If you're ready to start thinking about Christmas, raise your hand. . . . Me, me!!! Let me help you kick off your Christmas preparations with a tutorial for these super cute Christmas finger puppets.
Felt Christmas Finger Puppets
RELATED: The Easiest Gingerbread Houses, The Cutest Paper Christmas Trees, Adorable Paper Cone Santa Claus Kids Craft
Ever since I posted these adorable felt Halloween finger puppets a couple of years ago, I've been wanting to create more. Designing Halloween and Christmas finger puppets has me totally addicted. I need to make more! Seriously, how cute are these finger puppets?
Before I get to the tutorial, I have to tell you about these pictures. It's been two years since my girls helped me photograph the Halloween finger puppets. For fun, I had them pose similarly with the new finger puppets. It's crazy what a difference two years makes. Two years ago, they were little girls. Now they're young women. What happened? Time is flying!
Okay . . . enough nostalgia. On to the tutorial!
Finger Puppet Tutorial (and a Video)
*This post contains affiliate links.
Materials:
- Felt Scraps
- Embroidery floss and needle
- Googly eyes
- Buttons
- ½ inch pom poms
- Craft Glue
- Light Box for tracing (optional)
- Sewing and craft scissors
- Finger puppet template. Click the download button below to open up the pdf printable file.
For those of you who learn by watching, check out this new tutorial video below. I'm demonstrating how to make the Santa Claus finger puppet and showing how to create your own designs without using a template.
Instructions:
Whether or not you use my printable template to design your finger puppets, you'll want to print the template to get the basic finger puppet shape. (No use reinventing the wheel!)
- Select the background color and contrasting embroidery floss for your puppet. (The felt should be the color of the body or clothes. All the details will be cut out of different colors and glued on top.)
- Download and print the Christmas finger puppet template. Cut out the finger puppet shape and trace it two times onto a scrap of felt. Cut out the shapes and stack them on top of each other. You will need two of each shape for each finger puppet.
- Using a blanket stitch (see video), stitch around the outside edge of the puppet, leaving the bottom open.
Now is the fun part! If you plan to make the puppets without using a template for the details, be sure to check out the video to learn the trick to make your detail shapes fit your puppet every time.
How to Use the Printable Template
After the many comments on my Halloween finger puppets requesting templates, I realized that not everyone likes to create designs from scratch or feels comfortable copying without a pattern. So, this time, I've given you patterns for all of my designs. (The download link for the template file is after the list of materials above.)
If you want to use the template to make the same puppets I've created, here's how they work:
There is a mini picture of each puppet on the pattern so that you can see how the pieces fit together. Each piece is labeled with a letter that corresponds with a letter on the puppets. The elf hat is used for Santa and the Elf puppet. Some of the pieces (like the snowman arms and Santa's mustache) are so small that it would be easier to cut them freehand. I put them on anyway, so that you had an idea of how they should look. The penguin feet get glued inside the puppet. (See the video.)
*Note--When making the tutorial video, I discovered that there is a piece missing from the Santa Claus template. You'll need a small piece of cream felt to make Santa's face.
Now have some fun!
Start designing! It's fun to see what the kids come up with before they see someone else's designs. My daughter and her friends made a wiggly-eyed Christmas tree, a Santa Claus with a glittery beard, and a Yetti! (Yep. You read that right. A Yeti. An abominable snowman. You don't get much more creative than that! (You'll have to check out the video if you want to see them.)
If you aren't having fun, you aren't doing it right. Grab your kiddos (or grandkids, or neighbor's kids), and get creating! (I won't tell if you're a grown up and you make the puppets for fun without any kids.)
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoy creating some Christmas finger puppets. I'd love to see the designs you come up with.
More ideas you might like - Images below are linked
Be sure to stick around and check out more fun ideas. If you have kids, you won't want to miss the Lunchbox Jokes or the bingo games. The images below are linked to the projects.
Click on the images below to visit the posts.
Haley
I love Hobby Lobby! Thanks for the chance to win. I think if I won, I'd buy some Christmas decor.
Euro Travel Coach
These are adorable. Such a fun way to craft with your kids. My kids would have loved these -- wish I had known about them about 20 years ago! Thanks for the post -- you are getting me into the Christmas spirit.
Nate
These are great craft ideas for the kids! Hobby Lobby is the bomb! Thank you for sharing the ideas!
Alvern Bullard @ Success Unscrambled
These are definitely cool and so easy to make. They can even last for a few years. Thanks for sharing.
tara pittman
Those puppets are so cute. They are a great way to introduce my boys to sewing.
What Corinne Did
These puppets are so cute and how crafty! perfect to keep the kids busy and to put everyone in the christmas mood!
Amber Myers
Oh my gosh, these are too cute. I know my daughter will want to make these. She always has fun with puppets.
Natalia
I love these puppets as they look really cute! I think it's a great idea to prepare something like that for Christmas! It must be real fun for kids! :)
Alexandra
I know some kids who would absolutely LOVE to do this. What a fun and creative idea - I love it! Thank you so much :)
Beth
Oh my gosh, these are so cute! What a perfect activity to keep the little ones entertained this holiday season. Thanks for sharing!
Joyce
Thanks for a great give away! Two of my oldest granddaughters are beginning to enjoy sewing. These puppets are a perfect project for them. If I won the gift card I'd stock up on sewing supplies for their sessions with me!
Devyani Ray
OMG- these are so cute. I have to try them out.
Jennifer David
They are super cute! This is just going to be perfect for my daughter. Time to pick up embroidery floss.
Dalene Ekirapa
These finger puppets look so cute and surely, kids would surely appreciate such. I love how colorful they are too. Just scream of Christmas!
aisasami
Thanks A LOT for this! I needed some Xmas ideas for my classroom and this is perfect!
Heather
These are awesome! My youngest is such a fan of finger puppets! She would love them.
Joanna
The finger puppets are so adorable, I love how cute the penguin turned out. Children would definitely love to play with these!
hey sharonoox
These are such cute finger puppets and I love how they turned out. I can't wait to try making them for the holiday. I know my kid is going to like making them. Thanks for the idea!
Kathryn at QuestFor47
Those finger puppets are so cute! Thanks so much for sharing such a detailed turorial!
Surekha Busa
Wow! This looks amazing handcraft and very artistic. This will surely make the kids occupy and make their own finger puppet. Thank you for sharing this to us.
Pradnya
Oh my god they are so adorably cute!!!! Have saved this page. Will be definitely trying these out.
Waren Jean Go
Awww.. This is so cute. My nieces and nephew will love this. This is actually a good idea for us to do this weekend.
Sigrid Says
OH my gosh! these are adorable. I dunno about making them as gifts, but I will surely want to make this for my girls. I don't think I have the time to make extra hihi
samantha r mchenry
i like decorating so i would probably use it to buy christmas deco for the house and let the boys help pick out and help do them thanks for the chance
Melanie
I would purchase a few Christmas decorations.
Heather Babcock
I would get supplies for my kids craft boxes
Dawn
I’m having trouble downloading the pattern. It keeps saying my email is not valid. Tried my husbands and it says the same.