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!

 

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! 

 



 

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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!)

Stitch marker

Tapestry needle

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. 

  1. Insert hook into front loop only of next stitch, DO NOT yarn over.
  2. Insert hook into front loop of second stitch. 
  3. Yarn over. Pull through 2 loops. 
  4. 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

 

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.

axolotl hand puppet

 

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.

axolotl hand puppet

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! 

axolotl hand puppet

 

 




axolotl hand puppet

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!