine stitches sew the front to the back but you could easily hand stitch instead (the mouse is stitched by hand on the top and one side. The other side of the mouse is folded. He was made from one piece of felt)
The rooster’s beak and tail are sewn to the body piece with a fell stitch
The animals do not represent a lifelike scale as they all have the same size body 😉
The End 😉
Of course, barnyard animals aren’t the only animals worthy of being made into finger puppets. Nor do they have to be regulated to just your fingers. Stick a popsicle stick or pencil into the bottom opening or make them large enough to be hand puppets.