Worm Finger Puppet Knitting Pattern

I was a huge fan of Sesame Street as a child. I particularly loved Oscar the Grouch and his friend Smiley the Worm. This character provided inspiration for the following finger puppet.


Materials

• Knitting Needles: 4 double pointed needles Size 1 (2.5 mm)
• Yarn: Remnants of KnitPicks Palette Yarn (Fingering weight) hand dyed Orange (MC) and Beige (CC).
• Gauge: ~9-10 sts/inch in stockinette. For a swatch I'd recommend casting on 18 sts and knitting in the round to see if that would fit your finger.
  
• Misc: Toy stuffing, yarn needle, 2 Googly Eyes (or black yarn to embroider eyes).
  
• Finished Size: 3.25" long, 0.75" wide at the head. Fits a woman's finger with a size 6 ring size.
  

Body
Row 1: Cast on 6 sts in MC, join and knit 1 row (This is the tip of the head)
Row 2: kfb across - 12 sts
Row 3: K across
Row 4: Kfb across - 24 sts
Rows 5-8: K across
Row 9: *K2, K2tog* across - 18 sts
Row 10: K across
Row 11: K2tog across - 9 sts
At this point you should stuff the head of the worm. This is the only point in the entire project where you need some kind of polyfill stuffing.
Row 12: Switch to CC. K across
Row 13: Kfb across - 18 sts
Row 14: K across
Rows 15-17: (MC) K across
Rows 18-20: (CC) K across
Repeat the 3-row stripe pattern 4 more times.
With MC: work 2 rows in 1x1 rib (K1, P1 across)
Bind off in the 1x1 ribbing pattern.

Tip: Check the fit as you go. It is easy to see how the puppet is fitting onto your finger as you knit.

Finishing
Weave in loose ends. Glue eyes to the face of the worm. Alternatively you can embroider eyes on the face.

Simple. Fast. Fun. Swap out the colors, make one for every finger and have fun!

Eyes are not essential to have fun with this inch-worm. You can inch along and play just fine without any eyes. To become a more authentic Smiley from Sesame Street, then you may want to use a black bead or embroider black eyes.

Princess Smiley? Since the body of the puppet is so small, rings can be used as hats in your play!

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Abbreviations Used in this pattern:
Kfb - increase by knitting into the front and back of a single stitch.
K - knit
P - purl
SSK - decrease by slipping two stitches then knitting them together. Alternatively, you could slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass slipped stitch over.
K2tog - decrease by knitting two stitches together.
MC - Main Color
CC - Contrast Color


This this pattern was created by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use. This pattern is not to be replicated, sold or redistributed without permission from ChemKnits. © 2010 ChemKnits