I just finished making this puppet with a recycled pringles tube, some wool, and a few other bits and pieces I had hanging around. See how I put this puppet together below.
I started by knitting a tube which turned out looking like a kind of a sock. I had thought that I could make the puppet with this, but in the end up I didn't like the shape so I put it over a pringles tube and it turned out well better! I knitted this in the round and I roughly guesstimated the number of stitches by trying to make it about sleeve sized. I started knitting at the ribbed end, by the way. I left a gap in the "sock" for the mouth opening and since I wanted the uppet to have an underbite I knitted a bit of a flap on the lower jaw. Once the sock got to the desired length I reduced it to a point. I was trying to make this kind of smooth, but I knew Id be covering it with hair anyways, so its not critical to get it perfectly smooth as it would be if it were a sock. I put the sock over the pringles tube and marked where the mouth was, so I could cut the tube in the correct place. I cut round the whole pringles tube at the marked mouth place cutting it into two parts. ( I don't have a picture of this bit) I then cut out a wedge shape bit from the back making sure that the wedge cut out half of the tube. I cut a small slot out of the bottom edge to accommodate the underbite. I cut an oval shaped bit of 1/2" foam and a larger bit of pink felt for the mouth plate. I also cut two half moon cardboard shapes for the mouth plate, one larger than the other for the underbite side. (This bit is following roughly the same method as used in the project puppet puppets.) For the mouthplate, I glued the two half moon cardboard bits to the foam. I then glued the pink felt on to the cardboard. I glue the foam into place on the top and bottom pringles tube bits, making sure that the underbite was sticking out. I tucked the edge of the pink felt over the edge of the foam and glued it in place. Did a quick check to see that its working all the way I wanted it to. I slipped the sock into place and make tidy around the edges. Glued along around the mouth edges. I also glued the sock along the bottom edge of the pringles tube to stop it riding up or coming out of place. Next I added the hair. I already had this particular wool in mind, so I knew it would look like dredlock style. I threaded each strand through the sock and tied it off. I tried to ensure equal coverage over the top of the head. I positioned the strands in rows. I thought I'd finished but then I decided to add a bit more after this photo to bulk it out a bit more. After I added enough hair I gave it a trim around the bottom edges to make it a bit neater. Lastly the facial features were added. standard googly eyes, pom pom for the nose and make up sponges cut to shape for the teeth. All glued on with the hot glue gun. The very last thing I did - and I deliberated about it first - was to add the eye brows. I quite like the look and they help keep the hair out of the face. |
Thanks for reading!