Just finished this puppet.  Used a length of feather braid for the hair.  Like the look of it but the braid cost a lot and took a while to stitch on to the head. Anyone else used this?

For a change decided to make the puppet look intelligent in the photo!

This is the first time I've used the gallery insert so hope it works

Helen

It worked! Thanks for setting up the new gallery Shawn and making it all so easy!

Helen

Helen

He does look smart and with a expensive hairstyle perhaps people will take him more serious.
I have used the feather boas but they are not that expensive here aroud $5.00 for six feet of marabou boa.

Billy D.

Yep I have used marabou before on puppets as hair.  Your right it takes a long time to stitch on not to mention all the feathers you get up your nose.  

Here is a thought... Take a piece of fabric and sew the marabou to it in rows with a machine. You would do this by lineing up the marabou in rows horizontally and then about every 1 -2 inches stitching it down vertically.  I hope I have my H and V right... you get the point.  As you are sewing you need to take care to pull the feathers away from the stitch line.  Once you have your piece of feathered fabric you could cut it into shapes to fit the head and just stich those shapes to the head. You might have to do some stitching on the ends to tack the marabou back in but might be faster.

Some folks actually just use a glue gun instead of stitching the marabou on.  In fact that is what I often do.  Again you have to take care to pull the feathers away when you are gluing. IT takes some practice but as you go along gluing you "pinch" the braid holding the feathers in the palm of your hand so you only expose the braid.  Even with this technique it can get a bit messy.

Thanks Billy - cost about $8 for 6.5 feet (£2.25 a metre) which was the amount I used so feel it was a bit pricey!  Had a look on ebay and this seems the standard price here although there seems to be a few bargains going.

I'll experiment with the gluing and sewing on to fabric Shawn sounds as if it could be a bit less time consuming. And yes it is messy!

Didn't realise I'd bought a Marabou boa! Always thought Marabou was much wider and fluffier although looks like it can come in different widths.

Helen 

Helen, you puppet looks great.  Very studious and intelegent.  I only built one puppet that needed hair so I can't say as I've worked with feathers but I think that they make some of the best looking hair.

I've gotten used to the fact that some parts of puppet building take time and I've decided that I'll just enjoy the process.  For me its a hobby so I don't have any pressure other than the pressure I put on myself.

Oce again great puppet.

The hair may have taken a long time, but you got your time's worth out of it. He looks great!

I love the boa hair it was well worth the money.  I find that feathers for hair is such a fun way to present your puppets....it adds more movement to the puppets.  Great puppet and worth all the effort on the hair.

Daryl H

Thanks for all your comments you've convinced me it's worth the time and cost - maybe it's because I'm Scottish that I think the feathers cost too much! 

Helen

Marabou is actually a type of bird from Africa. Feather boa's are actually made from different types of feathers. Marabou boa's are normally the cheapest to buy. Ostrich, Turkey and Chandelle boa's can cost in the hundreds ($100.00) of dollars.