The Nana Hand Puppet is the 7th puppet in the Peter Pan and Wendy series, but truth be told, she was the very first puppet I began working on. I just set her aside thinking maybe I should focus on the main characters. As it turns out, many of my followers on Instagram voted that I should still make her!
The Newfoundland described in the original book, is of the black and white variety, but I found that it was much easier to make her brown and white, so that I could make her eyes in black yarn, as is standard in my puppet style. You can also make her a dog puppet, without the Peter Pan story. Her hat can be easily removed.
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Nana 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:
The Hook Nook Yummy yarn is listed as a bulky 5, and has been discontinued, but I have found that the puppets work up nearly the same with that or any worsted weight yarns as well! Listed below is what I used.
The Hook Nook Yummy, Olive You, is a brown(A) – approximately 85 yds
The Hook Nook Yummy, Like a Dove, is an off-white(B) – approximately 50 yds
Worsted weight white yarn for the nurse’s cap
Worsted weight black for the eyes and nose
Notes about the yarn: the above yarns have been discontinued. Red Heart Super Saver yarns work just as well, in Cafe Latte, Eggshell, and White. No matter what you use just be sure to make the white on the dog more of an off white, so the cap stands out better
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
ch, chs – chain, chains
sl st – slip stitch
sk – skip
sc – single crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc sts in same st
dec – decrease, used mostly in turning rows of the cap, reducing 2 sts to 1 st
BLO – back loop only
FLO – front loop only
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 Nana Hand Puppet is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms, snout, and ears are made separately and sewn on. The nurse’s cap is made separately, in such a way that it can be removed.
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
Nana Hand Puppet
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
Rnds 5-8: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 9: (6 inc, sc in next 6 sts)2x; 36 sts
Rnds 10-14: sc in each st around; 36 sts
Rnd 15: (3 invsctog, sc in next 12 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnd 16: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Pull off-white (B) through to complete the last st of rnd 16. Do NOT fasten off brown. You will be picking that back up in 2 rnds.
In off-white:
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
Pull brown through to complete the last st of rnd 18, and fasten off off-white. Finish the body in brown.
Rnds 19-34: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Fasten off, and weave in ends.
Arms in off-white (B), make 2
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: 3 sc in each st around; 18 sts
Rnds 3-4: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Rnd 5: (invsc2tog, sc in next st)6x; 12 sts
Rnds 6-15: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew black yarn over three spots on the paw and weave in ends on the inside of the paw.
Sew onto the arm holes in the body.
Chest Tuft in off-white (B)
Ch 2
Row 1: turn and inc in 1st ch; 2 sts
Row 2: BLO ch 1 and turn, inc in each st across; 4 sts
Row 3: FLO ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 4 sts
Row 4: BLO ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 2 sts, inc; 6 sts
Row 5: FLO ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 4 sts, inc; 8 sts
Row 6: BLO ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 8 sts
Row 7: FLO ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 6 sts, inc; 10 sts
Row 8: BLO ch 1 and turn, sc in each st around; 10 sts
Row 9: FLO ch 1 and turn, sc in each st around; 10 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the body, with the last rnd at about rnd 15, just above the arms, with the unworked loops in the front for some texture. Weave in ends.
Jowls in off-white (B), make 2
Start with two circles that will be connected.
Begin with 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
Sl st into the first st, and fasten off.
On the second one DO NOT fasten off, but continue in rows to connect to the first jowl.
Row 1: sc in the next 4 sts of the current jowl, then join into the same st as the joining sl st of the FIRST jowl, with a sc, and sc in next 3 sts; 8 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 4 sts, dec; 6 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 2 sts, dec; 4 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, 2 dec; 2 sts
Rows 5-7: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 2 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave in all other ends. Make the nose before sewing to the face.
Nose, in black
Ch 2
Row 1: turn and inc in the first ch; 2 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc in each st across; 4 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the nose onto the jowls, just above the circles, where the jowls were joined. Weave in ends.
Now, sew the entire jowls/snout piece to the center of the face, with the last rows going up the center of the face and the jowls hanging over the chest tuft just a bit. Use a black strand to sew about an inch below the nose, between the jowls. Weave in ends. Then move onto the eyes.
Eyes, in black
Using about 6 inches of black yarn for each eye, sew them over rnd 9 to either side of the white going down the center of the head. Weave in ends.
Ears, in brown (A), make 2
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: (inc, sc in next st)3x; 9 sts
Rnd 3: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnd 4: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)3x; 12 sts
Rnd 5: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 6: (inc, sc in next 3 sts)3x; 15 sts
Rnds 7-9: sc in each st around; 15 sts
Rnd 10: 3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts; 12 sts
Rnds 11-12: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 13: 3 invsc2tog, sc in next 6 sts; 9 sts
Ends 14-15: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the ears to the sides of the head, rnds 5 to 7, with the decreases to the outside. Then fold them over slightly, careful not to cover the eyes, and just sew the fold down in the top. Do NOT sew the ear down to the side of the face. You need it to flop a little so you can pull it through the nurse’s cap.
Nurse’s Cap, in white
Try to use a different white than what’s used for the dog’s fur.
Ch 19
Row 1: turn and beginning in the 2nd ch from the hook, sc in each ch across; 18 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 14 sts, dec; 16 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 16 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 12 sts, dec; 14 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 10 sts, dec; 12 sts
Row 6: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across, ch 18, and join to the first st of the row with a sl st, creating a ring; 12 sts and 18 chs
Row 7: ch 1 and turn, sk sl st and sc into all 18 chs across, sl st into the side of row 6; 18 sts
Row 8: ch 1 and turn, sk sl st, dec, sc in next 14 sts, dec; 16 sts
Row 9: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 12 sts, dec; 14 sts
Row 10: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 10 sts, dec; 12 sts
Row 11: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 8 sts, dec; 10 sts
Row 12: ch 1 and turn, 2 dec, sc in next 2 sts, 2 dec; 6 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. You can sew this without trying it on the dog, but I made sure mine fit over the head, with the ears pulled through. Then I sewed row 12 to just below row 2, to form the top of the hat, and leaving holes for the ears, so that it can be removed. Weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Nana Hand Puppet! If you love this design, be sure to look for some of my other story book puppet patterns on the blog, such as Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and more! 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!