Eyelashes are used to add character to a puppet. They make a girl puppet more feminine. Long lashes can make a woman puppet look flirty, especially if you have blinking eyes.
A wide variety of materials can be used for puppet eyelashes including:
- False eyelashes sold for women.
- Craft foam.
- Felt.
- Sewing thread.
- Pipe Cleaners
- Teddy Bear and Doll Eyelashes From Craft Stores.
- Clown Eyelashes.
- Paper
- Feathers
Table of Contents
How To Attach Eyelashes To Your Puppet
Using false eyelashes available online or at your local store, you can make realistic lashes for your puppet. For a thicker lash, use two eyelashes on each eye.
- Cut your eyelid out of your material
- Cut a thin, 1/8″ strip of black felt or velvet. I like self-adhesive velvet for this.
- Place the false eyelash on the black strip Use fabric adhesive. The top of the lash should cover 1/2 the strip.
- Place the eyelid on the other 1/2 of the strip.
- Attach eyelid to the puppet eye.
Eyelashes can also be attached directly above the eye with no eyelid if desired. Glue the eyelash to the back of the eye before attaching the eye to the puppet.
Craft Foam or Felt Eyelashes
You can cut eyelashes out of foam or felt. Draw your eyelash design and cut out. Using tweezers or a small dowel, curl the lashes, if desired. Then attach to the puppet.
How To Make Craft Foam Eyelashes For Your Puppet
- Cut a rectangle from black craft foam.
- Snip along the length of the foam creating a “comb” shape.
- Clip each “tooth” in the comb at an angle
- Roll the combs between warm fingers to curl and shape.
Lashes from foam or felt will have a much wider lash. They will be less realistic than false eyelashes but can add greatly to the appearance of your puppet.
Realistic puppets will look better with false eyelashes, but a more cartoony or kid-friendly puppet will actually look better with the foam or felt.
Sewing Thread
Sewing thread can be used to make lashes. Use a stout thread.
One long piece of black thread with a bunch of cow hitch knots all trimmed to the same length make excellent lashes. Can be shaped easily with Elmer’s glue or starch.
The cow hitch is a hitch knot used to attach a rope to an object. The cow hitch comprises a pair of half-hitches tied in opposing directions, as compared to the clove hitch in which the half-hitches are tied in the same direction. It has several variations and is known under a variety of names. Wikipedia
Cow’s Hitch Knot
From kispng.com
Pipe Cleaners
Pipe Cleaners make wonderful eyelashes. Glue a strip of pipe cleaner to the bottom of your eyelid and VOILA you have an eyelash.
A single strip of pipe cleaner makes a subdued eyelash, perfect for a man puppet. For a female puppet, twist a few lengths of pipe cleaner together and you will get a thicker lash.
For a simple and good looking eyebrow, fold a pipe cleaner over itself four times, then twist it all together. Glue it where you want it with hot glue.
Plastic Teddy Bear Lashes
Plastic Teddy Bear Lashes make great eyelashes for puppets. They are 5″ long and can be cut to the length you need. You can find them HERE.
Clown Eyelashes
Clown eyelashes are available online at Amazon and at party stores. They are long lashes and very colorful. A great way to make you puppet bright and fun.
Paper Eyelashes
Paper makes for quick, inexpensive eyelashes for your puppet. You can use craft paper for a wide variety of color choices or use markers to color white paper as desired.
Feathers For Eyelashes
Feathers can make beautiful eyelashes. Rather than going for a realistic eyelash look, the feather can be used to highlight the eye.