Ladybird Puppet Knitting Pattern

This ladybird (or ladybug)  puppet is the third in my series of entomological puppets.

You will need: Small amount of black  and red double knitting wool.  Oddments of white and beige for features.

Needles: 1 pair size 8 or 7 (4 mm or 4.5mm) needles.

Body: make 2 pieces

Cast on 16 sts in black wool and work 4 rows in garter stitch. Break off black wool.
Join in red, and work 4 rows in st st.
Increase 1 st at each end of next row. (18 sts)
Work 3 rows in st st.
Increase 1 st at each end of next row. (20 sts)
Work 9 rows in st st.
Decrease 1 st at each end of next row. (18 sts)
Work  3 rows st st. 

Arms:

Cast on 8 sts in, then knit back these 8 sts and 18 sts from the body, leaving the remaining 18 sts on a spare needle. Turn
Cast on 8 sts and purl to end (34 sts).
Work 6 rows in st st.
Cast off 9 sts, knit to end.
Cast off 9 sts, purl to end.

Head:
Work 6 rows in st st.
Break red wool, join in black. Work 6 rows garter st.
Dec 1 st at each end of next 4 rows. (8 sts)
[K2 tog] to end of row. (4 sts)
Cast off.

Sew the two pieces together.

For the antenna, take a length of black wool approx 6" (15 cm) long. Thread it through the work in the position of the antenna, with the ends equal in length, tie it in about 12 knots, then trim the ends.

On the back, sew a line of chain st all the way from top to bottom, as shown. Then embroider black spots all over the body. I used 3 small sts over one knitted st for each spot.


Using white wool, embroider some eyes as shown, and make a big happy smile using beige wool, as shown in the top picture.


As usual, if you have any problems with the pattern, please leave a comment and I'll try to help.

Bumble Bee Puppet Knitting Pattern

This bumble bee puppet is the second in my series of entomological puppets.

You will need: Small amount of black  and yellow double knitting wool.  Oddment of white or grey for wings.

Needles: 1 pair size 8 or 7 (4 mm or 4.5mm) needles.

Cast on 36 stitches using yellow wool and work 6 rows in garter stitch.
Join in black wool, keeping the yellow attached and knit 6 rows in stocking stitch, carrying the yellow wool up the side.

Knit 6 rows garter st in yellow.

Knit 6 rows in st st in black.

Knit 6 rows garter st in yellow.

Break off yellow wool.

Arms:
*Cast on 8 sts in black, then knit back these 8 sts and 18 sts from the body, leaving the remaining 18 sts on a spare needle. Turn
Cast on 8 sts and purl to end (34 sts).
Work 6 rows in st st.
Cast off 9 sts, knit to end.
Cast off 9 sts, purl to end.* Leave these 16 sts on a spare needle.

Rejoin black wool to the remaining 18 body sts and work from * to *.

Head:
Slip all 32 sts back together onto one needle, join in yellow wool and work 12 rows in st st.
Break yellow wool, join in black. Work 2 rows garter st.
[K2 tog] to end of row.
Knit 1 row.
Repeat the last 2 rows until there are 4 sts left. Cast off.
Sew together down side of head, around the arms and down side seam.

Using black wool, embroider a face.


For the antenna, take a length of black wool approx 6" (15 cm) long. Thread it through the work in the position of the antenna, with the ends equal in length, tie it in about 12 knots, then trim the ends.

For the wings, using white or grey wool, cast on 80 sts. Cast off. Join the two ends in a loop, and sew onto the back as shown. 

As usual, if you have any problems with the pattern, please leave a comment and I'll try to help.

Spider Puppet Knitting Pattern

These spider puppets can be slipped into a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child. 
They'll make good gifts for older boys, I think.

You will need: Small amount of black double knitting wool. (I used a brushed dk.) Contrasting oddments for eyes and features.

Needles: 1 pair size 8 or 7 (4 mm or 4.5mm) needles.

Make two pieces.

Cast on 17 stitches using black wool and work 4 rows in garter stitch.
Work 4 row st st.
Increase 1 st at each end of next row  (19 sts)
Work 3 rows st st.
Increase 1 st at each end of next row (21 sts)
Work 9 rows st st.
Dec 1 st at each end of next row (19 sts)
Work 1 row st st.
Arms: (these are worked on one side only. As there are two pieces the same, when sewn together, there will be arms on both sides.)
Cast on, then cast off 20 sts. K1, then pass the first st on right-hand needle over this st to decrease, knit to last 2 sts. K2tog. (17 sts)
Purl 1 row.
Repeat the last 2 rows 3 more times, thus decreasing 2 sts on every repeat. (9 sts)
Head:
Work 2 rows st st.
Inc 1 st at each end of next  row. (11 sts)
Purl 1 row.
Inc 1 st at each end of next  row. (13 sts)
Purl 1 row.
Inc 1 st at each end of next  row. (15 sts)
Work 3 rows st st.
Dec 1 st at each end of next  row. (13 sts)
Purl 1 row.
Dec 1 st at each end of next  row. (11 sts)
Purl 1 row.
Dec 1 st at each end of next  row. (9 sts)
Purl 1 row.
Cast off.

Sew the two body pieces together, remembering to tuck the legs through to the right side. You may like to leave a small gap between the second and third legs so that fingers can be poked through.


Sew some eyes onto the face - I did mine using a french knot, with 4 or 5 windings so that they stand out a bit.
And add a happy grin to finish.

I hope you like the spider and his 8 hairy legs. I think the children will.

