Easter is coming up so early this year, and reading a few posts about Easter gifts for children, it hit me: my baby is old enough for her own first Easter basket. Whaaa?

She is now 13 months, so there won’t be candy in the basket yet, but I have ordered a few cute toys to add. I found these Easter egg shaped shakers that are perfect, as she loves making noises. I also could not help myself ordering a fun bunny board book with sensory parts to feel and explore. Unfortunately, the book has not yet arrived.

Crafty me obviously had to make part of this basket myself. I made the basket with a waffle crochet stitch.

The part I enjoyed making the most, probably because I came up with the pattern myself, are little Easter themed finger puppets. There is a chicken, a lamb and a bunny. Although the lamb looks more like a dog, probably due to how I embroidered the face. Embroidery is not my strong suit 😀

Because this is for a 13 month old, I didn’t want to use Easter grass, and instead used some left over green tulle from a skirt project.

Find the pattern for the basket and finger puppets below the pictures.

Materials

• Worsted weight yarn in brown,  yellow, and white
  You need about a skein for the basket and just a little for each puppet. For the lamb I used fluffy yarn
• Bigger hook: crochet hook US size I – 5.5 mm for the basket
• Smaller hook: crochet hook US size G – 4.25 mm for the puppets
• Different colors embroidery floss for the faces of the finger puppets (I used black, brown, and orange)

Pattern

Finger Puppets

Body

In the color of whichever animal you are making this for, and with smaller hook.

Row 1: 6 sc into a magic ring. sl into the first stitch to form a circle (6 st)

Row 2: 2 sc into each st (12 st)

Row 3 – 12: sc into each st (12 st)

Fasten off and weave in end.

Ears for the bunny

In brown, and with smaller hook. Make 2.

Row 1: chain 3

Row 2: sc in 2nd ch from hook and following (2 st)

Row 3:  ch 1, turn, sc in each st (2 st)

Row 4: 2 ch 1, turn, 2 sc in first st, sc in next st (3 st)

Row 5: ch 1, turn, sc in each st (3 st)

Row 6: ch 1, turn, sc3tog (1 st)

Fasten off and weave in end.

Sew to the top of the bunny body.

Embroider a face.

Ears for the lamb

In white, and with smaller hook. Make 2.

Row 1: chain 3

Row 2: sc in 2nd ch from hook and following (2 st)

Row 3:  ch 1, turn, sc in each st (2 st)

Fasten off and weave in end.

Sew to the top of the lamb body.

Embroider a face.

Wings for the chick

In yellow, and with smaller hook. Make 2.

Row 1: chain 4

Row 2: sc in 2nd ch from hook and following (3 st)

Row 3 – 4:  ch 1, turn, sc in each st (3 st)

Row 5: ch 1, turn, sc2tog, sc in next st (2 st)

Row 6: ch 1, turn, sctog2 (1 st)

Fasten off and weave in end.

Sew to the sides of the chick body.

Embroider a face.

Easter Basket

Special Stitch – V shape for the waffle pattern

FPtrVstitch:

• double crochet (dc) in the next stitch but do not pull through the last two loops (2 loops on hook)
• front post treble crochet (FPtc) around the front post of the dc two stitches back and in row below, but so not finish the tc (3 loops on hook)
• FPtc around the front post of the dc two stitches ahead in the row below. Finish FPtc by pulling though all remaining loops (4 loops) on the hook

Basket

In brown and with bigger hook.

Row 1: 6 sc into a magic ring. sl into the first stitch to form a circle (6 st)

Row 2:  2 sc into each st (12 st)

Row 3: *sc into one st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (18 st)

Row 4: *sc into 2 st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (24 st)

Row 5: *sc into 3 st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (30 st)

Row 6: *sc into 4 st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (36 st)

Row 7: *sc into 5 st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (42 st)

Row 8: *sc into 6 st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (48 st)

Row 9: *sc into 7 st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (54 st)

Row 10: *sc into 8 st, 2 sc into next st* repeat from * 6 times (60 st)

Row 11: ch 2 (counts as dc from here on), with right side facing, into the back loops only, dc into the next and each following st, sl to chain (60 st)

Row 12:  ch 2, dc in next 2 st, *FPtrVstitch in next st, dc in next 3 st* repeat 9 times from *, FPtrVstitch, sl into chain (60 st)

Row 13:  FPtrVstitch (do a ch 2 instead of the dc in the FPtrVstitch) , dc in next 3 st, *FPtrVstitch in next st, dc in next 3 st* repeat 9 times from *, sl into chain (60 st)

Row 14: repeat row 12

Row 15: repeat row 13

If you want to the basket to be taller you can continue alternating row 12 and 13.

Fasten off and weave in end.

Handle

Row 1: chain 35

Row  2: sc in 2nd ch from hook and all following ch (34 st)

Row 2 sc in each st (34 st)

Fasten off and weave in end.

Sew onto the top of the basket.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. I hope you enjoyed and I would love to hear if you made this basket or these finger puppets <3