Molly's Sketchbook: Bunny Finger Puppets!

Besides being adorable, these little puppets are a snap to make. You could make the whole set of five (or more) in one evening with time to spare.  I think little handmade touches like these really make something like an Easter basket all the more special. --Molly

Materials

To make a set of five (or more!) bunny finger puppets:

• Spring Felt Bundle
• Cream, Pink, and Brown Embroidery Thread
• One hank of Appleton Tapestry in Neutral
• A Bunny Finger Puppet Template (available for free download here) printed and cut out.
• A water soluble fabric marker

Cutting

Using the template cut two bunnies from the white felt and two from one of the bright colors.

Sewing

Sandwich all four pieces together with the two white pieces on the outside and the two bright pieces inside.  Pin them together.

Starting at a bottom corner sew through all four layers right along the edge with a small running stitch.

Sew in this manner along the first side stopping at the base of the ear.

Divide the felt into two ears each consisting of two layers of felt (one white and one bright color).  Sew through only the first ear along it's edges.  Leave the other ear unsewn for now.

Resume sewing through all four layers of felt once you get back to the head of the bunny as shown above.

Keep sewing in this manner until you get to the bottom edge of the body.

Open up the bottom of the shape so the bright felt is on the inside of the opening.  Sew through only two layers (the white and the bright felt) of the bottom edge of the puppet.  Then continue on sewing along the opposite side through just the other two layers.  This will form the finger opening.

Once you're done sewing the body sew the second ear together along the perimeter with a small running stitch.

The Bunny's body is now done and ready to be embroidered.

Embroidering the Face

Draw a face on the bunny as shown on the template.

Using the pink embroidery thread and a satin stitch embroider the nose.

Embroider the eye with a couple of back stitches.

To make the whiskers: Tie a little knot leaving an inch long tail in the cream embroidery thread.  Pull the thread though one of the whisker markings.

On the opposite side wrap the thread once around the needle. Pull the needle through this wrap, forming a small French Knot, and then trim the embroidery thread.

Repeat this for the two other whiskers and trim them so they are all about the same length.

Spray the puppet with water to get rid of the fabric marker markings.

Making the Pom Pom

Wrap the cotton yarn around two of your fingers several times.

Pull this gathered yarn off of your fingers and wrap the yarn around the middle of this gathering tightly and tie a little knot.

Cut the loops to form a pom pom.

Trim the pom pom so it's fluffy and round.

Using the cream colored embroidery thread sew the pom pom tail onto the puppet.

Repeat these steps to make one little bunny in each of the bright colors and have a Hoppy Easter!

Comments

[Helen]

I LOVE these bunnies and will definitely making them for my girls' Easter basket. Thank you for another fabulous idea.

[mauri]

adorable! Thank you for sharing the pattern! :)

[Jacqui]

Those are THE most gorgeous finger puppets! I was hooked immediately so when I got down the tutorial to the whiskers I was just about dead from the cute. Definitely going to be what I make my daughter for Easter this year. I may even love them more than she does! And I totally understand the whole Pygmalion thing with your creations too. :)

[Helen]

These are adorable!!! How Cute !!! I would love to share this with my readers. www.helen's corner.blogspot.com Let me know!!

[Margot]

These are darling! I'm already thinking of all the places (besides the Easter baskets) where I could put them! I am wondering if I could make some as puppets and try another variation as little treat bags. Love those lil' bunny tails! Thanks for the idea and the template!

[Emily]

These are so cute! Great work!

[Sewicked]

these are just so cute. I think I have enough time to make some & mail them to my namesake, too.

[Kathy L.]

LOVE this! I was thinking they would be great if they were stuffed with batting or like a bean bag also!

[Andrea @ Let Me Knit!]

I have 8 nieces and nephews plus a 5 month old of my own. These are an absolute godsend!

[Valerie]

too adorable !
I absolutely want to make a few of these !!!
I was thinking maybe lining mine with a floral fabric/liverty...

[Sandra]

These are so cute. My daughter is older and it will be a fun craft to make together.

[Ellen Marie]

How cute! And so easy to make! Thanks for sharing these!!! I can't wait to make a bunch for my grandkids :-)

[Etieneps]

I did!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/etieneps/4460275587/

[Jennifer]

I can see why you had to show them off: they demand it! So cute and perfect! Thank you for the beautiful, simple idea that will make a great addition to our Easter treats. I know my girls will love them.

[Aussie Mum]

These bunnies are just too cute - I will have to make some for my boys. Thanks for sharing!

[Lovliebutterfly]

These are so cute! i'm gonna make them for my boyfriend's goddaughter! It will be her first easter this year! Thanks for sharing!

[Ingrid]

They are so fabulously adorable! LOVE the clear, easy to follow steps. Beautiful photography-I need some felt, FAST!

[Andrea]

Great pattern - I put them together with machine stitching instead of hand stitching, quicker and easier for me - I posted photos on my blog:

http://web.me.com/andrea.hungerford/On_Blueberry_Hill/Blog/Entries/2010/3/26_Easter_Bunny_finger_puppets.html

[Judyp]

The sweetest thing I saw all day I am going to make one in chocolate!

[Micael]

I love them! I love them so much I'm going to have to create an army of them!

No, seriously, these will be so perfect for our 5 hour drive this weekend!

[Sheree]

I love this project! I needed a version that would keep the attention of my 3 year old, so I adapted it to a glue gun version. Thank you for sharing!

