Finger Puppets: The Woodsman -- TUTORIAL

Here's the final character in my Red Riding Hood Finger Puppet series:

The Woodsman!

(Find Red Riding Hood here, Grandma here, and Wolfie here)

SUPPLIES:

~ fleece scrap for his body
~ plaid fabric scrap for his shirt
~ finger of "one size"-type glove for his hat
~ yarn for his beard
~ twig for his ax
~ grey felt scrap for his ax

STEP ONE: Create his basic body by sewing around the person pattern on a piece of doubled fleece. (Basic instruction can be found in step one here.) I made my woodsman's arms a little extra wider, and stuffed them, so he would look a little more manly.

STEP TWO: Print shirt pattern (see end of post) and cut one from your plaid fabric scrap.


STEP THREE: Turn one inner edge a scant 1/8" and topstitch. Continue stitching around the half-circle. Stop before reaching the opposite straight edge.


It should look like this.


STEP FOUR: Sew the underarm/side seams. (I chose not to hem the sleeves, because I wanted to roll them up, but if you do, hem them before doing the side seams.)


STEP FIVE: I really should have done this before sewing the side seams, but forgot. I cut a small square of plaid fabric and pressed all the edges under to create a pocket, then sewed it onto the front of his shirt.


A little bit torturesome, but it's such a cute detail!


STEP SIX: Hand stitch the front of the shirt closed, with the finished side overlapping the unfinished side. Roll the sleeves (if you decided not to hem them) and stitch in place.

At this point he was looking a little, well, like a rap singer. So I gave him a little temporary bling and had him sing a little Eminem before moving on.

STEP SEVEN: Sew a yarn beard as shown. Handstitch his finger-glove hat to his head.

I created his ax using a twig and a scrap of grey felt, then stitched it to his hand.

DONE!

Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets

Finger Puppets: Red Riding Hood -- TUTORIAL

My Red isn't completely finished, but I do have patterns and tutorials for her dress and cape. Read on!

(Find instructions for Red's Grandma here, Wolfie here, and the Woodsman here!)

Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets



Create your basic person body as described in Step One here.

Attach Red's hair as described for Goldilocks, here. In this photo I wanted to show you the difference between the separated strands, left, and the regular yarn strands, right. I separated the strands after the hair was all attached and knotted. I ended up braiding her hair too, because I think it's cuter that way under her hood.

For Red's dress you will need:
(you can use this pattern for Goldilocks' dress too!)

~ scrap of fabric
~ ribbon for trim and ties (mine was 1/8" wide)

STEP ONE: Cut out one dress pattern from your fabric scrap, aligning the pattern arrows on the fold. (Yes, my fabric is under there!) Cut the slit as shown; this will create the armholes.


STEP TWO: Finger press the armholes back just slightly, as shown.


STEP THREE: Stitch your teeny little folds, down and then back up on each armhole. This is a little tricky, but it can be done.


STEP FOUR: Turn the hem up approximately 1/4" and sew.


STEP FIVE: Finger press the three top edges of the dress down a scant 1/4". Cut a piece of ribbon about 10" long and sew it across the entire top of the dress, centering it at the front, and stretching the armholes open just slightly.


STEP SIX: Sew the center back seam from the hem up about halfway. You will finish sewing the back seam after you put the dress on Red. Before I sewed the back seam I added some ribbon trim over the top of the stitching on the hem for an extra detail.


For Red's cape you will need:

~ a scrap of red fabric
~ red ribbon for trim and ties (mine was 1/8" wide)
~ elastic thread (optional)


STEP ONE: Cut out one cape pattern from red fabric, aligning the fold and the selvedge as indicated on the pattern.


STEP TWO: Finger press the hem of the cape (curved edge) up a scant 1/4".


STEP THREE: Stitch the hem, laying ribbon atop the raw edge as you sew. The ribbon will cover the raw edge of the hem, finishing the cape nicely on both sides of the cape.

STEP FOUR: Cut your pattern piece on the dotted line as shown, leaving it attached about 1/2" in the center.

Using a disappearing ink marker or chalk, mark the curve on the right side of your cape, flipping the pattern as needed to complete the entire curve. (You can decide which is the right side of your cape. I initially decided I wanted the ribbon trim on the inside, but after finishing the cape I wished it were on the outside.)

STEP FIVE: With elastic thread in your bobbin, increase your stitch length to approximately 4, and sew along your line. Don't forget to backstitch on both sides. You will then repeat this step with another line just alongside the first.
If you are not using elastic thread, stitch with a basting stitch and gather it until it fits Red how you like, then stitch over your basting stitch with a regular stitch length to secure it.

STEP SIX: Starting at one end of the hood part of the cape, attach ribbon around the rim of the cape across to the other side, leaving long tails for tying. Your hood is done!

Finger Puppets: Red's Grandma -- TUTORIAL

My Little Red Riding Hood finger puppets are rather detailed, so I'll be posting them piece by piece. First up is Granny!

There are lots of details -- you certainly don't have to do all of this if you don't want to. But all those details are what I love, so bear with me!!

(Find instructions for Wolfie here, and Red Riding Hood here, and the Woodsman here.)

(not a fantastic photo of her -- sorry! Daylight hours are getting fewer around here, so I only have a short window of time for photos -- and didn't end up with a good one of her!)

Red Riding Hood Finger Puppets

WHAT YOU NEED:

~ fleece for Grandma's skin
~ grey yarn for hair
~ button for granny's bun (see picture in hair tutorial) OR bead
~ paperclip or ornament hanger for glasses
~ grandma-y fabric -- just a scrap!
~ lace trim (optional)
~ elastic thread
~ small amount of fiberfil or cotton balls for stuffing

Start out by making the basic puppet from the "person" pattern. You will also need a wolf! (You can find wolfie here -- and construct Granny's body the same way as the pig in Step One at the same link.)

