Welcome to Puppets and Stuff! I love the international flavor here,

Hey puppets are without borders!

and hope that you will post often, and show us what you're doing.

I will. It's a good way to have a feedback especially when you're quite lonely in the middle of France!

Welcome and glad that you signed up and sharing your talents.....I can't wait to see more of your work as we go.....and you complete your puppet....we love pictures.   

As you can see we are a big puppet family and love to meet and help others.

Daryl H

Well, France is not that exotic that we have special fabric or techniques. I made rod puppet with any materials I found. I often use plastered strips* (quite the same used in hospital when you broke your leg for exemple) sometimes on a plastic ball, sometimes on a wire (the kind you found to protect your tomatoes in your garden, or to make a henhouse), sometimes on polystyrene. I use electricity or plumbery tubes and so on. Well I DO use anything to achieve what I want. That's not typically french I guess, it's much more a way to create.
Can you be more specific in what you want to know ?

It was the fact that you had used boiled wool instead of the Antron fleece on your first puppet that made me say what I did.  It sounds like you actually have much of what we get here in the US.  We have the plaster strips, chicken wire and PVC (plumbing tubes) and many puppeteers use them here. Some of our members from other countries cannot find what we have here.  Even up in Canada they have a water based contact cement that is not sold down here in US.  I like people to realize that there are always alternatives to materials that they can find in their area.

Actually, I do have antron. I ordered 2 yards from Georgia stage some weeks ago, but I still don't know how and with which dye it. But as it costs me half the price of fabric in transport I rather use it for a real project than for training.
So I thought it was a better idea to test Andrew's tutorial with a cheaper fabric. The result is smooth and comfortable to use. I also use "cantonière" fabric instead of vinyl to reinforce the mouth. This fabric is quite hard and is also easier to find around where I live. I don't know if this fabric has an equivalent or how it is named elsewhere. I can provide a sample if needed.

For chicken wire, I thought it was quite uncommon to use, but your answer made me discover it isn't.

For chicken wire, I thought it was quite uncommon to use, but your answer made me discover it isn't.

Even in Holland we have it............

what do you use for glue or didn't work with foam yet. I can't find rubber cement here.......contact cement I can but thta becomes hard when it is dry....

welcome skande here on puppetss and stuff. I really like it here although I haven't made a lot of puppets all my questions are anwsered. Your gona like it.....

I'm still figuring it out (I used to glue the ears, eyes, and nose). I'm not pretty sure how to sew them (That's what I want to learn). Every time I try to stitch, don't stay well. But I'm trying

miguel I'm going to look here in books if they have a picture how to do it. Here I can post pics on puppetbuilding I can't do it and my English isn't that good to explain it only in words.
Lets make a new post of it.
I do this tonight (for me tonight) so I hope in a few hours I have some pics for you.......

I dont have antron I realy loved to have it even a little piece so I can see what it is whtat everyone is talking about. I find it to expensive to get it here, the shipping is expensive the fabric is for me the normal price what I pay in a shop on a fabric market it is a lot cheeper

miguel look here ..........
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,4715.msg41314.html#msg41314

Gompie,
Contact cement is what you want to use on foam rubber.  You don't want to  use rubber cement.  It might be that translation is not right on our words.

Skande,
I am very curious about "cantonière".  I tried to look it up with Google Translation but did not have much luck.  I am going to keep trying though.

I am very curious about "cantonière".  I tried to look it up with Google Translation but did not have much luck.  I am going to keep trying though.

Yes, I know I already tried to find an equivalent. It's quite hard because it is also the name of a decoration style mostly for windows : http://preview.tinyurl.com/lqjhmt: a pelmet I guess. And obviously because I spell "cantonière" without the extra "n" needed, shame on me, it is : "cantonNière"!

The nearer I found to explain what it is, is this link : http://mercerieaiguilledor.fr/entoilages.php sorry in french only.

Gompie,
Contact cement is what you want to use on foam rubber.  You don't want to  use rubber cement.  It might be that translation is not right on our words.

what is your glue look like if it is dried. Hard or a little bit flexible.........

It looks kind of like it is like Buckram. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckram