These Old MacDonald felt finger puppets are super easy to make with the free felt finger puppets template, and they provide lots of creative fun! These little guys are so much fun for open-ended play or for using as props for singing the Old MacDonald song with your child. You can use your felt finger puppets to promote language development in a fun way while your toddler learns the names and sounds of farm animals. They are also really great for imaginative storytelling, so they are a great resource for homeschool or the classroom.
Making the finger puppets is a great craft project to do with your children. I made this set of finger puppets with my kids – and they loved helping! I’d say it is fairly easy for children preschool-aged on up to participate. Crafting together is a great way to get some quality time in with the whole family, and a good opportunity for little hands to practice fine motor skills too! Older kids can even make these easy finger puppets on their own, if you have a crafty kid who is at the right skill level. In this post, I will give you the free pattern for the Old MacDonald finger puppets, a step-by-step tutorial for making your own, and detailed step-by-step photographs to help you along. You can find the felt finger puppets template at the end of the post. Let’s get started!
Materials for the Old MacDonald Felt Finger Puppets
These felt finger puppets are mostly made from scraps of felt – most of the other materials are optional. Because they are made from materials you probably already have around the house, these felt finger puppets make a very economical project or gift!
- felt pieces – you choose the colors! Because the puppets are tiny, you can make them out of scraps. We used the following colors for our felt finger puppets: gray, black, white, tan, yellow, orange, red, green, blue, skin tone, and pink
- googly eyes or fabric paint, like Puffy Paint
- embroidery thread – optional, but you can add some cute finishing touches and facial features with it!
- small pom poms (optional – if you want to use them for noses)
- scissors
- hot glue gun
- thread
- sewing machine – this is optional! You can also hand-stitch the puppets if you prefer
- felt finger puppets template – you can find the pdf pattern at the end of the post
Instructions for Using the Felt Finger Puppets Template
- Print out the free felt finger puppet templates (below)
- Cut out the pattern pieces
- Cut pattern pieces out of felt in the desired colors
- Now it’s time to assemble the puppets!
You will first sew the body shape. For the farmer, duck, chicken, pig, and sheep you will just sew the two body pieces together.
For the turkey finger puppet, sandwich the feathers between the front and back sides of the body. Then sew the front of the body to the back piece, catching the feathers in the stitches. If you are using a sewing machine, you can do this by sewing a scant quarter inch around the edge of the side and the rounded top, leaving the bottom of the puppet open.
If you want to hand-sew your puppets, you can use a whip stitch or blanket stitch around the edge, or a backstitch around the inside of the edge. If you want to involve your kids in the process of making the puppets, hand-sewing them would be a great opportunity to teach your child some sewing techniques, and for them to practice their fine motor skills! You can also skip the sewing altogether and use hot glue or fabric glue to glue the pieces together.
For the donkey, sheep, and horse, sandwich the ears in between the back and the front before sewing the sides of the body together. For the cow, first stitch the spots to the front half of the body and the ears, then sandwich the ears and horns in between the back and front of the body before sewing them together. If you are using glue, you can glue the spots on after you glue the body together.
For the sheep, cow, donkey, horse, and pig, you can either sew the muzzles on to the front of the body before sewing the front and back body pieces together or the muzzle can be glued on after you join the body pieces. I used both methods. Sewing the muzzle gives a little bit more of a finished look and is a little more durable, but gluing is easier – whichever you prefer works just fine!
Now it’s time to add the final touches! You can hand sew or hot glue the other body parts – beaks, muzzles, hair, gobble, chicken comb, and ears. See the photos for placement.
For the farmer’s hat, sew around the edge of the top of the hat, and about a half inch into the bottom edge of the brim of the hat, leaving a space open for the farmer’s head.
Hot glue or stitch the hat band on. Place the hat on the farmer’s head and secure it with hot glue or a few hand-stitches. You can also opt to leave the hat loose so your child can take it on and off, something little kids love to do!
Now for the faces! You can add googly eyes, use embroidery floss to tie French knots for the eyes, or use fabric paint to paint them on. Add a mouth for the farmer and some nostrils for the horse and pig. I did this with fabric paint (Puffy Paint), but you could also add the facial features with embroidery floss.
Felt Finger Puppets Template
You are all done with your DIY farm animal finger puppets! Now the best part – to enjoy the cute finger puppets you made with your little ones!
I hope you enjoyed making these DIY felt finger puppets! Thank you for visiting and I hope you come back soon!
For more free felt finger puppet ideas, check out the links below!
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