[karen]

Hi Molly,
Try as I might, I cannot get my running stitches to look as perfect as yours. What is the secret to small and even running stitches? I have tried the gathered in and out and also pushing the needle in one side and then up the other... not my favorite but the running stitch comes out so uneven and poorly spaced and the underside is hardly visible. I would appreciate any advise you can give. Thanks, I love the bunnies and I will finish them perfect or not.

[purl bee]

Hi Karen,
Here are a few things that might help you out:

-When inserting your needle into the fabric, be sure your needle is perpendicular to the fabric; if you put it through at an angle it will change the length of the stitches (this is most likely why your back stitches are so small).

-Don't worry about how small your stitches are, instead pay attention to the spacing of them. The stitch and the space between should be the same length. If your back stitches are turning out too small it means the space between your stitches is too small. Once you get comfortable eye-balling the stitches and the space between them you'll find it much easier to start making smaller stitches.

-We recommend that you work the needle in one side and then up the other until you get your stitches even, then once you get the hang of it you can try other techniques.

Hope this helps!

[karen]

Yes, it helps a lot. Thank you.

[Michelle]

These turned out great! Hard to tell who likes them more, me or my kids!
http://www.thebaylors.org/michelle/2010/03/bunny-puppets/

[casapinka]

This is incredibly sweet. Thank you so much for the free tutorial!

[alexandra s.m.]

Thank You so much!
You can view mine there:


http://artscrapandmore.blogspot.com/2010/04/bunnies-lapinous.html?showComment=1270129344585#c6822167570727101547

[Content in a Cottage]

These are simply wonderful. I put them on my blog today linking back to you. Hoppy Easter, Rosemary

[jennifer]

I found the tutorial just in time! LOVE LOVE LOVE the finger puppets!! I had been looking for something homemade to put in the kids' easter baskets and this was perfect! Thanks so much for sharing! I made mine so quickly and good thing too, because with 4 children, I don't have a whole lot of 'sneaking around' time!

Here's the link to my post about the bunnies: http://mountainmama-jenny.blogspot.com/2010/04/oh-happy-day.html

Happy Easter and Thanks again!! :o)

[Brenda]

I made eight of these little puppets the day before Easter. My husband thought they were really cute also. You can see how mine came out on this post:
http://brtowsleyblogs.blogspot.com/2010/04/family-fun.html
Thanks for providing me with a great craft and just the right touch to the little baskets that I put together for my six grandchildren and a niece and nephew!

[Aykayem]

Arrgghhh - now I have another item on my "I want to make one/some of these" list!
- I can just picture a dozen of these, with chocolate eggs inside, sitting looking at me from an egg carton! ... I wonder if I will actually get around to making them before next Easter? LOL

[Galimamphigouri]

I love it!! I posted a link and a photo (with your permission?) on my second blog ( http://galimamphigouric.canalblog.com/archives/2010/05/16/17909753.html )

[Jessica]

I made these as gifts for a production of Alice in Wonderland - just used red felt and put felt hearts on them to make the White Rabbit. They are so awesome and can't be happier!

[handsnhearts]

Hi,
I loved this project and made it for a friend who has a pet house rabbit. I posted my version on craftster, giving you full credit for the pattern and project. If you would rather I didn't post it, please just send me an email and I will remove it. I am a big fan of your website and your projects. Thanks!

[Julia Lipakova]

I'm exited! They're so awesome! Thank you! Molly you're great! Special thanks from Kharkov, Ukraine.

[calico]

I search for a cute valentine project, but when I saw the rabbit I fell in love. Warning don't use thick felt or your needle will not go through.

[marilyn]

thanks for sharing your pattern and instructions for these adorable bunnies.

[Susannah]

They don't get much cuter than this, do they?!

[maggie]

You're such a creative person, totally inspired by this post of yours. Took up the task and wrote a blog post today, featuring you in our blog too! Thank you so much for writing this, I enjoyed reading it a lot :)

[Rachel]

Those are just adorable!!!

I just LOVE these! I have featured your post in my Easter Inspirations as one of my favorite ideas on the web. Thanks so much for sharing!

http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/03/easter-inspirations.html

[Catherine]

Just popped over from Sun Scholars, these Easter bunnies are gorgeous! Will be making some for my little girl this week. Thanks for sharing such a great craft :)

[Silvina]

Thanks Purl!
They are very easy to make and they turn out exactly like the ones in your pictures!
I made one combined with peach colored felt and it's so cute! It didn't take me more than 30 minutes.
I will give it as a gift to the friend who gave me the tutorial :)
Best!
Silvina.

[Godelieve]

These are fantastic! I hope it's ok to feature these cuties soon on our blog http://creatiefblogvandeweek.blogspot.com with a photo to link back?
Thanks.

[purl bee]

Hello Godelieve-

Thanks for your nice comment. Featuring this project as a picture with a link back would be fine. Thanks for asking.

[Emma]

Thank you for this cute pattern! Here's the 3 bunnies that I've made http://emmalm.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/bunny-puppets/

[Cassy]

Thank you for this cute pattern. Here is the first bunny I made (http://www.bindisology.com/blog/archives/42) and I'm giving one away to a friend on my blog too. They're too cute not to share. Made sure you got ample credit though! : )
Great job!

[Lisa Marie]

These are so brill.. I mentioned them on my Chocolate Orange Nest post for easter... :)

[Wendy Fugal]

So cute! I already made a set for Easter!

[carole]

These are too cute. They'd look great stuffed and sitting in a basket on the table. What a great thing to use at table settings too.

[jetdowser 0703762]

Loved this and wanted to print instructions but it would not print out. Wanted to give my grand girls for a project.