Today is my birthday!! And I am so excited to share this lion lovey puppet with you! So, yes, I am a Leo, but that’s not actually why I love lions so much.
I am from the great state of Pennsylvania, from a rural area where it is (almost) everyone’s dream to go to Penn State and be a Nittany Lion. I was no exception. And when I was a very little girl, struggling with nightmares, my parents once bought me a stuffed lion from the Penn State store. This was not just any lion. This lion, I believed, came to life at night and scared away all my bad dreams. True story!
My dad even wrote and illustrated a book about it!
Shalock and the Cloud of Bad Dreams
Just this past spring, I created a Shalock Puppet to go with the book! It was part of my Read Across America Crochet-a-Long.
So, I guess you could say that I have a thing for lions, and this one, from his mane to his cheeks is just the cutest!!
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the lion lovey 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 business is simply by sharing! Thank you for supporting my business!
Notes: This pattern is worked from the head down through the blanket in one piece, with the arms, snout, and mane are sewn on separately. The head is worked up in sc, in continuous rnds, with no joining. The blanket portion is worked up in dc, with joining. Chs do not count as sts. Gauge is provided for both sections, and is only important if you wish to keep this to a one-skein project. It is designed to be both a lovey and a puppet for little ones to play and snuggle with! There is no stuffing, so they are easily washed.
Gauge for head: 7 sts and 7 rnds = 2 inches
Gauge for blanket: 6 sts and 4 rnds = 2 inches
Finished size: approximately 11 inches tall, corner to corner = 18 inches
Materials:
The Hook Nook, Main Squeeze – Mustard Yellow (A) – 1 skein, 3.5 oz, 175 yds
The Hook Nook, Main Squeeze – Marigold Fields (B) – 2 yds
The Hook Nook, Small Stuff – Tattoo Ink – for eyes and nostrils
Crochet Hook, I – 5.5mm (I REALLY love the Interchangeable Designer Hook set from The Hook Nook!)
Tapestry Needles
Scissors
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
ch, chs – chain, chains
sp, sps – space, spaces
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
inc – make 2 sc together into same st (only used in reference to sc sts)
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.
Lion Lovey Puppet
Lion, beginning with head, A
Begin with magic ring. Work in continuous rnds, no joining.
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
Rnds 5-10: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 11: (invsc2tog, sc in next 2 sts)6x; 18 sts
Rnd 12: (invsc2tog, sc in next st)6x; 12 sts
Beginning with the blanket portion, you will now be joining rnds. Chs will not count as sts.
Rnd 13: FLO this rnd only (2 dc in next st, ch 3, 2 dc in next st, dc in next st)4x, sl st in first st to join; 20 sts, 4 ch-3 sps
Rnd 14: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next st, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-3 sp, dc in next 5 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-3 sp, dc in next 3 sts, sl st in first st to join; 36 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 15: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next 3 sts, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 9 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 5 sts, sl st in first st to join; 52 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 16: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next 5 sts, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 13 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 7 sts, sl st in first st to join; 68 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 17: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next 7 sts, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 17 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 9 sts, sl st in first st to join; 84 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 18: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next 9 sts, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 21 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 11 sts, sl st in first st to join; 100 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 19: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next 11 sts, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 25 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 13 sts, sl st in first st to join; 116 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 20: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next 13 sts, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 29 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 15 sts, sl st in first st to join; 132 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 21: ch 2, dc into same st as joining, dc in next 15 sts, [(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 33 sts]3x, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in ch-1 sp, dc in next 17 sts, sl st in first st to join; 148 sts, 4 ch-1 sps
Rnd 22: ch 1, hdc into same st as joining, sl st in next st, (hdc in next st, sl st in next st)8x, 3 hdc in ch-1 sp, [sl st in next st, (hdc in next st, sl st in next st)18x, 3 hdc in ch-1 sp]3x, sl st in next st, (hdc in next st, sl st in next st)9x; 160 sts
Fasten off, and weave in ends.
Arms, Make 2
Begin with magic ring. Work in continuous rnds with no joining.
Beginning with color B.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: (inc, sc in next st)3x; 9 sts
Rnd 3: sl st around each st; 9 sts
*Pull color A through to finish last sl st of rnd 3, and fasten off color B. Continue the rest of the arm in A.
Rnd 4: work this rnd behind the sl sts, into rnd 2, sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnds 5-9: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave in all ends, but your last tail. Sew into the ch 3 sps to each side of the head, as the finger holes for the puppet.
Mane, in B
Ch 36, and sl st to first ch to join, forming a ring.
Rnd 1: ch 1, sc into same ch as joining sl st, 3 dc in next ch, sc in next ch, (sc in next ch, 3 dc in next ch, sc in next ch)11x; 60 sts
Fasten off, leaving a very long tail for sewing. Sew the mane around the head.
Snout, in A (see pictures 4-7)
Make 2, and then join, for Rnd 3.
Begin with magic ring, do NOT join any rnds with sl sts.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: sc in next 2 sts, 3 sc in each of the next 2 sts, sc in next 2 sts; 10 sts
Fasten off first one. On the second circle, connect to the first circle.
Rnd 3: join with a sc to the first st of the last rnd on first circle. Sc around both circles together, sl st in first st to join; 20 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Before sewing, use one of your tails to sew the space between the circles closed. Then, using your black yarn, sew a triangle at the top center, between the two circles, and fill that in for the nose. Then sew a line straight down from there toward the bottom of the snout. Sew the snout to the lower center of the face, above the bottom of the mane.
Eyes in black
Place the eyes at about rnd 6, spanning 4 stitches each, about 1 st apart. You can watch my video below, used on the Pig Lovey Puppet, showing tricks for making the eyes!
I hope you have enjoyed making the lion lovey puppet! Don’t forget to check out the pig, duck, giraffe, unicorn, and elephant lovey puppets as well! If you loved making these puppets and show them off on Instagram, please be sure to tag @ekaygdesigns to let me know, and I will share in my stories!
