The Joseph Hand Puppet, is one of my puppets I am most pleased with! I will be honest, girl puppets are often more fun to make, and easier to make differently with different clothing and hair styles. Yet Joseph’s simplicity is what I love most about him. He was a simple man as well, faithful to God and the law, as we will see below.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public discrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ~Matthew 1: 18-21
Wow. Can you imagine what Joseph must have thought? Can you imagine having God speak to you so clearly? I am convinced that we have created far too many distractions in this world. I feel God’s presence often. I feel Him guide me onto the path He wishes me to take. But I cannot say I have ever heard an audible voice the way that Mary and Joseph did, through the appearance of an angel. What an amazing miracle of God!
I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do, and you have some time while making him, to reflect on all that God has guided you through.
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Joseph Hand Puppet Pattern, you can find the design in my Ravelry or Etsy shops! If you prefer to use the free blog copy below, I still appreciate you being here! And another great way to support my blog is simply by sharing! Thank you for supporting my business!
Materials:
Worsted weight yarn – Red Heart Super Saver Yarns
- Aran (off-white) for headdress (A) – approximately 50 yds
- Buff, skin color (B) – approximately 44 yds
- Cafe, robe (C) – approximately 80 yds
- Coffee, facial hair – (D) – approximately 40 yds
- Red Heart With Love Ochre Brown (E), for the band around the headdress
- Small amount of worsted weight black yarn for the eyes.
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
ch, chs – chain, chains
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc sts in same st
dec – decrease
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.
dc bobble – double crochet bobble
- Yarn over, and insert hook into designated st.
- Pull up a loop.
- Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 2 loops left on hook.
- Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
- Pull up a loop.
- Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 3 loops left on hook.
- Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
- Pull up a loop.
- Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 4 loops left on hook.
- Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
- Pull up a loop.
- Yarn over and pull through 2 loops, leaving 5 loops left on hook.
- Yarn over and pull through all 5 loops.
Notes:
The Joseph Hand Puppet Pattern is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms, facial hair, and headdress are made separately and sewn on. The eyes are embroidered on with black worsted weight yarn; the nose with matching skin color.
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 gauge or go down a hook size.
Gauge: 7 sts across and 7 rnds down = approximately 2 inches
Find the Mother Mary Hand Puppet HERE!
Joseph Hand Puppet
Body – beginning at the head, with the top of the headdress, aran or off-white (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 6-7: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Pull Ochre Brown (E) through to complete the last st, but do NOT fasten off Aran just yet. The next rnd is referred to as rnd 7a because it is just adding a surface sl st around rnd 7, and rnd 8 will be worked into the tops of rnd 7, behind the sl st.
Rnd 7a: in E, loosely sl st in each st around; 30 sts
On the last sl st, pull aran back through to complete it, and fasten off color E.
Rnd 8: in A, sc into each st around from rnd 7, behind the sl sts; 30 sts
Pull Buff (B) through to complete the last st of rnd 8, and fasten off color A. Continue in B.
Rnd 9: BLO this rnd only, sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnds 10-14: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 15: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Rnd 16: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Pull color C through to complete the last st of rnd 16, and fasten off your skin color. Continue with Cafe.
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 19-34: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Sl st into the first st of the last rnd and fasten off. Knot and weave in all ends inside the body.
Arms, make 2
Begin in Buff, B
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: (inc, sc in next st)3x; 9 sts
Rnds 3-4: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnd 5: dc bobble, sc in next 8 sts; 9 sts
Rnd 6: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Pull cafe through to complete the last st of rnd 6, and fasten off skin color.
Continue in cafe.
Rnds 7-8: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnd 9: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)3x; 12 sts
Rnds 10-13: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave in all the ends inside the arm, and then use the long tail to sew onto the arm holes of the body. Weave in ends.
Nose in skin color (B)
Using Buff, cut about an 8 inch strand. Sew it over about 3 sts centered at about rnd 12. Sew the yarn over the same spot about 3 to 5 times, or until nose is as puffy as you’d like. Knot and fasten off inside the head, and weave in ends.
Eyes, in black
Using black yarn, st the eyes onto the face over 4 sts on rnd 11, about 3 sts between them, with the nose centered below and between. Insert your needle through about 2 sts from the outer edge of the face. Pull it back through 4 sts over. Insert the needle back into the original st, and pull it back out under rnd 11, pulling the black yarn under the arch you just made. Wrap the yarn around itself twice to help hold that curve in place, and working back to the original entry point. Push yarn back through the original st, to the inside of the head. Pull original strand back inside the head as well. Place the other eye to the other side, over the same ends, about 3 sts from the first eye. Knot and weave in the ends on the inside of the head.
Headdress, in Aran, or off-white
Ch 11
Row 1: turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across; 10 sts
Rows 2-20: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 10 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew to the unworked front loops from rnd 8, in the back so that it can be seen behind the arms from the front of the puppet. There should be about 12 open sts around the front of the headdress, at the forehead. Weave in ends.
Beard and mustache, in coffee
Ch 12
Row 1: turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across; 11 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, sc in next 4 sts, 3sctog, sc in next 4 sts; 9 sts
Do not turn, continue to make the mustache
Ch 12, sl st into the first st of row 2 to join, making a loop connecting beard and mustache.
Row 1: ch 1 and turn, sc in next 4 chs, 3sctog over the next 3 chs, sc in next 4 chs, sl st into the last ch and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the face with the point of the bead down between the arms, and the point of the mustache just below the nose. Sew around the inside and outside of the piece, and weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Joseph Hand Puppet! If you love this design, be sure to check out some of my other free patterns on the blog, and look for more from The Nativity Story! Follow me along on Instagram for more sneak peeks and new pattern releases! If you loved making any of my patterns, and show them off on Instagram, please be sure to tag @ekaygdesigns to let me know, and I will share in my stories!
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