How to crochet a finger toy - knitting pattern

Finger puppets made with a crochet hook are often used in their classes by speech therapists, educators and parents. They can not only be sewn from fabric, but also knitted. Below are crochet finger puppets, patterns and descriptions of their creation.

What is finger theatre?

Finger theater is considered an educational toy because it has a positive effect on:

• fine motor skills;
• speech development;
• development of imagination.

With the help of finger toys, an adult and a child can act out scenes from fairy tales or invent their own stories. For this theater, only fairy tale characters without additional decorations may be enough.

The peculiarity of finger toys is that they can be put on a finger. To do this, one edge of the product is left unsewn. Also, when creating them, no filler is used, because they should not be voluminous.

Finger puppets are crocheted in different sizes, depending on which finger they are planned to be put on. Another feature of their appearance is simplified stylization. They are small in size, so it is not possible to make many details. Excessive detailing will not look so organic.

Finger toys are easier to crochet: they will turn out neat and beautiful. The types of loops used are standard:

• air loops (AL);
• single crochet (SC);
• double crochet stitches (DC).

Openwork patterns can act as decorative elements. But it is impossible to make finger toys completely in such knitting. Knitting should be dense so that the toys keep their shape.

Finger theater is an accessible educational toy, for the creation of which you will need to master basic techniques. With its help, it will be possible not only to have a beneficial effect on the development of the child, but also to cultivate an interest in reading, public speaking. Parents can create their own fairy-tale characters together with the child.

What finger toys can be knitted

For such developmental theater, it is recommended to choose fairy tales that children are familiar with from childhood. It is also better to select and invent stories with a simple plot, so that it is easier to act out with finger puppets. Or act out popular cartoon series, for example, "Luntik" or "Smeshariki".

The most popular fairy tales are:

• "Teremok";
• "Masha and the Bear";
• "Zainkin's hut"
• "Ryaba the Hen"
• "Turnip";
• "Kolobok" and others.

Therefore, in the collections of finger toys you can see the following characters:

• Bear. To knit it, use yarn of brown, yellow and orange shades. You can complement its image with a pot of honey.
• Fox. The heroine of most Russian folk tales. For her, you need orange yarn and other light shades. The distinctive feature of this toy is an elongated muzzle and a beautiful tail. Some needlewomen knit a sarafan for the fox.
• Wolf. It is knitted from gray yarn, which can be replaced with dark blue. You will also need light threads. The wolf, like the fox, has an elongated muzzle, but not pointed. It also has a tail, but it is not made as noticeable as the red beauty's. You can complement the wolf's image with a suit.
• Bunny. A popular fairy tale character. Usually, gray, light, white threads are chosen for knitting. The main feature of this character is long ears.
• Dolls, girls, grandmas, grandpas. Also popular fairy tale characters. To create them you will need more multi-colored threads, because when knitting them, much attention is paid to clothing.

Also, to stage some fairy tales you will need:

• Kolobok. The simplest toy, knitted according to the amigurumi principle.
• Mouse. The main thing when creating a finger mouse with a crochet hook is to make round ears.
• Cat. Its main distinguishing features are its triangular ears, tail and long whiskers.
• Dog. The muzzle of this toy is made slightly elongated, as are the ears.
• Piglet. The peculiarity of this doll is the presence of a snout and a curling tail.

Additional items for acting out the scene can also be knitted. But then the items should be stuffed with filler so that they are voluminous and hold their shape better. Then you will get a real soft knitted theater, which is more interesting for a child than a paper one.

Materials needed to create a fairy tale

To knit finger toys you will need:

• yarn;
• hook;
• beads or other decoration accessories;
• needle.

The yarn used for work is of the following types:

• Cotton. A natural material that is recommended for buying for creating toys for babies. Such threads are easy to work with, so they are suitable for beginner needlewomen.
• Acrylic. A popular yarn, but can cause allergies in children. Therefore, they are suitable for making toys for older children.
• Mohair, known as "grass", allows you to create fluffy toys. But working with such yarn has many nuances, so it is suitable for experienced needlewomen.
• Wool. This type is rarely chosen for these purposes, because it is difficult to work with such yarn, and the products will not be as neat and light.

