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January 24, 2006
Spool knitted Finger Puppets
January
24, 2006
Spool Knitted Teddy Bear Finger Puppets
designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)
www.crone-findlay
Among other things,
I am a professional puppeteer.
So is my daughter.
And, there's another one coming along in the family!
I was talking on the phone to my beloved little niece a couple of days ago.
I had sent some puppets that I have am no longer using in performance
to her and her wee sibs.
Within seconds, she had figured out how they are meant to be manipulated.
Clever girl!
I suggested that she may want to join our puppet company
and perform with us some day.
With depth and conviction,
she assured me that
indeed she fully intends to.
I can see this happening!
And I will love every minute of it!
She spoke with assurance, and in her voice,
I could hear a kind of 'knowing' that I believe in.
Yep.
Our puppet company
is going to be enfolding
one more of the family line!
Hmmmmmmm.......
a few summers down the road,
who knows?
Perhaps one day, her Mommy and Daddy
will be taking her to the airport and
she'll be flying out to spend her summer
performing with her puppet family!
Our daughter made her professional debut when she was about 12.
(Our son made his professional debut 'tech' ing the same show-
when he was 9 and already a wizard with the lighting board.
He is still working in film and 'tech'-ing live events.
Apples blooming close to the tree and all that!)
I was so inspired by talking with my niece,
the puppeteer,
(who also totally delighted me
by telling me that she is spool knitting!)
that I decided
that I had to make
some new finger puppets for her
and her own resident puppet company!
(Her younger sibs who are not, at this point,
as comfortable with telephone conversations as she is.)
How To make a spoolie Teddy bear Finger Puppet:
Yarn: 1 strand of Lion Brand 'Big' in Colossal Cherry for the red puppet;
2 strands of Lion Brand Suede in Mocha for the brown puppet; 1 strand of Lion Brand Suede in Fuschia;
black yarn for nose and eyes.
Eyes: Beads or buttons. Optional: Heart shape button.
Tools: Large spoolie, large eyed darning needle, scissors, calculator.
Making the Teddy puppet:
Spool 1 cord for the arms.
Make it with 2 pegs for 12 rows.
(Easiest to just count 24 stitches while working the cord)
Weave the yarn ends into the cord.
Work 2 pieces of flat spooling (work back and forth, not in a circle)
that are each
4 pegs wide by 12 rows long.
One of the flat pieces is for the head and one is for the body.
Hot tip: To count the rows when spool knitting,
have your calculator sitting nearby.
After the first row, click the number '1'.
At the end of each subsequent row, hit '+ 1' and '='.
(Note: When I made the purple Teddy bear,
I used one strand of Lion Brand suede
and spool knitted with 4 pegs of a spool knitter that
is slightly smaller than the giant red plastic Lion Brand 'Superknitter'.
12 rows was not long enough for the body
when working with just 1 strand of yarn,
so I made the body 19 rows long.
The head one should not be cast off in the usual way.
To make the ears,
Cut the yarn, leaving a tail that is 24 inches or so, long.
Lift the last stitch onto the adjacent peg.
Thread the yarn end into a large darning needle.
Stitch through the 2 loops on the peg, 4 times.
Lift the last loop onto the adjacent peg.
Take a stitch into the space between the 2 pegs.
Stitch through the remaining 2 loops 4 times.
Take the yarn out of the needle,
and thread the yarn from the lower edge
into the darning needle.
Pick up a loop from each of the first 4 stitches,
take the yarn through them and pull up to gather.
Fold the lower edge up to the upper edge.
Stitch the gathered lower edge to the top of the head,
between the ears.
With the yarn end that formed the ears,
sew the side seams together,
putting a little stuffing inside the head, if necessary .
(Note: When using 'Big' yarn, you won't need to stuff the head.
When using other yarns, you do need a little stuffing in the head.
Stuff it and then, stitch it closed.)
Take a stitch through each of the ears
to hold them in place at the sides of the head.
Take the remaining yarn ends inside the head,
and out through the base of the head.
Fold the body in half and stitch the side edges together.
Stitch the center of the arms to the upper (folded) edge of the body.
Tie the yarn ends from the head to the yarn ends at the top of the body,
then stitch the head to the body, and take all yarn ends inside head.
Optional: Sew a heart button to the chest.
(Skip this if you are giving the finger puppet to a very young child).
Sew ~VERY~ firmly, 2 black beads or buttons to the face, for the eyes.
(For a very young child, just make embroidered French knots for the eyes,
using black yarn.)
With black yarn, stitch an 'X' for the nose and mouth,
then make short stitches to fill in the nose.
Voila!
A Teddy Bear Finger Puppet
for a very special little girl who is loved very much!
And..... of course!
Teddy Bear Finger Puppets
for two other very special little people
who are also loved very much
by their Auntie
who lives waaaaaaay too far away from them!
I hope they tell some really great stories with them!
hugs all round
Noreen
www.crone-findlay.com
Spool Knitted Teddy Bear Finger Puppets
designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)
www.crone-findlay
Among other things,
I am a professional puppeteer.
So is my daughter.
And, there's another one coming along in the family!
I was talking on the phone to my beloved little niece a couple of days ago.
I had sent some puppets that I have am no longer using in performance
to her and her wee sibs.
Within seconds, she had figured out how they are meant to be manipulated.
Clever girl!
I suggested that she may want to join our puppet company
and perform with us some day.
With depth and conviction,
she assured me that
indeed she fully intends to.
I can see this happening!
And I will love every minute of it!
She spoke with assurance, and in her voice,
I could hear a kind of 'knowing' that I believe in.
Yep.
Our puppet company
is going to be enfolding
one more of the family line!
Hmmmmmmm.......
a few summers down the road,
who knows?
Perhaps one day, her Mommy and Daddy
will be taking her to the airport and
she'll be flying out to spend her summer
performing with her puppet family!
Our daughter made her professional debut when she was about 12.
(Our son made his professional debut 'tech' ing the same show-
when he was 9 and already a wizard with the lighting board.
He is still working in film and 'tech'-ing live events.
Apples blooming close to the tree and all that!)
I was so inspired by talking with my niece,
the puppeteer,
(who also totally delighted me
by telling me that she is spool knitting!)
that I decided
that I had to make
some new finger puppets for her
and her own resident puppet company!
(Her younger sibs who are not, at this point,
as comfortable with telephone conversations as she is.)
How To make a spoolie Teddy bear Finger Puppet:
Yarn: 1 strand of Lion Brand 'Big' in Colossal Cherry for the red puppet;
2 strands of Lion Brand Suede in Mocha for the brown puppet; 1 strand of Lion Brand Suede in Fuschia;
black yarn for nose and eyes.
Eyes: Beads or buttons. Optional: Heart shape button.
Tools: Large spoolie, large eyed darning needle, scissors, calculator.
Making the Teddy puppet:
Spool 1 cord for the arms.
Make it with 2 pegs for 12 rows.
(Easiest to just count 24 stitches while working the cord)
Weave the yarn ends into the cord.
Work 2 pieces of flat spooling (work back and forth, not in a circle)
that are each
4 pegs wide by 12 rows long.
One of the flat pieces is for the head and one is for the body.
Hot tip: To count the rows when spool knitting,
have your calculator sitting nearby.
After the first row, click the number '1'.
At the end of each subsequent row, hit '+ 1' and '='.
(Note: When I made the purple Teddy bear,
I used one strand of Lion Brand suede
and spool knitted with 4 pegs of a spool knitter that
is slightly smaller than the giant red plastic Lion Brand 'Superknitter'.
12 rows was not long enough for the body
when working with just 1 strand of yarn,
so I made the body 19 rows long.
The head one should not be cast off in the usual way.
To make the ears,
Cut the yarn, leaving a tail that is 24 inches or so, long.
Lift the last stitch onto the adjacent peg.
Thread the yarn end into a large darning needle.
Stitch through the 2 loops on the peg, 4 times.
Lift the last loop onto the adjacent peg.
Take a stitch into the space between the 2 pegs.
Stitch through the remaining 2 loops 4 times.
Take the yarn out of the needle,
and thread the yarn from the lower edge
into the darning needle.
Pick up a loop from each of the first 4 stitches,
take the yarn through them and pull up to gather.
Fold the lower edge up to the upper edge.
Stitch the gathered lower edge to the top of the head,
between the ears.
With the yarn end that formed the ears,
sew the side seams together,
putting a little stuffing inside the head, if necessary .
(Note: When using 'Big' yarn, you won't need to stuff the head.
When using other yarns, you do need a little stuffing in the head.
Stuff it and then, stitch it closed.)
Take a stitch through each of the ears
to hold them in place at the sides of the head.
Take the remaining yarn ends inside the head,
and out through the base of the head.
Fold the body in half and stitch the side edges together.
Stitch the center of the arms to the upper (folded) edge of the body.
Tie the yarn ends from the head to the yarn ends at the top of the body,
then stitch the head to the body, and take all yarn ends inside head.
Optional: Sew a heart button to the chest.
(Skip this if you are giving the finger puppet to a very young child).
Sew ~VERY~ firmly, 2 black beads or buttons to the face, for the eyes.
(For a very young child, just make embroidered French knots for the eyes,
using black yarn.)
With black yarn, stitch an 'X' for the nose and mouth,
then make short stitches to fill in the nose.
Voila!
A Teddy Bear Finger Puppet
for a very special little girl who is loved very much!
And..... of course!
Teddy Bear Finger Puppets
for two other very special little people
who are also loved very much
by their Auntie
who lives waaaaaaay too far away from them!
I hope they tell some really great stories with them!
hugs all round
Noreen
www.crone-findlay.com