Day 9 of our 12 Days of Christmas Crochet-a-Long is everyone’s favorite crazy godfather! Well, OK, maybe he’s not everyone’s favorite, but he is so bizarrely unique, I can’t say as I’ve ever read or watched any other character quite like him! Really, he is like that favorite crazy uncle, who never had a family of his own, and so lives to entertain all the little ones at the family gatherings. The Herr Drosselmeyer hand puppet enters the scene with something special for Clara…but that’s to come next week!
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Herr Drosselmeyer 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) 4. White (D)
- Cherry Red (B) 5. Small amount of yellow for buttons
- Black (C)
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
tr – triple crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc 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.
picot –
- Ch 3
- Sk 2nd ch from hook
- Sl st into 3rd ch from hook
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 body of the Herr Drosselmeyer Hand Puppet is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms, buttons, eye patch, cloak, hat, and hair are made separately and sewn on. Pages 2-6 are printer-friendly, with just the written pattern. Pages 7-9 contain process pictures to better help with the steps.
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
Herr Drosselmeyer 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
Rnd 5: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 6-14: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 15: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts
Attach Red (B), and fasten off your skin color. Continue with Red.
Rnd 16: (ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 17: (sc into each of the 7 chs, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 18-25: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 26: in FLO this rnd, sc in next 6 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, dc in next st, (tr, picot, tr) in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next st, sc in next st, hdc in next st, dc in next st, (tr, picot, tr) in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts, sc in next 11 sts, sl st into first st to join, and fasten off; 32 sts
Rnd 27: attach Black (C) into the first back loop, unworked from rnd 25, with a sc, and sc around in each BL, do not join, but work continuous rnds; 30 sts
Rnds 28-33: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Fasten off, and weave in ends.
Arms, Make 2
Begin 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: inc in each st around; 18 sts
Rnds 8-12: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Pull red through to complete the last st of rnd 12, and fasten off white.
Rnd 13: (invsc2tog, sc in next st)6x; 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.
Buttons in Yellow, make 2
Begin with a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Join to first st with sl st and fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing. Sew the buttons onto the front center of the vest, and weave in ends.
Eyes and Nose
The placement of the eyes and nose is very important, so that there’s room to sew the hat on top of the head in the right place. Using about 8 inches of black yarn, sew the eye over 3 sts of rnd 9, for the puppet’s right eye (your left). Place the eyes in an upward curve over rnd 9. The bottom of the eyes will be below rnd 9, and the top peek will be above rnd 9. To help maintain that curve, I also wrap the yarn around itself, after bringing the needle through at the peak, underneath the curve, and then send the needle back through into the head, through the beginning st. Knot off inside the head and weave in ends.
For the nose is, using about 8 inches of your skin color yarn, sew the nose through and over about 3-4 sts of rnd 11 over the center of the face. Go over them about 5 to 6 times. Knot off inside the head, and weave in ends.
Eye Patch, in black
Ch 4
Row 1: turn and begin in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across; 3 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next st, inc; 5 sts
Rows 3-4: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 5 sts
Do not turn, 3 sc down the side, 3 sc across the bottom of the ch, 3 sc up the other side, sl st into the first st of row 4, ch 28, sl st into the last st of rnd 4 to create a loop. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the patch over where the left eye would be, with the loop going diagonally around the back of the head. Weave in ends.
Top Hat in C
Work in a rnd, around the beginning ch, utilizing both sides of the ch.
Ch 11
Rnd 1: turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 9 chs across, do NOT turn, but flip to crochet on the bottom half of the ch, sc in 10 chs across, do not join to first st, but continue in rnds; 20 sts
Rnds 2-5: sc in each st around; 20 sts
Rnd 6: FLO this rnd only – (2 inc, sc in next 6 sts, 2 inc)2x; 28 sts
Rnd 7: (4 inc, sc in next 6 sts, 4 inc)2x; 44 sts
Rnd 8: BLO this rnd only – (4 invsc2tog, sc in next 6 sts, 4 invsc2tog)2x; 28 sts *be sure to use the back loops only even for the invisible decrease
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. But make the hair to hang from the hat, before sewing the hat down.
Hair in white, attached to the hat
Attach the white yarn to the first back loop of rnd 5, with a sl st, (ch 6, turn and beginning in the 2nd ch from the hook, inc in first 3 chs, sc in next 2 chs, sl st into the next 2 back loops of rnd 5)6x, (ch 12, turn and beginning in the 2nd ch from hook, inc in first 7 chs, sc in next 4 chs, sl st into the next back loop of rnd 5)8x, fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.
Hat Assembly
First, using your long black tail, sew rnd 8 down to the back loops of rnd 5, where the hair was worked. This will allow your brim to stick out from the hair. Knot off the black yarn, and then use the white tail to sew the hair around the head, close to the hat, at about ends 5-6 of the head. His hair should be wild, so you can sew the strands down wherever you’d like to style them. Sew through the hair closest to the hat, going through the hair, the head, and into the next strand of hair, around first. Then sew the pieces styled where you’d like them to fall.
Cloak, in black
Ch 27
Row 1: turn, sc in 2nd ch from the hook, and each ch across; 26 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 26 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 22 sts, dec; 24 sts
Row 4: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 24 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 20 sts, dec; 22 sts
Row 6: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 22 sts
Row 7: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 18 sts, dec; 20 sts
Row 8: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 20 sts
Row 9: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 16 sts, dec; 18 sts
Row 10: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 18 sts
Row 11: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 14 sts, dec; 16 sts
Row 12: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 16 sts
Row 13: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 12 sts, dec; 14 sts
Row 14-16: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 14 sts
Row 17: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 12 sts, inc; 16 sts
Row 18: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 14 sts, inc; 18 sts
Row 19: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 16 sts, inc; 20 sts
Row 20: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 18 sts, inc; 22 sts
Row 21: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 20 sts, inc; 24 sts
Row 22: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 22 sts, inc; 26 sts
Row 23: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 24 sts, inc; 28 sts
Row 24: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 26 sts, inc; 30 sts
Row 25: ch 1 and turn, 3 sc in first st, sc in next 28 sts, 3 sc in last st; 34 sts
Fasten off and weave in ends.
To make the cloak “strings”
Use black yarn, ch 10, put your working yarn under the cloak, and insert hook into the first st of row 16, surface sl st across row 16, for 14 sl sts, and then ch 10. Fasten off leaving a bit of a tail for sewing. Bring the chains on either end of the cloak, over the shoulders of the puppet, and sew them onto the top button. Weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Herr Drosselmeyer hand puppet! If you love this design concept, be sure to check out some of my other hand puppets, always free on the blog! This puppet is part of our 12 Days of Christmas Crochet-a-Long! The first puppet was the Snowman Hand puppet, found HERE. After that we have made the Gingerbread Man, Rudolph, Santa, Mrs. Claus, Elf, and Clara, along with our fun Holly Christmas Stocking Ties for easy stocking hanging! 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!