For knitting toys, threads of different colors and thicknesses are used. In needlework, there is a rule that for clothing, thinner yarn is used than for making the main parts of the toy.

The hook is selected based on the thickness of the threads: the thinner they are, the smaller its number should be. Usually, hooks of different sizes are used in the knitting process. Accessories for each toy should be selected separately. Often, it helps to convey the character of the character. It is better to sew it on rather than glue it, so that the product turns out more durable.

Finger theater crochet with your own hands: diagrams and description, master class

Below are the patterns for knitting finger puppets, most often used in fairy tale staging. The main thing is to leave one edge unsewn during the process.

Fox

For the head use orange yarn:

1. Start by knitting an amigurumi ring.
2. From the 2nd to the 4th row, knit sc with added loops.
3. From rows 5 to 9 make 24 sc.
4. From rows 11 to 15, make sc with added loops.

After row 15, the orange yarn should be changed to white to knit the body:

5. From rows 16 to 20, knit 15 sc.
6. To make 21 rows, knit 15 sc behind the back side of the VP.
7. From rows 22 to 27, make 15 sc.

To knit a skirt, you need to take other yarn and a hook. It should be done on the 21st row of double crochets. Separately knit the fox's paws:

1. Work begins with an amigurumi ring.
2. In the 2nd row, knit 6 sc, then change the orange yarn to white.
3. Behind the front side of the VP, make 6 sc with an increase of 2 loops.
4. In the 4th row, knit 12 sc.
5. In the 5th row, add to the sc.
6. For the 6th row, knit 9 sc.
7. In the 7th row, increases are made to the columns again.
8. From 8th to 9th rows – sc.

The parts are filled and attached to the body. The nose, ears and tail are knitted using the same technique, based on the amigurumi ring and sc. When all the parts are ready, the toy can be assembled: stuffed with filler, using fittings to shape the muzzle.

Teddy bear

The knitting pattern for this finger theater toy is simple. To create the head and body, use brown threads:

1. Work begins with an amigurumi ring.
2. In the 2nd row, knit sc with an increase of 6 loops.
3. From the 3rd to the 4th row, the number of sc increases by one, simultaneously making an increase.
4. From rows 5 to 9, knit 24 sc.
5. From rows 10 to 11, make sc with decreasing loops.

After this, the brown yarn is replaced with white, and from rows 16 to 22, 15 sc are made. Then take the red thread and continue knitting according to the following pattern:

6. From the 21st row, knit 4 sc with an increase of 3 loops.
7. For row 22, make 5 sc with an increase of 3 loops.
8. From 23 to 25, create 21 sc.
9. In row 26, decrease.
10. From 27 to 28 knit 16 sc.

The nose is knitted in the same way as the fox's nose. The bear's ears are made round, so the amigurumi ring is not connected, but is crocheted with sc in a circle.

The paws are created in the same way as the bear's nose. After all the parts are ready, they are connected together. The figure is supplemented with fittings and the finger toy crocheted is ready.

Kolobok

knitted toy option for finger theater. For the bun you will need yellow yarn. Step by step the process looks like this:

1. The base is an amigurumi ring made of 6 VP.
2. Next, knit a single crochet stitch with an increase of 6 VP.
3. In the 3rd row, make a single crochet with an increase – you should get 18 loops.
4. The next row is knitted according to a similar pattern, but the number of columns should be equal to 24 loops.
5. From rows 5 to 7, knit 24 sc.
6. From rows 8 to 9, decreases are made. Then the bun's head is stuffed with filler.
7. Rows 10-11 are knitted without increases or decreases.
8. At 12, make an increase of 12 loops.
9. From rows 13 to 20, knit 24 sc.

After this, you need to embroider the eyes, nose and mouth of the bun with colored threads. Now you can act out the Russian folk tale.

Finger theater is an educational toy that you can make yourself. It is acceptable to use amigurumi knitting patterns as a basis. Finger toys crocheted with a crochet hook should not be too large in size so that they are easy to put on and act out.