I am Erin of @ekaygdesings, and I love books and yarn! March is National Read Across America Month in honor of Dr. Seuss, and designed to encourage young readers, so every year, I dedicate my month of March to storybook puppets. These puppets can help stories come to life for young children, and teach them how to tell their own stories through creative play. This pattern for the Three Little Pigs Hand Puppets can be made with different colored overalls, all with The Hook Nook Main Squeeze, and you can add a Big Bad Wolf to the story with this pattern from my blog, using THN Yummy yarn!
Materials
The Hook Nook Three Little Hand Puppets Crochet Kit by Erin Greene
Worsted weight 4 Yarn:
THE HOOK NOOK, Main Squeeze: Rose Gold (A) - approximately 75 yds
THE HOOK NOOK, Main Squeeze: Midnight Decisions, Mustard Yellow, and Pinot Noir (B) approximately 30 yds
Small amount of THE HOOK NOOK, Small Stuff: Tattoo Ink (for the eyes and nostrils)
THE HOOK NOOK CROCHET HOOK, size H - 5mm
Stitch marker
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Terms and abbreviations to know
magic ring
rnd, rnds - round, rounds
st, sts - stitch, stitches
sl st - slip stitch
sk - skip
sc - single crochet
inc - increase, 2 sts in same st
dec - decrease, combine 2 sts into only 1 st
invsc2tog - invisible single crochet 2 together; this is essentially a decrease, but done in such a way as to make the continuous stitching smoother, and the decrease not as noticeable.
- Insert hook into front loop only of next stitch, DO NOT yarn over.
- Insert hook into front loop of second stitch.
- Yarn over. Pull through 2 loops.
- Yarn over and pull through last 2 loops
Notes
The body of the Three Little Pigs Hand Puppets are worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms, snout, ears, and bibs of the overalls, are made separately and sewn on.
Size
This is one size, fitting child through adult, but if you wish to make it smaller for a smaller child to play with, simply tighten the gauge or go down a hook size.
Gauge
6 sts across and 7 rnds down = approximately 2 inches
Body - beginning at the head, with A
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: (inc, sc in next st)6x; 18 sts
Rnd 4: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)6x; 24 sts
Rnd 5: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 6-15: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 16: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Rnd 17: (ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 18: (sc into each of the 7 chs, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 19-26: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Attach B (overall colors of choice), and fasten off A.
Continue in color B.
Rnds 27-34: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Fasten off, and weave in ends.
Arms, Make 2
Begin with magic ring. Work in continuous rnds with no joining.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 3: sl st around each st; 12 sts
Rnd 4: work this rnd behind the sl sts, into rnd 2, sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnds 5-13: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Snout
Begin with magic ring. Work in continuous rnds with no joining.
Rnd 1: 8 sc in magic ring; 8 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 16 sts
Rnd 3: loosely sl st in each st around; 16 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Using black yarn, sew the nostrils on, centered between the rnds, as pictured. Knot off behind the snout. Sew the snout onto the face, sewing through the top of rnd 2, and leaving rnd 3 (the sl sts) untouched. Weave in ends.
Eyes in black
The eyes are placed at about rnds 8 and 9 of the head, above the snout, with approximately 3 sts between them. They cover about 3 sts. Wrapping the yarn around itself is a great way to keep it in place. Then pull lashes through, and knot off and weave in ends inside the head.
Ears, Make 2
Ch 6
Work rnd around the ch.
Rnd 1: sl st in 3rd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, 5 dc in last ch, turn to work on the other side of the ch, hdc in next ch, sc in next ch, sl st in next ch and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Sew the ears on the top sides of the head, around rnds 3-5.
Bib Overalls, in B
Ch 15
Row 1: turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across; 14 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 14 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 10 sts, dec; 12 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 8 sts, dec; 10 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 6 sts, dec; 8 sts
Row 6: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 4 sts, dec; 6 sts
Do not turn. Begin first strap.
Ch 21, turn and begin in the 2nd ch from hook, sc across all 20 chs, working back toward the bib of the overalls.
Row 7: sc in each st across row 6 toward the other side; 6 sts
Do not turn. Begin second strap.
Ch 21, turn and begin in the 2nd ch from hook, sc across all 20 chs, working back toward the bib of the overalls. Careful not to twist, sl st back into the side of the last st of row 7, and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Sew the beginning ch to the first row of blue on the pig body, row 27. Wrap the straps over the arms, and cross them in teh back, sewing them down to row 27 on the back of the body. Weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed this pattern! Follow along @ekaygdesigns on Instagram for more puppets included in this month's Read Across America Crochet-a-Long! Encourage fun learning and inspire creativity in your little ones!