Hey there Guys and Gals of P&S  , i should probably know these things by now after all my years building puppets, but do you know of any interesting fabrics for making puppets ?? i know the usual ones like antron, stretch terry cloth, polar fleece, fur, etc...... but have any of you come across any unusual or good fabrics that you think is worthy of note, im on a bit of a hunt for new stuff and id love to know what you are all using and whether youve got something that maybe i havent thought of yet ??
Thanks for any help you can give me,
New years puppet hugs!!     
Ben.

I like spandex.  Yep the stuff in swim suites.   The bodies of my dino puppets where made out of it.  Also made Luxor the dragon out of it. It takes Design Master (floral paint) really well which would be about the same as using an airbrush and fabric paint.

I guess it depends on what you are going to be doing with the puppet, wear and tear, etc., as well as the look you are going for.

Most puppet teams seem to want something that will last and hold up to some not so gentle treatment.  I think that is why antron and other fleece is used so much.
I tend to use those two, as well as some fake furs. I don't like terry cloth, it tends to stretch too much.

Just my two cents (which with inflation is worth absolutely nothing).

You mentioned terry cloth and that reminded me that I once used a pink bath towel to make a pig. It actually turned out pretty good, but I did have to pattern out the covering of the foam since towels don't have any stretch to them.

Thanks for the replies so far, i use antron ALOT and i love it, i use quite alot of fake furs and other kinds of fleece, and i have in the past used spandex aswell, all the puppets i make are specifically made to stand up to an aweful lot of punishement, i just thought there may have been a few people that had come across something different than i had used before!!
thanks so far tho,
Ben.

Has anyone ever tried making something out of leather??

I bet you could get some really interesting looking "skin" tones if you tried to use some leather. 

I always use black vinyl in the place of leather.  Good for belts, scabbards, and boot cuffs.

shawn remember on one of my old posts that i made my pink girl puppet on and i was confused by the fabric i bought it was in the fleece bin but looked different. cant remember the name that you told me that the fabric was? here is a pic of the fabric just in case

What you want me to remember something!

Not sure what I said then but it looks to me like it might be Vellux.  It is a fabric used on blankets quite a bit.  In fact it is a good one to add to the list. I mean really check out the cost of Vellux Blankets at Wallmart! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vellux-Blanket/10232632 If you are not a fan of Walmart then try this Google search. Google Search: Vellux Blanket

yep! that was it! couldent think of the name. lol