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 an Easter basket all the more special. -Molly
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Molly Schnick. Click here to see even more of Molly’s work!
Materials
To make a set of five (or more!) bunny finger puppets, you will need….
- Eight Wollfilz’s Wool Felt Pieces, 1mm, 8 x 12 inches.
- 3 skeins of DMC’s Embroidery Floss in three colors
- A pack of embroidery needles
- A hank of ecru yarn (for pom pom tails)
- A Bunny Finger Puppets Pattern, including full-size templates (both also available for free, the pattern follows and the free template download is here.)
You will also need:
- A water-soluble fabric marker
Cut
Using the template, cut two bunnies from the white felt and two from one of the bright colors.
Sew
Note: Use three strands of the embroidery floss for all of the sewing and embroidery in this project.
Sandwich all four pieces together with the two white pieces on the outside and the two bright pieces inside. Pin them together.
Using the cream embroidery floss and 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 its edges. Leave the other ear un-sewn 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.
Embroider 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 floss. Pull the floss 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.
Make the Pom Pom
Wrap the yarn around two of your fingers several times.
Pull these loops of yarn off of your fingers, and wrap the yarn’s tail tightly around the middle of the loops. 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 floss, 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!
Update 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!
I LOVE these bunnies and will definitely making them for my girls’ Easter basket. Thank you for another fabulous idea.
adorable! Thank you for sharing the pattern! 🙂
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. 🙂
These are adorable!!! How Cute !!! I would love to share this with my readers. http://www.helen‘s corner.blogspot.com Let me know!!
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!
These are so cute! Great work!
these are just so cute. I think I have enough time to make some & mail them to my namesake, too.
LOVE this! I was thinking they would be great if they were stuffed with batting or like a bean bag also!
I have 8 nieces and nephews plus a 5 month old of my own. These are an absolute godsend!
too adorable !
I absolutely want to make a few of these !!!
I was thinking maybe lining mine with a floral fabric/liverty…
These are so cute. My daughter is older and it will be a fun craft to make together.
How cute! And so easy to make! Thanks for sharing these!!! I can’t wait to make a bunch for my grandkids 🙂
I did!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/etieneps/4460275587/
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.
These bunnies are just too cute – I will have to make some for my boys. Thanks for sharing!
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!
They are so fabulously adorable! LOVE the clear, easy to follow steps. Beautiful photography-I need some felt, FAST!
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
The sweetest thing I saw all day I am going to make one in chocolate!
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!
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!
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.
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!
Yes, it helps a lot. Thank you.
These turned out great! Hard to tell who likes them more, me or my kids!
http://www.thebaylors.org/michelle/2010/03/bunny-puppets/
This is incredibly sweet. Thank you so much for the free tutorial!
Thank You so much!
You can view mine there:
http://artscrapandmore.blogspot.com/2010/04/bunnies-lapinous.html?showComment=1270129344585#c6822167570727101547
These are simply wonderful. I put them on my blog today linking back to you. Hoppy Easter, Rosemary
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)
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!
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
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 )
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!
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!
I'm exited! They're so awesome! Thank you! Molly you're great! Special thanks from Kharkov, Ukraine.
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.
thanks for sharing your pattern and instructions for these adorable bunnies.
They don't get much cuter than this, do they?!
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 🙂
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
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 🙂
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.
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.
Hello Godelieve-
Thanks for your nice comment. Featuring this project as a picture with a link back would be fine. Thanks for asking.
Thank you for this cute pattern! Here's the 3 bunnies that I've made http://emmalm.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/bunny-puppets/
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!
These are so brill.. I mentioned them on my Chocolate Orange Nest post for easter… 🙂
So cute! I already made a set for Easter!
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.
Loved this and wanted to print instructions but it would not print out. Wanted to give my grand girls for a project.
These finger puppets are ADORABLE! I linked back to your blog in my post featuring cute finger puppet patterns and plan to make my daughter a set of these very soon!
http://www.feltwithlovedesigns.com/2013/07/21/links-with-love-free-finger-puppet-patterns/
Thank you for the great patterns!
So cute! I am going to make one for my daugther's basket. She loves bunnies.
Nossa,que fofinho!Vou fazer como enfeite de uma cestinha de vime,com guloseimas de chocolate,e dar de lembrana pr toda famlia!Parabns pela linda ideia!…
great bunny. Thanks for share how to do it :-). I must try to do it
Hi,
I am making a lot of these and they are so lovely. But how do you do the satin stitch on the nose without the knot showing?
Many thanks,
A
Hi AB-
Once you're done satin stitching tie a small overhand knot at the base of the nose. Then pull your needle in between the felt layers and out the tip of the nose and trim the thread directly at the exit point to hide the tail.
Thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
Hello:
I just love your site.
I am in the process of making these cute little finger puppets for my 20 mth old granddaughter.
I have a question about sewing them together. Do I use the Appleton Tapestry yarn to sew them together? And is wash cloth cotton yarn ok to make the tails? How many times did you wrap the yarn around when tying off the bunny tail?
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely
Kathleen
I have a similar question to AB's–how do you manage the eyes without a knot showing? With only a couple of stitches there, I found it hard to hide the knots.
Thank you! This is such a wonderful tutorial!
Hi Misku-
Please see my response to AB above your comment. You can hide the knot at the eye in the same manner.
Thank you!
Molly
Hi Kathleen-
The Appleton Yarn is used to make the tail (although if you'd like to use another yarn almost anything would work!) The embroidery floss is used to sew the pieces together and do the embroidery. The materials were a little unclear so I can see where your confusion came from- I've edited the pattern so hopefully it makes more sense.
I think I probably wrapped the yarn about 12 times but it's really up to you and how fluffy you want your tails to be.
Thanks for writing in!
Molly
A few months ago, I saw these cute little finger puppets in Martha Stewart Living. I immediately loved them and used the pattern to create egg warmers. I have mentioned your website in my blog post ( in Dutch): http://www.etenmetiris.nl/foodswap-prima-pasen/
Thank you for the idea and pattern!
I love these bunnies, I made them two years ago and keep them in my easter box. I stand them on the table with corks to keep them upright.
Thank you for the great idea.
Amei! vou fazer nessa pascoa para presentear!
I made some of these for Easter a couple of years ago. They are adorable. I teach 3 year olds Sunday School at church and am making them again for my class for Easter this year. Thanks again for such an easy and fun Easter craft!
Lovely, bunnies so Fresh and spring like,just the pressie for Easter.x
Thankyoux