Child Puppet

This is the most complicated puppet presented in these pages. The pattern makes a moving mouth puppet similar to those used on most popular educational television shows. The directions here are for a realistic "child" puppet, which will fit a child's or small adult's hand. Enlarge pattern pieces slightly for larger hands. When adjusting sizes, be sure to increase all pattern pieces by the the same %.

This puppet must be stitched together. Gluing or stapling will not give satisfactory results.

Using fake fur, fleece, or other novelty fabrics will allow you to make fantasy creatures. Samples were made using felt for all body pieces. When cutting and sewing your puppet, please allow for variations in stretch for different fabrics and adjust accordingly.

Materials--
  • 12" x 18" piece felt or fleece for head and arms
  • 1/4 yd fabric for body
  • 9"x 12" piece felt for mouth
  • 9" x 12" piece fake fur for wig (or use yarn or a purchased doll wig)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Purchased doll eyes or buttons
  • Sewing supplies
    1. Cut 2 heads and 4 arm pieces from felt or fleece. Cut 1 nose, 4 ears, 2 eyelids, 1 throat and 1 tongue. (Nose, eyelids and ears are optional--try making them larger, smaller or leaving them off altogether.)

    2. Cut the mouth from felt or red knit.

    3. Use the pattern provided to make a body in the length desired or purchase a size birth-6 month garment and sew the head and arms right to the clothing. All pieces should be stitched with right sides together and a 1/4" seam allowances.

    4. Head-- Stitch the center head seam. With the head still inside out, stitch the mouth in place, matching the notches with the seam lines. Turn the head right side out. Using the mouth pattern, cut a piece of cardboard the size of the inner circle. Fold it in half and run glue around the edges. Slide it into the puppet's head and push the mouth against the glue. You will probably need to let the glue set overnight before proceeding with the rest of the head.

      [To make a truely professional looking puppet, make an inner head using 1/2" upholstery foam:
      * Use the pattern pieces and a permanent marker to draw the head pieces on the foam (be sure to flip over one of each set of patterns so that you will have a left and right front and back)
      *You may need to trim off the edge of the foam slightly and to bevel the edges so that they will fit together.
      *Push the foam head inside the fabric skin and trim it if necessary so that the foam lies flat against the fabric.
      *When adding the hair and features, sew through both the fabric and the foam. This will help hold the foam in place.
      *I have found it helpful to stitch the foam to the fabric at the neck opening so that the foam won't work its way loose as I take my hand in and out of the neck opening.]

    5. Hair--You may wish to stuff the top of the had slightly. I make a "brain" for my puppets by stuffing a hand-full of fiberfill into a circle of tee-shirt knit and gathering the edges to make a soft ball about the size of a tennis ball. Stuff the ball into the top of the puppet's head and tack in place to provide firmer base to for the wig. If you wish to use fake fur for hair, use the head pattern and cut where indicated from fake fur. Stitch the wig just as you did the head and pull down onto puppet's head. (It is helpful if you have an assitant put their hand inside the puppet while you adjust the wig.) Glue or stitch the wig in place.

    6. Features--Glue or sew the eyes in place. Glue the eyelids in place. If you are making a nose, stitch around the edge of the circle, pull it up slightly to form a cup shape, stuff firmly and pull the thread tight. Stitch the nose to the face.

    7. Body--Stitch the arms, turn and stuff them lightly. Construct the puppet by pushing the arms into the sleeves and stitching at the shoulder line. Push the puppet's head into the neck of the shirt and stitch in place. (You may need to gather or fold over part of the shirt in back, especially if you use a purchased garment.)
      To print pages as they appear here:

      To Child Patterns

      To Body Pattern

      To Mouth Pattern

      		Hint: do a print preview to varify that your printer is printing the page you wish. Some printers will print the banner, the pattern and the notes at the bottom on seperate pages. With some printers, unless you indicate you want the graphics to print, all you will get is the banner at the top of the page.

      Click HERE to see some of the ways the Child puppet can be changed to meet your needs.

      To Puppet Index