The next three days of our 12 Days of Christmas Crochet-a-Long are dedicated to the Three Kings Hand Puppets, aslo known as the Magi, or wisemen. The Bible actually doesn’t specify that there are three, but many depictions of them create three due to the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ~ Matthew 2:8-11
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Three Kings 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 (4) Yarn
Yarns are listed below exactly how they were used for each of the kings, but you can mix them however you’d like!
| Hat/Robe (A) | Skin color (B) | Hair Color (C) | Embellishments (D) | |
| King 1 | Medium Purple | Coffee | Black | Gold |
| King 2 | Tea Leaf Green | Cafe | Coffee | Gold |
| King 3 | Cherry Red | Buff | Gray Heather | Gold |
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sl st – slip stitch
sk – skip
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
tr – triple crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc sts in same st
tog – together – when two different sts are worked together into one st as an increase
picot –
- Ch 3
- Sk 2nd ch from hook
- Sl st into 3rd ch from hook
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.
puff st – puff stitch
- Yarn over and insert hook into next st.
- Yarn over and pull up a loop (3 loops on hook).
- Yarn over and insert hook back into same st.
- Yarn over and pull up a loop (5 loops on hook).
- Yarn over and insert hook back into same st.
- Yarn over and pull up a loop (7 loops on hook).
- Yarn over and pull through all 7 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 on hook.
- Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
- Pull up a loop.
- Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 3 loops on hook.
- Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
- Pull up a loop.
- Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 4 loops on hook.
- Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
- Pull up a loop.
- Yarn over and pull through 2 loops, leaving 5 loops on hook.
- Yarn over and pull through all 5 loops.
Notes:
The bodies of the Three Kings Hand Puppets are worked from the top down, beginning at the hat, with a chain to work around first, to give the flat top. The arms, beard, mustache, and hat embellishments are made separately and sewn on. Different skin and hair colors are used to make the three of them look different, and different accessories added at the end can distinguish them as well.
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: 7 sts across and 7 rnds down = approximately 2 inches
Three Kings Hand Puppets
Body – beginning at the hat, with A
Begin with a ch, and work the first rnd around both sides of the ch.
Ch 12
Rnd 1: turn and inc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 9 chs, 3 sc in last ch and turn work work on the underside of the ch, sc in next 10 chs, do not join, but continue in continuous rnds; 24 sts
Rnd 2: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 3: (invsc2tog, sc in next 10 sts)2x; 22 sts
Rnd 4: sc in each st around; 22 sts
Rnd 5: (invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 20 sts
Rnd 6: sc in each st around; 20 sts
Rnd 7: (invsc2tog, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 18 sts
Rnd 8: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Pull Gold (D) through to complete the last st of rnd 8, and fasten off color A. Weave ends in. Continue in Gold.
Rnd 9: in gold, hdc in each st around; 18 sts
Pull hair color (C) through to complete the last st of rnd 9, and fasten off gold. Weave gold ends in. Continue in hair color.
Rnd 10: through back loop AND 3rd loop this rnd only [(puff st, sc)tog in same st, puff st in next 2 sts)6x; 24 sts
Pull skin color (B) through to complete the last st of rnd 10, and fasten off hair color. Continue in skin color.
Rnd 11: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 12-18: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 19: sc in next 3 sts, 3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts, 3 invsc2tog, sc in next 6 sts; 24 sts
Pull gold through to complete the last st of rnd 19, and fasten off skin color. Continue in gold.
Rnd 20: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Pull color A through to complete the last st of rnd 20. Fasten off gold and continue in A (robe color).
