I could not possibly be more excited to introduce to you EkayG’s very first finger puppet design!!! I have become known, almost exclussively, as a puppet designer, but have never dabbled into finger puppets. The Tinker Bell Finger Puppet is sure to be the first of many more! I hope you love her as much as I do.
Tinker Bell was not described in great detail, aside from being a small fairy, wearing a skeleton leaves dress. From the suggestion of a wonderful pattern tester of mine, I took inspiration from British folklore, and the idea of Pixie Fairies during the time period that Peter Pan and Wendy was written. With that in mind she’s a little bit flowery, and I love her!
If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the Tinker Bell Finger 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:
Paintbox Cotton DK – Due to the size of the finger puppet, the amount of each color is very little.
- Vanilla Cream – skin (A)
- Vintage Pink – bodice (B)
- Lime Green – bodice (C)
- Melon Sorbet – skirt (D)
- Banana Cream – hair (E)
- Champagne White – wings (F)
- Small amount of black for the eyes
Black crochet thread is also an option, if you’d like a thinner eye.
Clover Amour crochet hook – 2mm
Polyester Fiberfill for stuffing.
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Terms and abbreviations to know:
magic ring
rnd, rnds – round, rounds
st, sts – stitch, stitches
sk – skip
ch, chs – chain, chains
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
inc – make 2 sc together into same st (only used in reference to sc sts)
dec – join 2 sc sts together into a single 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. (Only used in rnds. Ordinary dec used in turning work.)
- 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.
crocodile st – crocodile stitch (continuing to work in the same direction as the rest of the rnds)
- Yarn over. (there should be 2 loops on hook to begin) Working to the left, insert hook around next st POST, as though working a front post st.
- Work 4 total dc around that post, in the same manner (puppet head will be pointing toward your left hand as you work).
- Ch 1
- Rotate work 180 degrees counterclockwise, so that the puppet head is now pointing toward your right hand.
- Yarn over. Insert hook around the next st post, right to left.
- Work 4 total dc around that post.
BLO – back loop only
Notes:
This pattern in continuous rnds from the top down. There is no joining unless otherwise specified. The arms, hair, and wings are all made separately to be sewn on. The DK weight cotton yarn makes this a very small doll. You can make her in different sizes just by using worsted weight and a larger hook, if you’d like. The sleeping bag pattern is attached at the end. Pages 2-5 are strictly the written pattern, for easy printing, and all process photos are in order on pages 6-9.
Finished size: Approximately 3 inches tall, depending on tension
Tinker Bell Finger Puppet
Beginning at the head, color A
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
Rnds 5-11: sc in each st around; 24
Rnd 12: (invsc2tog, sc in next 2 sts)6x; 18 sts
Stop here to sew on the eyes. Using your tapestry needle and black yarn, pull the yarn through just between rnds 7 and 8. Sew the lashes through, one a rnd above and to the outside, and one two sts over to the outside. Do this again, 3 sts to the other side. Knot the yarn inside the head, and continue to the neck and the rest of the body. Add a nose a couple rnds beneath the eyes and centered, if you’d like using a little of your skin color and just sewing over 2 sts about 4 times. Stuff the head.
Rnd 13: (invsc2tog, sc in next st)6x; 12 sts
Finish stuffing.
Rnd 14: BLO this rnd (dec, sc in next st)4x; 8 sts
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing closed. Weave the needle through the last rnd to sew closed. Knot and weave in ends.
Reattach color A to the first front loop of rnd 13 that were left unworked in rnd 14.
Rnd 15: sc in those front loops all the way around; 12 sts
Rnd 16: (inc, sc in next 2 sts)4x; 16 sts
Rnd 17: (inc, sc in next 3 sts)4x; 20 sts
Pull color B through to complete the last st of rnd 17, and fasten off A. Weave in ends of A. (Weave all ends in as you go, or it will be difficult to weave them in at the end)
Continue with B.
