Thank you Meg, puppet making seems, so far, to be a lot less time consuming than doll making. Puppets are so much bigger and less fiddly, plus you get to use glue A LOT, lol. Glue was always a big no-no with my doll making.

Mr. Harmon is actually finished now, I am just being challenged by the arm rods, I did them with thin doweling and some floral wire (really thin). I cut a groove round the top of the doweling and wrapped the wire into it, then wrapped the wire round Mr. Harmon's wrist, it worked well for a while, then after a few twists and swirls of the hands, the wire snapped on both. So I'm still looking into how best to attach the doweling rods to the the wrists. Ideas would be most welcome everyone. I've been reading up here but haven't found anything yet.  

Also, I really like the idea of the fishing line attached to the chin too, frees up the hands and makes life easier, is this the most popular way of dealing with the hands? Or does everyone usually use arm rods?

Arm rods give you more control over the arms so you can create the "action" or emotion you want.  I prefer it over the fishing line for most puppets.  You can use fishing line on one hand and a rod on the other which is a good compromise.

If you have an inner tube that is covered in your outer fleece then what you can do is make a small opening in the seam of both and push the dowel rod up into the inner tube.  Before you do this drill a small hole in the top of the dowel.  You are going to use this to help stabilize and connect the dowel to the inner tube.  Hmmm.... I guess you might have to open up the outer fleece more to get to the inner tube now, so this would have been better done before the outer fleece went on.  Anyway you then sew through the top part of the tube fabric where the hole is so the thread goes through the hole and the fabric.  make about four to six passes. You then come down to the bottom where the dowel exits the inner tube and sew the opening closed tight around the dowel.  It might be that you could drill a hole there also or instead of at the top and use that to anchor the dowel into the inner tube.

Hey how about using a Velcro "bracelet" that is attached to dowel that can go around the wrist like the wire did.  I don't really like detachable rods but others use them quite a bit. The tricky part is getting the Velcro anchored to the dowel securely.

Hi Shawn, I was just reading your first suggestion, sounds good but there's no way that I can drill thru that tiny dowel. Your next idea sounds more doable for someone like me that is power tool challenged/scared, lol. I will try this today, I have some small square stick on velcro patches, actually a lot, every time I go to town I buy a couple of packs, they are sooo useful for just about everything. Thanks for this idea, I will let you know how it turns out later today. 

Ok, with the stick on Velcro, take some of the female (soft fuzzy part) and cut a length that can go around the wrist plus about an 1" or 1 1/2".  Wrap the extra around the dowel so the Velcro sticks up above the dowel vertically.   Cut your male piece so it is about a 2"  long and stick it to the back of the end of the female Velcro then double it over on itself so you cover up the sticky part.  You need to also back the female Velcro with like some black felt so it won't stick to the wrist of your puppet.  Now wrap the Velcro around the wrist and then use the male at the end to attach to the female that is on the dowel.  I think that should give you a pretty stable connection.

There are other methods of doing detachable rods so if this does not work perhaps someone else well point us in that direction.  For the live of me I can't remember the other methods at the moment.

Have a look at these links. They may give you some other ideas.
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,3330.0.html
http://puppet-planet.com/rodarmtutorial.html
http://puppet-planet.com/images/rodarmexample.jpg
http://puppet-planet.com/images/rubber_bands.gif

Ok, I'm gonna read through this a few times...   I'm really slow witted today, I think I'm coming down with something, at least the house is quiet today, the boys have gone fishing, so I should be able to get my work done. Thanks Shawn.... btw... what do you use for a stand for your hand puppets?

btw... what do you use for a stand for your hand puppets?

The floor.    I don't normally keep puppets on a stand.  If anything I sew a metal ring (like a key ring or D ring) to the bottom and then hang them upside down on a hook. Many folks use PVC pipe and build a small stand for their puppets. If you check out any of the videos over at StiqPuppets Blog TV Page, you'll see the one Daryl built for his on the wall behind him.  That one uses PVC pipe and the Elbows you can get for the pipe.  I think he drilled a hole (sorry) into the wood then glued a short piece of PVC into the wood. He then put the elbow on and then another longer length into that elbow.  You could work out a free standing one of PVC using elbows (they come in different angles).

The second link you posted is really good, I love the use of the doll joint thingy, I'm sure they have those at my craft store, it looks really professional. Neat how it's done before you glue the hands together, AND how you can remove it too! That's a definate keeper, thanks.

The pvc stand idea sounds like it will work, probably better than my large pop bottle filled with sand with a 'fabric skirt' wrapped around it and a length of dowel stuck in the top with an old tennis ball on top! Though I may have to make do with that simple idea till I can buy the pvc and joiners.

Well, I'm off to do some work.

Rosie

I have been following this thread closely and I have to say you are doing very well with your puppets. If I haven't Welcomed you properly may I take this time to Welcome you to our group. Keep up the good work. I Love to follow along with a puppet build along.

Thanks for sharing

Billy D.