EZPZ: Learn How To Make Knuppets!

Does anyone here remember knuppets?

I had a tiny little memory of them from sometime in the 1970s tucked away in my brain, and so I did a little Google research last night and found… nothing. At least, I didn’t find the kind of knuppets I remembered. I did find, though, a nasty reference to a public sexual act called “knuckle puppets.” I’m not linking to it, so don’t blame me if you run off to look that up now.

Are you back yet?

Good, because I’m here to show you how to make knuppets! Which are all kid-friendly! Plus, there is a video of me at the end of this tutorial singing “Little Rabbit Foo Foo” with my new knuppet friends, and there’s also a horrific knuppet rabbit mauling. That’s what we call added value, folks.

How To Make Knuppets

Knuppets are paper cut-out puppets with two holes at the bottom through which you put your fingers to substitute as the puppet’s legs. They are a perfect craft for those who are both impatient and suck at crafts, because they’re quick to make and hard to screw up.

1. Create images of your chosen knuppet characters. I chose to create the characters of the Fairy Godmother and Little Rabbit Foo Foo.

2. Take care to add two sets of two circles each below your characters’ bodies, or, in my case, necks, as shown in the picture in Step 3.

3. Print out your characters. I, of course, used my HP Photosmart eStation All-in-One Printer series – C510.

4. Cut out your characters. Take care to leave extra paper around the outside edges of your sets of circles.

5. Cut out the middles of the circles and fold the bottom set of circles toward the back of your knuppet so that the finger holes are now made of two layers of paper. This reinforces the knuppet where it will get the most wear.

6. Test out your knuppet. If the paper is too weak to support the size of your knuppet, laminate the back with strips of packing tape or double up your paper.

7. Amaze friends and family with your fantabulous knuppetry!

I know, I know. It’s brilliant. There’s no need to tell me what’s awesome.