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!