STEP ONE: Grandma's jammies. Trace the jammies pattern on your scrap of fabric and cut out. Attach lace trim (right side of lace facing right side of fabric) at sleeve ends.

Also attach lace trim around neck of jammies, pulling it straight in front of the foot as you go.


Pull open the lace edge of the sleeves and topstitch in place. (I used elastic thread in the bobbin, lengthening the stitch to about 4, so the sleeves would be tighter around her wrists, and sewed two rows close to each other. You can skip the elastic thread if you like.)


STEP TWO: Sew the side seams. Fold jammies right sides together and sew from the hem of the sleeve to the armpit, then turn and sew down to the hem of the jammies. (Don't forget to change your stitch length back to normal if you used elastic thread for the sleeves!)


STEP THREE: Attach your lace trim to the hem, then sew the lower half of the center back seam and put the jammies on Grandma.


I went ahead and sewed the rest of the back seam after they were on her!


Next up: Glasses! I started with this fancy-schmancy Christmas ornament hanger I've had kicking around in my sewing drawer for a couple years. (Why was it in there? I have no idea!!)


I kept the lowest loop, rearranged the one to the left to make another "lens," and reshaped the rest, clipping off the excess.


Glasses!


I bent the earpieces to accomodate Granny's head.


Now for Granny's hair:

STEP ONE: I cut a rather long piece of yarn, threaded my needle, and tied a knot at the end. I poked my needle up through the bottom of the finger puppet and out the center of the back of her head.

STEP TWO: Attach your button or bead. Mine is a shank button with a hole in the center. No idea where it came from; it was in my button tin! The button will be covered to create her bun! Poke your needle in under the edge of the button, and out just in front of the seam on her head.


Repeat that same stitch over and over, going around and creating her hairline. It should start looking like this.

STEP THREE: Wrap your button or bead in yarn.

A perfect Granny bun!


Now you will create Granny's mob cap:

STEP ONE: Trace a circle on your fabric -- mine was just over 3 1/4".

STEP TWO: Attach your lace trim around the edge of the circle, right sides together.

STEP TWO: Turn the lace outward and topstitch in place.

STEP THREE: With elastic thread in the bobbin, and increasing your stitch to about 4, sew 1/4" from the edge of the fabric -- go around twice, with the second row right beside the first.

Now Wolfie can wear the mob cap and glasses when he's pretending to be Grandma!

Goldilocks & the 3 Bears Finger Puppets -- TUTORIAL

Whew! After a short break from my finger puppets, here is the next installation:

I just love these guys!!! Once again I just used "stuff" I had on hand -- you can certainly replace items in my supply list with whatever you've got!
Goldilocks and the Three Bears Finger Puppets Pattern


SUPPLIES:

~ Brown fleece
~ Black felt/fleece scrap or beads for bear noses
~ Black seed beads for eyes
~ Fleece for G's skin
~ Yarn for G's hair
~ Large-eyed needle (for yarn)
~ Small amount of fiberfil or cotton balls, for stuffing
~ Printed patterns (on cardstock if possible)


STEP ONE: Fold your brown fleece right sides together, Place pattern on top, and sew around. After turning the bears right side out, and before stuffing their heads, I topstitched around the rims of their ears.

STEP TWO: Noses! Cut a circle of fleece 2" in diameter. Attach your nose to the center of the circle. (I found some tiny "safety" noses I've had for ages and used those.)

Pinch the circle below the nose...

...like this. Sew a few stitches starting at the edge of the circle and head up towards the nose.

You will pinch a little more of the excess above the nose (I didn't do quite as much as I did below the nose) and continue your stitching to the top edge of the snout. Tie a knot here, but don't cut your thread yet.

STEP THREE: Attach your bear's snout, starting at the top, and go all the way around. I added the tiniest bit of fiberfil, but mostly the fleece folds inside the snout did the job. I used the same thread again to attach the seed bead eyes!

I used a scrap of diagonally-striped ribbon for Papa Bear's tie, some pearl beads for Mama Bear's necklace, and a Barbie baby bottle for Baby Bear. I just love how my bears turned out!!


I don't have a full tutorial for Goldilocks, but I did want to show you how I did her hair!

STEP ONE: Sew around Goldilocks the same way you did the bear in Step One. (My Goldilocks is VERY pasty, because all I had was this cream-colored fleece for skin!) Thread your large needle with a fairly long length of yarn, doubling it down to the end. Starting just in front of the seam at the top of her head, poke your needle in as shown.

STEP TWO: Pull your needle through. For me this step required pliers! (Don't use an heirloom needle from your great-great-grandmother for this -- the needle probably won't survive beyond this project!)

Pull your yarn all the way through until the end is just a bit longer than you want her final hair length to be, and cut the other side to match.

STEP THREE: Tie half-knots to secure her hair. (I tied each strand individually.)


Continue in the same manner down the back of her head until you have as much hair as you like. Her "part" is very conducive to braids or pigtails, but I liked it down -- I just gave her a trim! (After I took this photo, of course.) I used a finer yarn, but if you use a heavier one you can separate the twisted strands to make it look more like hair.

Now she just needs a dress and a face, and perhaps a few props, and you're ready to play!
(Try using my pattern for Red Riding Hood's dress, found here.)

I am having LOTS of trouble deciding how to give a face to this girl... At this point I am ready to leave her faceless!! Any ideas??