The 6th puppet in our Christmas collection is the Elf Hand Puppet! Santa needs his little sidekick, and you could even make this pattern multiple times with various colors, creating a whole group of Santa’s elves for the workshop.
The beauty of this design is that there is very minimal sewing! Elf, being a toy maker himself, is rather proud of his own efficient design. He is made from the ball of his hat, down in one piece, only sewing on the arms and collar!
Have you been crocheting along with our 12 days of Christmas Crochet-a-Long? If not, no worries! You can join the fun at any time, and these puppets work up very quickly! They are perfect quick gifts and stocking stuffers for Christmas. So far, we have the snowman, gingerbread man, Rudolph, Santa, and Mrs. Claus already. Tomorrow, we are taking a break from puppets for a more practical pattern!
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the elf 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
- Buff (skin color) (A)
- Tea Leaf (darker green) (B)
- Spring Green (lighter green) (C)
- White (D)
- Cafe Latte (brown hair) (E)
- Black (D)
- Small amount of yellow for belt buckle/hem
THE HOOK NOOK CROCHET HOOK, size H – 5mm (I LOVE the hooks from the Designer Interchangeable Hook Set)
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
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
inc – increase, 2 sts in same 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.
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.
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.
Notes: The body of the Elf Hand Puppet is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining, beginning at the pom of the hat. The arms and ears are made separately and sewn on.
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
Elf Hand Puppet
Body – beginning at the top of the hat, with white – D
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Rnd 2: inc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnds 3-4: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 5: invsc2tog all the way around; 6 sts
Pull darker green through to complete the last st of rnd 5, and fasten off white.
Continue with darker green.
Rnd 6: sc in each st around; 6 st
Rnd 7: (inc, sc in next sts)3x; 9 sts
Pull lighter green through to complete the last st of rnd 7, but do not fasten off darker green. Alternate greens every 2 rnds.
Rnd 8: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnd 9: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)3x; 12 sts
Dark green.
Rnds 10-11: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Light green.
Rnd 12: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 13: (inc, sc in next 3 sts)3x; 15 sts
Dark green.
Rnds 14-15: sc in each st around; 15 sts
Light green.
Rnd 16: sc in each st around; 15 sts
Rnd 17: (inc, sc in next 4 sts)3x; 18 sts
Dark green.
Rnds 18-19: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Light green.
Rnd 20: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Rnd 21: (inc, sc in next 5 sts)3x; 21 sts
Dark green.
Rnds 22-23: sc in each st around; 21 sts
Light green.
Rnd 24: sc in each st around; 21 sts
Rnd 25: (inc, sc in next 6 sts)3; 24 sts
Dark green.
Rnds 26-27: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Light green.
Rnd 28: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 29: (inc, sc in next 7 sts)3x; 27 sts
Dark green.
Rnd 30: (inc, sc in next 8 sts)3x; 30 sts
Rnd 31: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Pull white through to complete the last st of rnd 31, and fasten off both greens.
Continue in white.
Rnd 32: in FLO this rnd (puff st, invsc2tog)10x; 20 sts
Pull dark brown (hair color) through to complete the last st of rnd 32, and fasten off white. Continue with brown.
Rnd 33: work this rnd into the unworked back loops of rnd 31, behind the puff sts (dc bobble, sc in next st)15x; 30 sts
Pull tan (skin color) through to complete the last st of rnd 33, and fasten off the hair color.
Continue with skin color.
Rnd 34: BLO this rnd only, sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnds 35-40: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 41: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Pull dark green through to complete the last st of rnd 41, and fasten off skin color.
Continue in dark green.
Rnd 42: (ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 43: (sc into each of the 7 chs, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 44-52: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Pull black through to complete the last st of rnd 52, but don’t fasten off the grene. You will pick it back up in a couple rnds.
In black-
Rnds 53-55: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Pick green back up for the rest of the body, and fasten off black.
In darker green.
Rnds 56-58: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 59: hdc in next 11 sts, 2 hdc in next st, sl st in next 2 sts, 2 hdc in next st, hdc in next 15 sts; 32 sts *note that the 2 sl sts should be front center of the rnd, as though they are the bottom of the coat, adjust as needed
Sl st into the first st of the last rnd, and fasten off. Weave in ends.
Hem – (see pictures, the same process as Santa’s hem) beginning in the back, at the end of rnd 59, pull yellow through from inside the puppet, working a surface sl st around that last row; 32 sts
Fasten off, and knot and weave in ends inside the puppet.
Belt buckle – (see picture sequence, the same process as Santa’s buckle) using yellow, work a surface sl st around the black stripe at the center of the body, about 3 sts up and 6 sts across. Again, fasten off, knot, and weave in ends inside the puppet.
Eyes, in Black
Using black yarn, sew the eyes over about 3 sts around rnd 36, just a couple of rnds below the hair. Knot and weave in ends inside the puppets.
Nose, in skin color
Using skin color yarn, about a 6 inch strand, sew the nose over 2 or 3 sts below and between the eyes, approximately at rnd 38. Knot and weave in ends inside the puppet.
Before going on to the arms – fold the hat down and use one of the loose ends of green to sew it down about rnds 16 and 17 to rnds 28 and 29
Arms, Make 2 – begin with skin color
In skin color.
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 st 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 white through to complete the last st of rnd 6, and fasten off skin color.
In white
Rnd 7: puff st into each st around; 9 sts
Pull darker green through to complete the last puff st of rnd 7, and fasten off white.
In green
Rnd 8: 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.
Ears in skin color – each ear is made differently, so as to look similar as mirror images
Right ear (your left)
Ch 6, turn and sl st into the 3rd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, 3 hdc in last ch, sl st into the other side of the ch to fasten off. Leave a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the right side of the elf’s head (your left), with the curve out, and the point up in the hair a bit. Weave in ends.
Left ear (your right)
Ch 6, turn and 3 hdc into 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, sc in next ch, sl st in next ch, and leave last ch unworked. Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the beginning tail from the point of the ear, down into the last sl st to help replicate the look of the point on the right ear. Knot behind the ear and weave that end in. With the longer tail, sew onto the left side of the elf’s head (your right), with the curve out, and the point up in the hair a bit. Weave in ends.
Collar in White
Ch 12, turn and dc in 3rd ch from hook, dc in next 2 chs, hdc in next ch, sl st in next 2 chs, hdc in next ch, dc in last 3 chs, loosely sl st back into the last ch, and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the collar centered below the face, on the first rows of green between the arms. Weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed making the elf hand puppet! If you love this design concept, be sure to check out some of my other hand puppets, always free on the blog! The first puppet of our Christmas Puppet Crochet-a-Long was the Snowman Hand Puppet, found HERE. Follow me along on Instagram for more Christmas themed puppets to come! If you loved making any of these patterns, and show them off on Instagram, please be sure to tag @ekaygdesigns to let me know, and I will share in my stories! Use the hashtag #12daysofChristmasCAL
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