hello all

i was just wondering if there is a easyer way of stuffing arms and hands. i have been making the arms and hands in one and turning them inside out and some times i have trouble with the hands where the stick rips the fabric.

jovack

I just posted in my going green post. I use cardboard paper towel tubes. slide your sewn puppet arm or leg onto the cardboard tube. Place your fiberfill inside tube stuffing the arm while sliding the tube out. I use a dowel rod to push the fiberfill inside the tube.
When trying to pull a arm or leg  over a tube of foam it can be tricky. I usually take my fabric arm or leg and turn inside out, placing foam tube at one end and then pulling fabric arm or leg tube back over the foam.
If the body is going to be fully costumed you may just want to cover hands and feet and not cover arms or legs.
This can vary depending on the pattern you are using. Are you using foam or fiberfill to stuff the arms.

Billy D.

Good ideas all around Billy!

I use a hemostat.  It's great for turning fabric inside out as well as inserting stuffing into small spaces.

http://www.scissorsales.com/15-1.html

Julie

I use an unsharpened pencil.

I use the eraser end of a pencil for small things like hands. I started making a stuffed insert for the arms so you can sew the elbow without having a visible seam on the puppet. I have been known to use a large shoe horn (the ones they make for boots, whatever comes to hand right?) to slide in the insert into the arm...

I use like cvzdesign long unsharpened pencil, works great for me!

I used to use long pointer stick, but like it happen to you rip the fabric, and tha't why I tried the pencil

With my puppets the skin of the hands extends up the arms os that there is no seam at the wrist.

The hands are made of poly foam and wire so that they will be posable.  To cover these I pre-sew the fabric skin and force it in a bit at a time.  The  arms are filled with poly fill. I've found that this is much more manuverable than poly foam.  My next puppet with have a liner made of no stretch fabric to ensure that the arm retains it's shape.

That is a great idea. How does it work?

That is a great idea. How does it work?

Here is a drawing of wired hands


billy D.