Sloth Hand Puppet

Today is International Sloth Day! Who knew such a thing even existed?! Ever since releasing my Sloth Fleece Loveys, I’ve enjoyed learning more about sloths, from their habitats, to their personalities and characteristics. They are such a fun animal, and a great reminder that is is important to move at your own pace.

Today, I have teamed up with hundreds of other makers on Instagram for a #slothdaycollab to bring awareness to sloth conservation, and raise donations! Be sure to check out the hashtag when you get a chance, to see all the adorable sloth makes, from cookies to jewelry to crochet, and more! Also, in honor of international sloth day, I’ve released this free sloth hand puppet pattern, and I had a blast creating him!

If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the sloth hand puppet pattern, you can find the design in my Ravelry or Etsy shops! You can also purchase my Sloth Fleece Lovey designs AND Sloth Hand Puppet in a Sloth Toy Pattern Pack on Etsy! If you prefer to use the free blog copy below for the puppet, I still appreciate you being here! And another great way to support my blog is simply by sharing! Thank you for supporting my business! 

You can purchase all the yarn you need to make this product AND the PDF, from The Hook Nook! 

Sloth Puppet Yarn and Pattern Kit

Materials:

Bulky Weight 5 Yarn:

THE HOOK NOOK, YUMMY: Olive You (A) approximately 90 yds

THE HOOK NOOK, YUMMY: Latte Foam (B) approximately 8 yds

THE HOOK NOOK, YUMMY: Charcoal Toothpaste (C) approximately 4 yds

THE HOOK NOOK CROCHET HOOK, size H – 5mm (I used The Hook Nook Interchangeable Hook Set)

Stitch marker

Tapestry needle

Scissors 

Terms and abbreviations to know:

Magic ring

Rnd, rnds – round, rounds

Sk – skip

St, sts – stitch, stitches

Sl st – slip stitch

Sc – single crochet

Hdc – half double crochet

Inc – increase, 2 sts in same st

BLO – back 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. 

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 is worked from the top down, in the rnd, with no joining. The arms, face, eyes, and tuft, are made separately and sewn on. The blacks of the eyes are sewn on with the same black used for the claws. Pictures below can give more details into the process. 

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

Sloth 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

Rnds 5-7: sc in each st around; 24 sts

Rnd 8: (3 inc, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 30 sts

Rnds 9-12: sc in each st around; 30 sts

Rnd 13: (3 invsc2tog, sc in next 9 sts)2x; 24 sts

Rnds 14-15: sc in each st around; 24 sts

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 18-32: sc in each st around; 30 sts 

Fasten off and weave in ends. 

Arms – Make 2 – begin with B

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: BLO sc in each st around; 12 sts

Pull A through to complete the last st of rnd 3, and fasten off B. Continue in A.

Rnds 4-13: sc in each st around; 12 sts

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the arm holes in the body.

Claws in C 

Attach black yarn with sl st, into unworked front loops from rnd 3 of the arm. It doesn’t matter where. 

(ch 4, sl st into 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in last ch, sl st into next front loop of rnd 3)3x, 3 claws

Fasten off, and weave in ends. 

Face in B 

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 st)6x; 18 sts

Rnd 4: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)6x; 24 sts

Rnd 5: (inc, sc in next 3 sts)6x; 30 sts

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Using black, sew the upside down, triangle nose below center of face. Sew to the center of the face of the sloth. Weave in ends. 

Eyes in A

Ch 5, turn and sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 2 chs, 4 sc in last ch, and turn work to work on the bottom of the ch, sc in 3 chs along the bottom; 10 sts

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew a black line through the middle for the slits of the eyes. Knot black off in the back, and then sew the piece onto the face, with the 4 sc on the curve slightly upward and toward the inside of the face. Weave in ends. 

Hair Tuft in A

Ch 3

Tuft 1: sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, do NOT fasten off, but go right into the second tuft

Tuft 2: ch 4, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in last ch. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew onto the front top of the head. 

I hope you have enjoyed making the sloth hand puppet! If you love this design concept, be sure to check out some of my other puppets for great creative play, such as the Fairy Tale Puppet Collection, the panda and bear, Astronaut and Alien, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and many more!  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!