I was wondering if anyone could tell me if hot glue could be used to join fleece for the body, arms and head of a puppet, only until I get the hang of a sewing machine.  Any suggetions?

In my experience, it works, but the result is not very clean. I would prefer superglue to glue the fleece to the foam. But stitching is better. I made my firsts puppets hand stitching. It is slow, but not impossible.

It is a good exercise to practice patience. Imagine it is a zen puppet

Ooh, patience is not a virtue I have but alot of people have recomended hand stitching.  Guess that's what it'll be for now.

Yes, I would recommend hand stitching also.  The neck and arms get a lot of stress during use, so you want those seems to hold well.

Julie

Almost all my puppets are hand stitching. I've never have used sew machine. But the last 2 puppets (The head making and the confused monkey puppets) i made it with hot glue (Attaching the fabric to the head an body, as well attaching the foam patterns). It works good, sometime difficult to work with (Fast, but difficult, most because you want to work clean).

Miguel!

What about this handheld smart stitch?  I'd seen them on tv and found one in a Goodwill store.  Do those work?

 

I've never used one, not really familar with what that is.  By the way....I really like your avatar.

Julie

Thanks, it's one that you choose from when you first signup on here.  I couldn't find an ant!

Those cheap sewing machine are generally quite bad (to state it mildly).  You'd be better off with a plain needle and thread.  If you want a cheap machine I'd check out a thrift store for an old one (may need oil) or borrow a friend's.  Hot glue is not good for joining fleece.