As usual, if you have any problems with the pattern, please leave a comment and I'll try to help.

Frog Puppet Knitting Pattern

These frog puppets can be slipped into a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child. 

You will need: Small amount of double knitting wool. Contrasting oddments for eyes and features.

Needles: 1 pair size 8 or 7 (4 mm or 4.5mm) needles.

Cast on 36 stitches using main colour and work 6 rows in garter stitch.

Work 20 rows in stocking stitch.

Arms:
Next row: Cast on 12 stitches. Cast off 6 sts then knit back the remaining 6 sts plus 18 sts from body. (24 sts altogether).  Turn leaving remaining 18 stitches on a spare needle.  
Cast on 6 sts. Purl these 6 sts and then to end of row.
[Cast on then cast off 6 sts. Knit to end of row. Purl 1 row] 3 times.
Cast off 7 sts, knit to end of row.
Cast off 7 sts, purl to end of row. (16 sts)


Head:
Knit 12 rows in st. st.
Next row: k8, turn.
*Working on these 8 sts, purl 1 row. Dec 1 st at each end of next 2 alternate rows, purling the rows in between. (4 sts). Cast off.
Rejoin wool to remaining 8 sts, and repeat from *.


Rejoin wool to the 18 sts on the spare needle, and work the arms and head as above.

Join the side seam, arm seams and around the two head pieces. Remember to tuck the fingers inside as you sew up, so that they appear on the outside when you turn through.


Eyes: (worked in garter st.) make 2.
Using contrasting colour, cast on 2 sts.
Knit 1 row.
[Inc 1 st at each end of next row. Knit 1 row.] twice. (6 sts)
[Dec 1 st at each end of next row. Knit 1 row.] twice. (2 sts)
Cast off.

Sew eyes onto top of head as shown in the picture. Embroider the pupils onto the eyes, and a big smile underneath.


I hope you like the frog and his wiggly fingers. I think the children will.


As usual, if you have any problems with the pattern, please leave a comment and I'll try to help. It's not always easy to remember how I made the puppets although I do try to scribble things down!

Bunny Puppet Knitting Pattern

These bunny puppets can be slipped into a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child. 

You will need: Small amount of double knitting wool, or other textured wool. Contrasting oddment for bow-tie, black wool for features.

Needles: 1 pair size 8 or 7 (4 mm or 4.5mm) needles or needles to suit whatever wool you are using.

Cast on 36 stitches using main colour and work 6 rows in garter stitch.

Work 20 rows in stocking stitch.

Arms:
Next row: Cast on 8 stitches. Knit back these 8 sts plus 18 sts from body. (26 sts altogether).  Turn leaving remaining 18 stitches on a spare needle.  
Cast on 8 sts. K3, P28, K3

Continue for a further 6 rows on these 34 sts remembering to knit the first and last 3 stitches on purl rows.

Cast off 9 sts. Knit to end of row.

Cast off 9 sts. Purl to end of row. 16 sts remain.

Slip these stitches onto spare needle, and break off wool.

Rejoin  wool to 18 sts on first spare needle, and work the arms again to match.

Slip all the sts from front and back onto one needle (32 sts).

Head:
Knitting across all 32 sts, knit 14 rows in stocking st.

[K2 tog] to end. (16sts)

Purl 1 row

[K2 tog] to end. (8sts)

Cut yarn leaving a long thread for sewing up and pull through remaining sts. Fasten securely.

Sew the body together up the side seam, around the arm edges and along the side of the head.

Ears: (make 2)
Cast on 10 sts (or 12 for a more floppy ear).
Knit in garter st for 26 rows.
[Dec 1 st at each end of next row, Knit 1 row] until 2 sts remain.Cast off.
Fold cast-on edge of ear 1/3 way across itself and sew down along cast on edge. Then secure ear to head as shown.


Bow-tie:
Using contrasting wool, cast on 8 sts.
K 1 row.
[Dec 1 st at each end of row, K 1 row] until 2 sts remain. 
[Inc 1 st at each end of row, K 1 row] until 8 sts remain. K 1 row.
Cast off.
Secure bow to centre of bunny's chest with a few stitches through the middle.
Make a pom-pom for the tail and sew it on the back.
Finally sew some eyes, nose and a little smile. Goofy teeth and whiskers can also be added to the face.
Please leave a comment if you like this pattern, or of you have any problems with it, in which case I will try and help you out!

Puppety Update

It's been quite a while since I showed you any puppets. You may remember that I've been making them in groups of four this year. In my last puppety post, we saw two bunnies - flopsy and cottontail.

The second two bunnies are here now - the pink one on the right turned into something of a Were-Rabbit. The one on the left has some lovely sharp bunny teeth!

Here they are together.

I'll be writing up the bunny puppet pattern shortly.

The puppets seem to have taken on an animal theme this year. So far we've had pandas, ducks and rabbits.

And carrying on that theme, the next set hopped into place.

Frogs.

In different shades of green, they all have long wiggly fingers and googly eyes.

Once again, I plan to write up the pattern for these as well.

And wouldn't you know it, the latest set is still in the world of organisms, I moved into insects.

Here we have a ladybird, a spider and a bumble bee.

The ladybird has wings on her back....

... and so does the bumble bee ...

... and the spider has eight hairy legs!

As you see, there are only 3 puppets in this latest insect set, and I'm a bit stuck for ideas for a fourth insect, so if anyone can make any suggestions, I'd be very grateful!

Now I need to get busy with these scribbled bits of paper, and transform them into readable knitting patterns!

I hope this won't take too long.