A puppet builder recently told me he put the 'new' antron fleece in a chemical bath before he dyed it , to make it look more like the 'old' antron fleece. Has anyone else ever done this, and if so, can shed light on the process so I could learn???

Hmm.. never heard of that.  It sounds intriguing though.  Which puppet builder was this?  Did they not want to give you the details?

It's a builder here in Southern California. I get the feeling they may not want to share the info with me. I don't see myself as competition with him, but I understand him wanting to possibly keep it private. Yeah, I'd love to hear if anyone else has heard of this!

May I ask who it was? Maybe I know them.

I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve, but if you wash the fleece in hot water and dry it in the dryer it will shrink and fell more dense.  I've only worked with the original as far as repairing old life size costume characters, so I"m pretty sure it was the 14 oz which isn't available anymore, but it has a much more dense feel.

I have also purchased remnants from a costume company which have a few different looks almost like Sherpa.

What do you want the fleece to look like?

Jilie

Hi Julie! Well since I've gotten my antron from you in the past, this has a nice continuity to it!

It's Pro Puppet Makers, I know the owner and I commented on one of his puppets from his FB page. That's how this how mystery was spawned.

I assume you wash the antron fleece in hot water before you dye it? Just plain hot water or do you use any detergent? Does this result in maker the surface fuzzier?

The result achieved in the photo looked thicker much like the original fleece. More fuzzy and denser looking.

What I'm after is achieving that look, so as to hide seams better, like the old stuff. I haven't made a puppet myself with the old stuff, but have handled it in puppet shops and there is a difference for sure. I love the newer stuff too, but I feel you have to work so hard to hide seams whereas the old stuff does the work for you almost. If that makes sense.

Your thoughts??

-Derek

Yes Derek, I remember you.

When we dye the Antron we start with cold water just to dampen the fabric, then spin to remove excess. Then hot water for the dye bath, since we are using acid dyes to achieve the brightest colors.  Then a cold water rinse. We dry the fabric on air fluff or delicate.  Drying it does fluff up the pill and pill the fibers a little. I know other companies air dry the fabrics, but we are not set up to have the space to dry the large quantities we dye.  The fabric does shrink somewhat, so make sure you have more than enought for your project.

If you sew the puppet then using a fine wire dog brush to brush the fabric and seams you can virtually make the seams disappear.

Hope this helps.

Julie

Never thought about using a fine wire dog brush, that sounds great, I can't wait to try it. Always picked the seams alone. Thanks Julie!

You are welcome.

Julie