I didn’t like the black claw-like fingery things so I left them off. I also didn’t like the idea of using velcro on the project since I was afraid it would get yucky and would catch and shred the soft yarn eventually. Instead, I made the arms for both Mama and Baby longer than the pattern listed so they could be tied around each other. Since they’re already long, a bit longer didn’t hurt a thing visually. My niece loved them!