Hi all,
After making a few puppets in the last few days and after spending months searching for patterns to fit my needs,
I am tossing around the idea of selling a few patterns of some basic shapes . Kinda like projectpuppet.com but really just the pattern.
I was thinking of selling around 5-10 bucks a pattern. What do you all think. I could do some basic muppet shapes,animal shapes, etc...

Any thoughts? Good Idea? Bad Idea?

John

If they're well done and not too similar to any by proectpuppet or others, I'd say go for it.

I might (emphasize the "might") do similar shapes as him, but the pattern would be cut different and these would start out as only patterns for the foam (maybe the skin too). But I think I will post a sample "Free pattern to start out with to see what kind of feedback I get.
John

I would love to see more animal shapes-particularly a horse- Steve.

Judging by another post from today, people are looking for a big-bird style head pattern.

$5-10 bucks is way too cheap. Project Puppet sells theirs for just under $25, and so do I. I think this is a very reasonable price, and it's not so expensive people don't buy them. (Of course, it depends on the type of pattern you're selling. My shadow puppet patterns are infinitely easier to make - that is, from the customer's POV - and shorter, so the price is cheaper. The more difficult the build, the more you should charge)

Also, it's a really really (really) good idea to include instructions at least, if not also pictures. People who buy patterns are people who need paint-by-numbers stuff, and without instructions will just get confused.

I think a freebie or a giveaway (as I have done, search this site for "pattern giveaway") is very popular, a good way to get feedback and smooth out any problems before committing to selling.

I would be interested in seeing what you have. Show us some puppets made with your patterns!

Yeah, give us a sample!

Thanks for the feedback folks.

I am just tossing around some ideas at the moment.
If I do this, I will post a monkey first but it might be a few weeks (because that's what one of my son wants  )

I found a horse costume in sewing patterns, you know the two person style, where one person is the head and one person is the backpart.  I took the head pattern and decreased it in copy machine and it made a great donkey puppet with not much alterations.  Sorry no picture I gave it away last year. You might try the costume patterns at the back of the books in fabric stores for more ideas.
Snail