Rnd 21: sc in next 2 sts, ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 8 sts, ch 7, sk next 4 sts, st in next 6 sts; 30 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 22: sc in next 2 sts, sc in each of the 7 chs, sc in next 8 sts, sc in each of the 7 chs, sc in next 6 sts; 30 sts
Rnds 23-25: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 26: sc in next 5 sts, inc, sc in next 14 sts, inc, sc in next 9 sts; 32 sts
Rnds 27-28: sc in each st around; 32 sts
Rnd 29: sc in next 7 sts, inc, sc in next 15 sts, inc, sc in next 8 sts; 34 sts
Rnds 30-31: sc in each st around; 34 sts
Rnd 32: sc in next 8 sts, inc, sc in next 16 sts, inc, sc in next 8 sts; 36 sts
Rnds 33-35: sc in each st around; 36 sts
Pull gold through to complete the last st of rnd 35, and fasten off A.
Rnd 36: join to first st with a sl st and ch 1, hdc in same st as joining sl st, hdc in next 16 sts, 2 dc into the next st in rnd 34 working over top of the st in rnd 35, hdc in next 18 sts of rnd 36, join to the first st with a sl st and fasten off.
Weave in ends.
Arms, make 2
Begin in skin color 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 color D through to complete the last st of rnd 6, and fasten off skin color B.
Continue in D.
Rnd 7: sl st into the first st and ch 1, hdc in same st as sl st, hdc in each st around; 9 sts
Pull color A through to complete the last st of rnd 7. Fasten off color D and continue in A
Rnd 8: working through the back loop and the 3rd loop (leaving front loops unworked) 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 (A)
Use the same yarn used for the face and hands, cutting about an 8 inch strand. Sew it over about 3 sts centered at about rnd 16. Sew the yarn over the same spot about 6 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 14, about 4 sts between them, with the nose centered below and between. Insert your needle through about 2 to 3 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 14, pulling the black yarn under the arch you just made. Wrap the yarn around itself twice to help hold that curve in place, and insert the needle back under rnd 14 the next st over. Then pull needle to the inside of the head through the initial st used, to the outside of the eye. Put your beginning tail on the needle, and put that through to the inside of the head as well. Place the other eye to the other side, over the same rnds, about 4 sts from the first eye. Knot and weave in the ends on the inside of the head.
Beard, in C, hair color
Ch 4
Row 1: turn and dc bobble in 3rd ch from hook, sc in next ch; 2 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc into both sts; 4 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, work this row over top of the sts from row 2, (dc bobble, sc) over each of the 2 increases; 4 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 2 sts, inc; 6 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, work this row over top of the sts from row 4, (dc bobble, sc) over the inc, dc bobble over next st, sc over next st, (dc bobble, sc) over the last inc; 6 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the beard between the arms, centered, with the top at rnd 20. Weave in ends.
Mustache in C, hair color
Ch 14
Turn and sl st into the 3rd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next 2 chs, sl st in next 3 chs, hdc in next 2 chs, sc in next ch, sk next ch, and sl st into the last ch; 11 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew mustache with the sl sts just below the nose, about 1 or 2 rnds between the mustache and the beard.
Embellishments, in Gold (D)
Note: there are 3 different designs below. Make each one once, as distinguishing embellishments for each individual king.
Crown (used for King 1)
Ch 13
Turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next 2 chs, dc in next ch, tr in next ch, picot, tr in next ch, dc in next ch, hdc in next 2 chs, sc in last 2 chs; 12 sts and 1 centered picot. Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the front center of the hat just above rnd 9. Weave in ends.
Gem (used for King 2)
Ch 2, turn and puff st into the 2nd ch from hook. Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing. Sew centered onto the hat at about rnds 5 and 6. Weave in ends.
Wrap (used for King 3)
Ch 9, sl st back into the 3rd ch from hook, ch 7, turn, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in next 5 chs, sl st back into the same ch as the first sl st, sl st into the last 6 chs, fasten off leaving a tail for sewing. Sew onto the front center of the hat with the point at about rnds 5 and 6, and each end at rnds 9 off to either side of the head. Weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Three Kings Hand Puppets! If you love this design, be sure to check out some of my other free patterns on the blog! 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!