The Puppet Making Tools & Materials I Use!
To make a puppet you will need foam, fleece, glue, eyes and hair. You will also need hot glue or contact cement, needle and thread. The more complex the puppet, the more you will need, but these are the minimum.
These are the materials I use in building most of my puppets and the tools I use in my shop. Having the right tools really helps make the job a little easier.
I will be adding links here to allow you to find the tools and materials I use to make puppets.
- Get my book “Turning Puppets Into Profit’
- Get my FREE report “Puppet Building For Fun & Profit“
PUPPET EYES
POLY FOAM FOR PUPPET BUILDING
- 1/2″ Foam This is the foam I use most often for heads, arms
and hands. 1/2″PUPPET FOAM - 1″ Foam – perfect for bodies and larger puppets. 1″ PUPPET FOAM
PUPPET COVERING & FINISHING
- Design Master Floral Spray is perfect for painting foam. It is available in a variety of colors. Check it out HERE.
Nonpill Fleece is available in many colors for the perfect Muppet-style puppet. Available HERE- Puppet Fleece is also available HERE.
- ANTRON FLEECE This is also known as “Muppet fleece” It is available in a wide variety of colors. Nylon Fleece (Antron Fleece) Purchase From Puppet Pelts HERE!
- PUPPET FUR for animals and monsters.
- This is the ONLY latex I use for covering puppets. It goes on easy and looks great! MONSTER MAKERS LATEX
- I use acrylic paint to color the latex for puppets. I use this assortment and it has worked great.
- DecoArt MagiKote allows you to cover styrofoam with a nice hard shell and can be painted. Available HERE.
- PASTEL CHALKS are great for adding shading to a puppet.
- HACKLE PADS are feathers connected to pads. They easily attach to puppets to make birds or hair for your people.
- SELF-ADHESIVE BLACK VELVET FOR EYE PUPILS This stuff is beautiful.
- DOLL JOINTS for attaching arms and legs
- Simpson 16-Inch Insulation Support Rods for arm rods.
TOOLS I USE
- To mark fabric and foam, I use the Dritz 677-60 Marking Pen, Disappearing Ink Purple Pen. I can make a clear mark which will disappear after a short while.
- I use this super cool 18″ magnet holder to hold razor blades, needles, and pliers above my workbench. Magnetic Knife Bar
- 300 Watt Hot Glue Gun High Output Professional Adjustable Switch High-Temperature Industrial Adhesive Hot Melt Glue Gun
- HOLE PUNCH FOR EYES These paper punches are perfect for creating eyes out of self-adhesive vinyl and velvet.
- RAZOR BLADES You will go through a lot of razor blades cutting foam. This is an economical way to buy them.
GLUES & ADHESIVES I CANNOT DO WITHOUT
- 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive for applying fabric to foam
- Barge All Purpose Cement is a professional adhesive used in shoe repair. It is the perfect glue for joining foam, vinyl and fabric Barge Contact Cement
- USE DETACHOL TO REMOVE GLUE FROM YOUR FINGER It is used in hospitals to remove bandage adhesive and in the theater to remove
glued-on costume pieces. - Silicone Finger Protectors Tired of burning your fingers when using your hot glue gun? These finger protectors are great!
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS FOR BETTER PUPPETS
- 2″ ELASTIC for hand grips, finger tubes
and thumb tubes - DAPP CONTACT CEMENT low odor for nonventilated areas.
- CONDIMENT BOTTLES Use these for dispensing contact cement.
PUPPET ACCESSORIES
Inexpensive Arm Rods are on Amazon HERE
Professional Arm Rods available HERE
JOANN Stores For fleece, glue, foams and more puppet building supplies.
