Hello to all puppeteers,

I present to you all Toby. I did not use a formal pattern to make him per say. I used the tricks Paul Louis describes in his Expert Village video on how to build a puppet. It was fairly easy, and i did learn alot yet again about how to make a puppet when we really dont have a formal pattern.

For one, my puppet is a bit too tight. So next time i will have to make my home maid pattern a bit larger. And i will have to work a bit more on the clothes. But overall, Toby is adorable and cutest as ever.

And the beauty of it all, it did not cost me a penny to do it. 95% of the materials i used where given to me by my secret santa or by Michele. And the cloth i used to make his shirt (i will have to learn how to make better shirts!!!) was given to my by my mother in law. The only thing that i had to take from what i already had was my felt for his mouth piece, the cardboard used for it as well, and the thread that i used to sow him.

Other than that, a very cute puppet that learned to me alot of new tricks of the trade. I attach a picture where we see him on the left with no flash in my workshop, and on the right with flash to show you his colors.

Puppet hug to you all,
SHould

It's looking good - more practice and they will come out even better.

I highly recommend you look at this free ebook on how to make puppet costumes:

http://www.puppetpub.com/costumes.html

I used it for my muppets, and it's excellent. The clothes fit the puppet perfectly, and look quite professional

Hiya,
Nice job. i really like the way you made his eyes. Toby is a very cute young puppet. the Paul Louis tutorials are a great way to get started. i too need more practice making clothes for puppets. where possible i try to buy baby clothes from second hand shops or i use clothes from teddy bears. they dont seem to mind because they already have fur to keep them warm anyway!!! (the teddy bears, not the babies!!)

cheers
Spam 

Such a character. I love the look on his face.

Is he a cooffee lover?...lol

Tons of potential with this guy.

I have some of those eyes too and never really tried them. Now I know how to use them.

Thanks for the share!

Hi Na, i do have that book, but i still need to figer out how to better use my sewing machine first! For now, this was mainly a test puppet. But it was so small that i cant even have his hands get out properly. I guess he will need prostetics or something. Maybe that could be a good thing thow, handicapted children could relate more to him if he does have prostetics.

Spam, unfortunately, i dont have the money to buy baby clothes, even second hand ones. But i do like to build everything i need. But thanks for the tip, maybe i will try to get old baby clothes eventually and see how they look on my puppets.

Hi Sonny, well i dont think Toby is into coffee, he is after all very young. But he is very insecure and a nervous type of puppet. When i had done him and i decided on his eyes, his personnality just jumped right out. I was even not sure if i should put hair on the little guy. But i remembered that fur type of material that i had received in my secret santa gift last xmas, and i tried it out and it worked great.

Thank you all for your great comments. Its nice to show you all my puppets as i go along my journey.

Puppet hug,
SHould

Great job................. Thanks for sharing.

Billy D.

Hi Na, i do have that book, but i still need to figer out how to better use my sewing machine first! For now, this was mainly a test puppet. But it was so small that i cant even have his hands get out properly. I guess he will need prostetics or something. Maybe that could be a good thing thow, handicapted children could relate more to him if he does have prostetics.

If you're willing to spend the time, you could always hand sew. I did that, because I didn't have a working sewing machine; one shirt took me about three days (on and off) to make, but it was well worth it.

As for making it too small, it may also help to make each part of the costume, and then do 'fittings' with the puppet. When I made the sleeves of the shirt, I would check that each one fit the puppet before moving on to the next part of the sewing. That way I could be sure that everything fitted. I ended up making my sleeves too big - another tip, make everything slightly bigger than you think you need. After all, it's easier to make a costume smaller than it is to make it bigger once it's made.

Very cool puppet!!! I love the expression the eyes give this guy!
Keep up the great work!

He has such big peepers that really brings a lot of character, the hair is a nice touch.

Thanks for sharing

Daryl H

Thank's Na for your valuable input, i will keep it in my notes on how to proceed next time.

Thanks guys for your kind words. It's no wonder why i love this place so much!!!

Puppet hug,
SHould