I have a confession to make. I had no idea that the axolotl even existed until sometime last year, and even then, I thought it was a creature totally made up by the creators of Minecraft. I know. Total face/palm moment. I have been educated now though, and I wanted to do my part in bringing more awareness to these adorable creatures, by designing this cute Axolotl Hand Puppet!
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Axolotl 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:
Big Twist, Light Rose (A) – approximately 90 yds
Big Twist, Medium Rose (B) – approximately 12 yds
CROCHET HOOK, size H – 5mm (I LOVE this Interchangeable set from The Hook Nook!)
Scissors
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sl st – slip stitch
sk – skip
sc – single crochet
inc – increase, 2 sts in same st
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 Axolotl Hand Puppet is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms and external gills are made separately and sewn on. The eyes and mouth are stitched on with black yarn. Pages 2-3 are printer-friendly, with just the written pattern. Pages 4-5 contain process pictures to better help with the steps.
Size: This is one size, about 8.5 inches tall, and about 10.5 inches wide through the arms, fitting children through adults, 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: 6-7 sts across and 7-8 rnds down = approximately 2 inches
Axolotl Hand Puppet Pattern
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
Rnd 5: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnd 6: (3 inc, sc in next 12 sts)2x; 36 sts
Rnds 7-14: sc in each st around; 36 sts
Rnd 15: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 12 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnd 16: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Rnd 17: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 18: (ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 19: (sc into each of the 7 chs, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 20-35: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Fasten off, and weave in ends.
Arms, make 2, in A
Begin with Fingers
(ch 4, sl st in 3rd ch from hook, sc in last ch)3x for 3 fingers
Do NOT fasten off, but continue, by working 5 sc across the bottom of the fingers
Ch 1 and turn. Begin working in rnds.
Rnd 1: sc in FLO of all 5 sts
turn work, with the unworked loops now facing you, sc in those 5 front loops
do not join, but continue working in continuous rnds; 10 sts
Rnds 2-7: sc in each st around; 10 sts
Rnd 8: (inc, sc in next 4 sts)2x; 12 sts
Rnds 9-12: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave the beginning tail into the first rnd
Use the end tail to sew the arm into the arm hole of the puppet. Knot and weave in ends inside the puppet.
Eyes in black
The eyes are placed at about rnds 8 and 9 of the head, spanning 4 sts, with approximately 4 sts between them. Wrapping the yarn around itself at the top of the eye, is a great way to keep it in place. Then pull lashes through, and knot off and weave in ends inside the head.
Mouth in black
Sew a V with the black yarn, over rnds 14 and 15, below and between the eyes. Knot off and weave ends inside the head.
External gills, make 6 in B
Ch 8, sc into 3rd ch from hook, (ch 2, sc in next ch)4x, sc in last ch, turn work to work the underside of the ch, sc in next ch, (sc in next ch, ch 2)4x, sc in last ch, sl st to the first st of the rnd to join, and fasten off. Sew 3 to each side of the head. Weave in ends.
Optional Blush
Use any of your blush (I bought a cheap one at our Dollar Tree just for toys!), to add some rosy cheeks!
I hope you have enjoyed making the Axolotl Hand Puppet! 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!