Making Sprocket - Part 1
Hey reader!
I know that I have a puppet project in progress right now, but I was asked to donate a puppet to a silent auction to raise money and I didn't want to give away a puppet that was part of a set - so it was time to make something new!
I really enjoy making puppets with fun fur, but it is so expensive. I am always looking for reasonably priced fun fur. Grizwald was made from fur remnants that were already on sale so he was pretty much a the same price as a fleece puppet - but fur can be 3 to 4 times as expensive as fleece so it is always a little nerve wracking when I take the plunge and make a fuzzy puppet.
Then the other day I saw these awesome carpets for college dorm rooms that were on clearance. I guess March isn't the best time to start decorating your dorm room so they were priced to move. This pink carpet is super cool with a nice thick fur that would work great for a puppet. I was slightly concerned that it would be tough to free it from the traction rubber on the back, but it was sewn on in only 3 places, so it came right off. I am glad I bought the white carpet too. I will definitely be looking for these in the summer to see how many colors they came in.
I wanted to make a nude puppet - since it has been a while since I made one that looked reasonable without a shirt. That meant breaking out my pot bellied pattern. I made this pattern for a red alligator puppet when I first started making puppets. Essentially, it is just a little bowling pin shape and as long as you are using about 5 it makes the final product look round. The head is actually the same pattern I made for the first of the rainbow puppets.
As with all the puppets, I cut the same pattern out in foam as I do in the fabric. With furry puppets there are a few tricks you can do to not make a huge mess. If you use small short cuts with your scissors on the fur, you can avoid cutting the fur and only cut the fabric it is attached to. It takes a really long time. I had seen Adam cut the fur with a razor and he talked about how much cleaner that was. I tried it and it really kept the apartment clean. Once when making a red puppet the fur got everywhere and broke up into individual fibers. It was nearly impossible to get out of the carpet. I will definitely be using this technique again.
You have heard me talk about the foam assembly process before, and this puppet is not really that different. The big change is that the body takes 5 parts instead of 2. I find it can be a little harder for the puppet to stay together with this pattern, so I usually do two body segments at a time and let them totally dry before moving on.
Fur is easier to work with in some ways, and harder to work with in others. For starters, fur has no stretch. This makes fitting it to your foam much more challenging. You need to be much more aware of your seam allowances than with fleece. You also have to watch not to catch too much of the fur as you sew, or you wind up picking fur out of your stitches. On the other hand, fur like this can be really forgiving because it is so thick that slight mis-alignments can be hidden much easier. I didn't give myself nearly enough seam allowance on the body and so I had to trim the top and bottom of the interior foam, but again, it is pretty forgiving and you definitely can't tell on the finished product.
It is just me, or does Sprocket really look like Meep from American Horror Story: Freak Show here. Sprocket seems slightly less inclined to bite the head of a chicken than Meep, but only slightly. That was a good season of that show. I really struggled with this season, and last season. Here is hoping they get it together next season.
Anyway, I am making some great progress on this puppet, and its coming together way easier than Grizwald did. I think that I might actually be getting better at this.
Someone asked me how to make puppets the other day. I directed them to read this blog (cuz I am definitely a good how-to) but also to watch all of Adam's great tutorials. They said they didn't think they could do it. Listen friends, if you want to make something, the first step is to try it! I have made some pretty big clunkers of puppets! Gotta make some serious messes to figure out how to make them better.
So as I always say: Keep making cool stuff!
Until next time,
JoshPrime
I know that I have a puppet project in progress right now, but I was asked to donate a puppet to a silent auction to raise money and I didn't want to give away a puppet that was part of a set - so it was time to make something new!
I really enjoy making puppets with fun fur, but it is so expensive. I am always looking for reasonably priced fun fur. Grizwald was made from fur remnants that were already on sale so he was pretty much a the same price as a fleece puppet - but fur can be 3 to 4 times as expensive as fleece so it is always a little nerve wracking when I take the plunge and make a fuzzy puppet.
Then the other day I saw these awesome carpets for college dorm rooms that were on clearance. I guess March isn't the best time to start decorating your dorm room so they were priced to move. This pink carpet is super cool with a nice thick fur that would work great for a puppet. I was slightly concerned that it would be tough to free it from the traction rubber on the back, but it was sewn on in only 3 places, so it came right off. I am glad I bought the white carpet too. I will definitely be looking for these in the summer to see how many colors they came in.
I wanted to make a nude puppet - since it has been a while since I made one that looked reasonable without a shirt. That meant breaking out my pot bellied pattern. I made this pattern for a red alligator puppet when I first started making puppets. Essentially, it is just a little bowling pin shape and as long as you are using about 5 it makes the final product look round. The head is actually the same pattern I made for the first of the rainbow puppets.As with all the puppets, I cut the same pattern out in foam as I do in the fabric. With furry puppets there are a few tricks you can do to not make a huge mess. If you use small short cuts with your scissors on the fur, you can avoid cutting the fur and only cut the fabric it is attached to. It takes a really long time. I had seen Adam cut the fur with a razor and he talked about how much cleaner that was. I tried it and it really kept the apartment clean. Once when making a red puppet the fur got everywhere and broke up into individual fibers. It was nearly impossible to get out of the carpet. I will definitely be using this technique again.
You have heard me talk about the foam assembly process before, and this puppet is not really that different. The big change is that the body takes 5 parts instead of 2. I find it can be a little harder for the puppet to stay together with this pattern, so I usually do two body segments at a time and let them totally dry before moving on.Fur is easier to work with in some ways, and harder to work with in others. For starters, fur has no stretch. This makes fitting it to your foam much more challenging. You need to be much more aware of your seam allowances than with fleece. You also have to watch not to catch too much of the fur as you sew, or you wind up picking fur out of your stitches. On the other hand, fur like this can be really forgiving because it is so thick that slight mis-alignments can be hidden much easier. I didn't give myself nearly enough seam allowance on the body and so I had to trim the top and bottom of the interior foam, but again, it is pretty forgiving and you definitely can't tell on the finished product.
Anyway, I am making some great progress on this puppet, and its coming together way easier than Grizwald did. I think that I might actually be getting better at this.
Someone asked me how to make puppets the other day. I directed them to read this blog (cuz I am definitely a good how-to) but also to watch all of Adam's great tutorials. They said they didn't think they could do it. Listen friends, if you want to make something, the first step is to try it! I have made some pretty big clunkers of puppets! Gotta make some serious messes to figure out how to make them better.
So as I always say: Keep making cool stuff!
Until next time,
JoshPrime
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