Rnd 18: sl st into the first st of rnd 17 and ch 2, dc in same st as joining sl st, dc in each st around, join to first st with sl st; 20 sts
Rnd 19: ch 2, beginning around the first dc of rnd 18 (crocodile st, sk next two sts)5x, join to the ch-2 of the beginning of the rnd with sl st; 5 crocodile sts
Rnd 20: ch 2, working through the dc sts of rnd 18, dc in each st around; 20 sts
Pull color C through to complete the last st of rnd 20, and sl st into the first st of the rnd. Fasten off color B, and weave in ends.
Continue in C.
Rnd 21: ch 2, beginning around the first dc of rnd 20 (crocodile st, sk next two sts)5x, join to the ch-2 of the beginning of the rnd with sl st; 5 crocodile sts
Rnd 22: ch 1, working through the dc sts of rnd 20, sc in each st around; 20 sts
Rnd 23: (invsc2tog, sc in next 8 sts)2x; 18 sts
Rnds 24-26: sc in each st around; 18 sts
Pull color D through to complete the last st of rnd 26. Fasten off C, and weave in ends. Continue with D.
Rnd 27 is a series of petals while sl stitching back into the last 3 rnds.
Rnd 27: sl st into the first st of rnd 26, (sl st into the st below that in rnd 25, sl st into the st below that in rnd 24, ch 9, turn and sl st into the 3rd ch from hook, sc in next 2 chs, hdc in next 2 chs, sc in last 2 chs, sl st into the top of the next st of rnd 26)18x; 18 petals
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Arms, in A (make 2)
Ch 10, turn and work 3 dc into the 3rd ch from hook, ch 2 and sl st back into the same ch, sc in each of the remaining chs across, and fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing. Using the first and second tails, simply pull them each through the side of the body, one st apart, and then knot them together inside the puppet, and trim. The ends may be difficult to weave in, and it’s unnecessary!
Hair in E
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: sl st into the first st of rnd 3, (ch 5, turn, and beginning in the 2nd ch from hook, inc in each ch across, sl st into the next st of rnd 3)3x, (ch 19, turn, and beginning in 2nd ch from hook, inc in the next 3 chs, sc in next 15 sts, sl st into the next st of rnd 3)15x, fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.
Pin the hair down as pictured, with the three shortened bangs curling in front, and the two strands to either side of the bangs hanging loose. They will be styled and sewn down last. Sew down each strand around the head. Then sew down the bangs loosely so they’re still curling up. Twist the two strands on each side of the head about 3 times, and pin them down. Sew down each twist so that it forms a sort of crown, leaving the curls dangling in the back. Weave in ends.
Wings in F (make 2)
Ch 6
Row 1: turn and inc in 2nd ch from the hook, sc in next 3 chs, inc in last ch; 7 sts
Row 2: ch 1 and turn, inc, sc in next 5 sts, inc; 9 sts
Row 3: ch 2 and turn, 2 dc in first st, hdc in next st, sc in next 5 sts, hdc in next st, 2 dc in last st; 11 sts
Row 4: ch 2 and turn, 2 dc in first st, hdc in next st, sc in next 7 sts, hdc in next st, 2 dc in last st; 13 sts
Row 5: ch 2 and turn, 2 dc in first st, hdc in next st, sc in next 9 sts, hdc in next st, 2 dc in last st; 15 sts
Row 6: ch 2 and turn, 2 dc in first st, hdc in next st, sc in next 11 sts, hdc in next st, 2 dc in last st; 17 sts
Row 7: ch 2 and turn, 2 dc in first st, hdc in next st, sc in next 13 sts, hdc in next st, 2 dc in last st; 19 sts
Row 8: ch 2 and turn, 2 dc in first st, hdc in next st, sc in next 15 sts, hdc in next st, 2 dc in last st; 21 sts
Row 9: ch 2 and turn, 2 dc in first st, hdc in next st, sc in next 17 sts, hdc in next st, 2 dc in last st, ch 3, turn and sl st into the 3rd ch from the hook, sl st into the last dc, and fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing. Sew the wings to the back with the last row outward, and the points at the end of row 9 upward. Sew the beginning chain above the first row of crocodile sts, basically to the neck, puckering the beginning ch of each wing a bit to fit it in the space in the back, and give the wings a nice bend to them. Weave in ends.
I hope you have enjoyed making the Tinker Bell Finger 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!