Where would Santa Claus be without his Mrs?! The Mrs. Claus hand puppet is the perfect addition to our Christmas puppet collection! She is the brains behind the operation after all. You didn’t actually think Santa did all this work by himself, did you? Mrs. Claus is behind the scenes, making sure everything runs smoothly, of course. She is the reason all the presents get delivered in a timely and organized fashion. She is the reason Santa never lacks for food, as busy as he is all year, and she’s really the reason he is so jolly!
Your little one can enjoy all kinds of different stories about Santa, and the ongoings of the North Pole, with this creative puppet set! Enjoy your favorite Christmas stories over and over again, with Rudolph, Santa, and Mrs. Claus!
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Mrs. Claus 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 (C)
- Cherry Red (B) 5. Black (D)
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 sts in same st
hdcdec – half double crochet decrease
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.
picot –
- Ch 3
- Sk 2nd ch from hook
- Sl st into 3rd ch from hook
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 Mrs. Claus Hand Puppet is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms, hair, apron, and bow, are made separately and sewn on. The eyes and nose are sewn on, and the glasses use a surface slip stitch over the face. Depending on the size of your hands, the glasses might be more easily stitched on right after the head. Pages 2-6 are printer-friendly, with just the written pattern. Pages 7-8 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
Mrs. Claus 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
*Before moving on to the rest of the body, consider creating the eyes, nose, and glasses now, so that you don’t have to work the surface sl st up through the whole body of the puppet. You will see from the pictures, that I made the body first. But as long as you know the placement of the arm holes, you can just as easily center the eyes, nose, and glasses, and more easily work that surface sl st from under the head, without the rest of the body.
Eyes in Black
*Note, the eyes and glasses are placed on the head before the rest of the attachments, because of the surface sl st. It is much easier to do while you still have the holes in the arms to go through. So even if you do finish the body first, leave the arms open for this part.
Using black yarn, st the eyes onto the face, just above rnd 10, with the eye covering 3 sts of rnd 9. Insert your needle through about 2 to 3 sts from the outer edge of the face. Pull it back through 3 sts over. Insert the needle back into the original st, and pull it back out above rnd 9 (under rnd 8), pulling the black yarn under the arch you just made. Wrap the yarn around itself to help hold that curve in place, and then create the top eyelash by inserting the needle to the side and slightly above the eye. Use the beginning tail to create the lower lash in a similar fashion. Place the other eye to the other side, over the same ends, about 3 to 4 sts from the first eye. Knot and weave in the ends on the inside of the head.
Nose in skin color
Use the same yarn used for the face and hands, cutting about an 8 inch strand. Sew it over about 3 sts between the eyes, at about rnd 11. Sew the yarn over the same spot about 5 or 6 times, or until nose is as puffy as you’d like. Knot and fasten off inside the head, and weave in ends.
Glasses (optional) in Black
Glasses are done using a surface sl st. You need to pull the yarn through from the inside of the body. Utilize the arm holes to get a grasp on the yarn, and as you work and turn around the eyes, occasionally put your hand all the way into the puppet to hold your working yarn. Begin to the side of the nose, sl stitching between rnds 11 and 10, under the eye, sl st across 6 sts, and then turn up and sl st up 3 rnds to the space between rnds 8 and 7, above the eye. Sl st 6 across above the eye, and turn downward back toward the nose. Sl st 2 or 3 across the nose, and do the same surface sl st around the other eye. Fasten off, weave in ends inside the head.
Continue the body in red, B
Rnds 18-23: sc in each st around; 30 sts
Rnd 24: sc in next st, 3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts, 3 invsc2tog, sc in next 8 sts; 24 sts
Rnd 25: (5 inc, sc in next 7 sts)2x; 34 sts
Rnds 26-32: sc in each st around; 34 sts
Pull white through to complete the last st of rnd 32, and fasten off red. Continue rnd 33 in white.
Rnd 33: (puff st, sl st in next st) repeat around; 34 sts
Fasten off, knot and weave in all ends inside the body.
Apron, white, C
Ch 9
Row 1: turn, in 3rd ch from hook (dc, picot, dc), sc in next 5 chs (dc, picot, dc) in last ch; 9 sts *the 2 picots will act as the apron strings going over the shoulder at the top.
Do NOT turn work to work across row 1, but rather turn to work the rest of the apron down from the underside of the ch. Sl st into the side of the last dc on the way down, so ad not to pull the st down with you.
Row 2: sc in each ch across the bottom of the ch, sl st into the side of the first dc of row 1; 7 sts, NOT counting the sl sts
Rows 3-5: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 7 sts
Row 6: ch 3 and turn, 2 dc in first st, dc in next 5 sts, 2 dc in last st; 9 sts
Row 7: ch 3 and turn, 2 dc in first st, dc in next 7 sts, 2 dc in last st; 11 sts
Row 8: ch 3 and turn, (3 dc in next st, sc in next st)5x, 3 dc in last st, sl st in same st; 24 total sts (counting the final sl st)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Right side of the apron is with the last working row facing you.
*Before sewing onto the body, use red to surface sl st across, between rows 4 and 5, for a belt.
Now, using your white tail, sew the apron to the front of the body, with the picots up by the shoulders, and the ruffle of row 8 down toward the bottom of the body. Weave in all ends. Weave the ends of your red surface sl st into the red of the body/dress.
Arms, Make 2 – I used the skin color for the hands, but you could use black for mittens here as well, and change to red at the same spot.
In skin color A
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 red through to complete the last st of rnd 6, and fasten off skin color.
Continue in red.
Rnds 7-9: sc in each st around; 9 sts
Pull white through to complete the last st of rnd 9, and fasten off red.
Continue in white.
Rnd 10: inc in each st around; 18 sts
Rnds 11-12: sc in each st around; 18 sts
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.
Hair, in White
Ch 7
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and next 5 chs; 6 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 4 sts, inc; 8 sts
Row 3: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 6 sts, inc; 10 sts
Rows 4-12: ch 1 and turn, sc in each st across; 10 sts
Row 13: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 6 sts, dec; 8 sts
Row 14: ch 1 and turn, dec, sc in next 4 sts, dec; 6 sts
Do not turn
Rnd 1: continue to work 38 sc evenly around the hair until you get back to where you started. This amounts to 13 sc down each side, and 6 sc across the bottom, and the top. Then begin the bangs. Don’t turn or fasten off.
Continue on for bangs.
Rnd 2: (sc, hdc) in next st, 2 dc in next st, 2 tr in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next st, sc in next st, sl st in next st (this should be the center st on that side), sc in next st, hdc in next st, dc in next st, 2 tr in next st, 2 dc in next st, (hdc, sc) in next st, sl st in next st, leave remaining sts unworked and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Sew the turning rows to the back of the head, with the bangs folded over the forehead. Weave in ends.
Bun in White
Begin with 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 3 sts)3x; 15 sts
Rnds 4-6: sc in each st around; 15 sts
Pull red through to complete the last st of rnd 6, and fasten off white.
Continue with red.
Rnd 8: (invsc2tog, sc in next 3 sts)3x; 12 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew to center top of the head.
Bow in Red
Begin with a very long tail, for wrapping around the center of your bow later. The whole bow will be worked into the very first ch, referred to as beginning ch.
Ch 4, (3 tr into the beginning ch, ch 3, sl st into beginning ch), ch 3 and repeat the first instructions in the () to make the other side of the bow, (ch 5, sl st into 3rd ch from hook, ch 2, sl st into beginning ch)2x
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Using the beginning tail, wrap around the center of the bow, repeatedly, until it looks like the knot of a bow, then knot and fasten off in the back. Using the end tail, sew onto the base of the bun, centered over the bangs.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Mrs. Claus hand puppet! If you love this design concept, be sure to check out some of my other hand puppets, always free on the blog! Our Christmas puppet collection so far, includes the Snowman, Gingerbread Man, Rudolph, Santa, and Mrs. Claus! 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!
