The Lizard Hand Puppet is the first hand puppet I have done that is not in my normal front facing style! After looking at the picture from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for some time, I came to the conclusion that Bill (as that is the lizard’s name) needed to truly look like a lizard, with his four legs, and bent little claws. I thought that a puppet with which a child coud put on all fours would be very fun to have in the collection! With just a bit of arm wiggling, Bill really looks like a running lizard!
She drew her foot as far down the chimney as she could, and waited till she heard a little animal (she couldn’t guess of what sort it was) scratching and scrambling about in the chimney close above her: then, saying to herself “This is Bill,” she gave one sharp kick, and waited to see what would happen next. The first thing she heard was a general chorus of “There goes Bill!”
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Lizard 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
- Medium Thyme – body (A) approximately 104 yds
- Buff – belly (B) approximately 32 yds
- White – eyes (C) approximately 1 yd
Small amount of worsted black for the eyes.
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
ch, chs – chain, chains
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sl st – slip stitch
sk – skip
sc – single crochet
inc – increase, 2 sc sts in same st
dec – decrease, combining 2 sts to make 1 sts
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 Lizard Hand Puppet is worked from the snout down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms, legs, eyes, belly, and tail are made separately and sewn on. This puppet is different from all the other hand puppets in that it is not designed to be used with the hand upward in waving form, but rather with the hand down like you’re playing piano, so it is more interactive as an actual lizard.
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
Lizard 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, sc in next st)3x; 9 sts
Rnd 3: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnd 4: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)3x; 12 sts
Rnd 5: (inc, sc in next 3 sts)3x; 15 sts
Rnd 6: (inc, sc in next 4 sts)3x; 18 sts
Rnd 7: (inc, sc in next 5 sts)3x; 21 sts
Rnd 8: (inc, sc in next 6 sts)32x; 24 sts
Rnd 9: sc in next 16 sts, 2 inc, sc in next 6 sts; 26 sts
Rnd 10: sc in next 16 sts, 4 inc, sc in next 6 sts; 30 sts
Rnds 11-16: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 17: sc in next 15 sts, 6 invsc2tog, sc in next 3 sts; 24 sts
Rnds 18-19: sc in each st around; 24 sts
Rnd 20: (ch 7, sk next 4 sts, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts, counting the chs
Rnd 21: (sc in each of the 7 chs, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 30 sts
Rnds 22-38 : sc in each st around; 30 sts
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Arms in A, make 4
Note, the first two are for the arm holes. The second two will be sewn onto the sides at the back, with a slight bend in them for the hind legs.
Claws: (ch 4, beginning in the 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of the 3 chs)3x, sc in same ch as last sl st, and sc in next 2 ch sps across the bottom of the extended claws, ch 1 and turn to work in rnds. There should be 3 sts in each claw, and 3 sts across the bottom of them. You will be using the last 3 sts to begin working in the rnd by utilizing the front loops, and then turning to use the unworked back loops, as pictured.
Rnd 1: sc in each of the FLO across, turn and sc into the unworked back loops (which are now facing you) across, do NOT join. Continue working in continuous rnds; 6 sts
Rnd 2: (inc, sc in next st)3x; 9 sts
Rnds 3-4: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnd 5: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)3x; 12 sts
Rnds 6-12: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Weave in the beginning tail, and then use the end tail to sew the arms into the arm holes of the puppet.
For the assembly of the back legs, use your end tail to sew them to the sides at the back of the body, about rnds 33-38. Push needle through to about rnd 8 of the leg, pulling it out at the bottom of the leg, and back through the leg at about rnd 5. Pull to fold the leg down so that there’s a bit of a natural bend in the leg. Knot and weave in ends.
Tail in A
Begin with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 4 sc in magic ring; 4 sts
Rnd 2: sc in each st around; 4 sts
Rnd 3: inc, sc in next 3 sts; 5 sts
Rnd 4: sc in each st around; 5 sts
Rnd 5: inc, sc in next 4 sts; 6 sts
Rnds 6-7: sc in each st around; 6 sts
Rnd 8: inc, sc in next 5 sts; 7 sts
Rnds 9-10: sc in each st around; 7 sts
Rnd 11: inc, sc in next 6 sts; 8 sts
Rnds 12-13: sc in each st around; 8 sts
Rnd 14: inc, sc in next 7 sts; 9 sts
Rnds 15-16: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Rnd 17: inc, sc in next 8 sts; 10 sts
Rnd 18: sc in each st around; 10 sts
Rnd 19: (inc, sc in next 4 sts)2x; 12 sts
Rnd 20: sc in each st around; 12 sts
Rnd 21: (inc, sc in next 5 sts)2x; 14 sts
Rnd 22: sc in each st around; 14 sts
Rnd 23: (inc, sc in next 6 sts)2x; 16 sts
Rnd 24: sc in each st around; 16 sts
Rnd 25: (inc, sc in next 7 sts)2x; 18 sts
Rnd 26: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Rnd 27: (inc, sc in next 5 sts)3x; 21 sts
Rnd 28: (inc, sc in next 6 sts)3x; 24 sts
Rnd 29: (inc, sc in next 7 sts)3x; 27 sts
Rnd 30: (inc, sc in next 8 sts)3x; 30 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the last 15 sts of rnd 30 to the back loops (or top most loops) of the 15 sts across the top backside of the lizard. Then sew the next 15 sts underneath, to the bottom most loops of the sts across the top of the backside of the puppet. This attaches the tail ONLY to the one side of the puppet, leaving the hole open for your hand. Weave in ends.
Under Belly in B
Ch 3
Row 1: turn and inc in 2nd ch from hook, inc in last ch; 4 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 2 sts, inc; 6 sts
Rows 3-4: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 6 sts
Row 5: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 4 sts, inc; 8 sts
Row 6: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 8 sts
Row 7: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 6 sts, inc; 10 sts
Row 8: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 10 sts
Row 9: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 8 sts, inc; 12 sts
Rows 10-15: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 12 sts
Row 16: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 8 sts, dec; 10 sts
Row 17: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 6 sts, dec; 8 sts
Row 18: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 8 sts
Row 19: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 6 sts, inc; 10 sts
Row 20: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 8 sts, inc; 12 sts
Row 21: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 10 sts, inc; 14 sts
Rows 22-35: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 14 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew row 35 down to rnd 38 of the front (the belly) of the body, sewing it all the way around with rows 16 through 20 about the arms, and row 1 up at rnd 2 of the body. Weave in ends.
Eyes in white and black
Begin in white with magic ring.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring; 6 sts
Join to the first st with a sl st and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Use black to sew over the eye, elongated from the 1st st to the 4th st, going over the eye twice. Knot off the black in the back of the eye and sew the eyes down to rnds 12-14, to either side of the head. Weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Lizard 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!