So, to expand on the post by Lizzie, about quality control, I had a couple of areas I was curious about.

Edit:I guess I should preface this by saying I will likely be doing a lot of these for kids, so thats why my focus on the safety aspect.

I love the big round eyes, like kermits. I cut a ping pong ball in half and liked the look. But, ping pong balls are hollow and seem to be kinda flimsily made. I am afraid a kid would squeeze them and then you would have sharp broken pieces, like a broken eggshell. But you can't get that smooth look from foam balls. I did try cutting a piece of foam to size and gluing it in the ball half. Which seemed to work good to attach the eye to the puppet. Is there an alternative smooth surface ball that isn't hollow? I know you can buy eyes, but they are probably the most enjoyable part of a puppet to make, at least for me.

Interior sleeve/sleeve lining. My hems are getting better, but I still think it would look better with another material in the sleeve. I guess it's more of an aesthetic thing, but it does look more professional. Do you guys do this?

Arm rods. I have a process for the arm rods that seems cheap and simple, but, I dont see a lot of puppets for sale that actually include them. Are people worried about kids poking themselves in the eyes or sword fighting with them. Just curious about this.

A search on the forums should turn up many previous discussions about materials used for eyes. I know the most common suggestion here is to use golf balls.

I will add that if you're planning on selling for the kids' market then I strongly recommend you find your federal/state info on it. When I was researching I came across a lot of American info on toy product safety, so I know it's out there and easy to find. You guys seem to have a lot more requirements to fit to than us Aussies, and I won't speculate, but even though you're making puppets (and likely you won't find info on puppet safety specifically, but you will find info on toys and/or stuffed toys) it's important to make sure you're not selling anything you could be sued for.

I can't speak on selling muppet-type puppets, but I always preferred a lining. I just used a plain cotton on the inside; others might have better suggestions.

I would guess that yes people would be worried about rods. Anything sharp can poke someone's eye out. And again, this comes back to your local legislation. There may be rules about what kinds of things you can sell to a certain age. I know that here anything like my shadow puppets or a muppet-type puppet would be out for anyone under 3 years (I actually mark it up to 6 as a personal thing. I don't think anyone under 6 should use my puppets, even with supervision. Just because they're not made for that).

This brings up a concern: most people would see the more complicated muppet-type puppets for teens and up. It's partly public perception/stereotypes of what puppetry is and what age it's for, and partly the dexterity required to use the more complicated puppets. If you're really interested in selling for a younger person, why not make the puppets without arm rods, but with gloves instead? Or perhaps if you want to make them with rods, consider aiming a little higher in the age range...

The other thing with rods: I like the idea of making them detachable. The problem with my puppets is they're really hard to store with the rods (even short ones) because you have to sit the puppet just right in order not to crush the thing *and* have the rods not fit in a box with the rest of the puppet. If it were me, I'd figure out a way you can remove the rods. This makes your puppet even more marketable, because the parents who are worried about pointy things can detach the rods and keep them for later; the teens/adults who'd like your work can keep the rods; both can remove them if necessary for better storage. Don't forget that adults can get hurt too.

In this case, I don't think product safety is the major concern. I had a lot of problems selling my original puppets (shadow) because I wasn't really aware of what market I was selling to. I liked to think I was selling to people who wanted to use puppets; I ended up selling mostly to teachers. The people I need to sell to in order to make any money at all - at craft markets, etc - are people who aren't going to be doing pro performances with them. (I'd love to sell solely to puppeteers, but you really don't get very far with that without some serious commissions) The point is that if you're looking to sell stuff for parents/teachers, then you'll need to work out whether or not they'll fork out the money for a muppet-type puppet over a finger or glove puppet - the two traditional and larger selling items.

And before I sign off after rambling a bit (), check out http://puppetpie.blogspot.com. Stacey is a sometime member here, and she sells felted puppets. A while ago she started selling rod puppets. Might be worth taking a look at her policies - again, refer to your legislation, but it's always interesting to compare to other puppeteers and what they recommend.

If you mean sleeve of the puppets shirt then I would say no to lining it. If it is sleeve in the body then yes. Cotton is good for this.

For eyes cut Styrofoam balls in half and cover in papermache. You can get a smooth surface and solid eye that way.

Thanks guys.
I will definitely put some thought into the age ranges. None of the younger kids that I have given them to so far have rods, or would likely even use them. I put the 'pocket' in the hands to hold the rod, so they could pretty much use anything if they figured it out. Thats also a good idea to consider a different type for different age groups.

And yes Shawn, I did mean the actual body of the puppet. I saw some with a nice lining, thought it was a nice touch. Making clothes for the puppet will be a whole new thing when I get up the nerve
I do have some foam balls I picked up from Michaels, I will try them out. Wonder if I could smooth them out with a fine sandpaper.

I am talking styrofoam not ployfoam balls.  Once you cover them in papermache' then you can use light sandpaper on them. Then cover them in Gesso. It is what an artist uses on canvases to seal them. You can get an even finer finish if you do that and sand in between layers of Gesso. Three layers makes a pretty smooth finish.

If you mean sleeve of the puppets shirt then I would say no to lining it. If it is sleeve in the body then yes. Cotton is good for this.

For eyes cut Styrofoam balls in half and cover in papermache. You can get a smooth surface and solid eye that way.

Here is a good source for those type styro balls

http://www.plasteelcorp.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PCO&Category_Code=balls

Why not painted wood balls, they are pretty light as long as you don't use lead based paint.  And you could make holes in the backside like a button to sew them on tighly. As long as they are bigger than a quarter I think they would not be a choking hazard.  You could use a wider wood dowel with another wooden ball "handle" glued on the end that would make it less likely to poke an eye or get swallowed.  I would sew the rod into the hand through a hole in the dowel, with my kids if it can come apart it can get lost.  Or beter yet make the rod part of the costume, a microphone like the dog sock puppet in those commercials. Brain storming list of rod prop ideas:
long spoon for cook
magician's wand
long dog bone
sword or light saber
baseball bat
fairy wand
hocky stick
candycane
shepherd staff

I use spandex or some type of knit for the lining.

Rod arms, etc.  There are a lot of regulations for importing puppets (as in having them mass produced overseas and selling them in the U.S.  Most of that does not apply if you are not importing. I do know that you cannot put any kind of rod EXCEPT an acrylic rod on an imported puppet, and the rod has to be a fairly good sized diameter (much bigger than the rods our team uses, or the rods I make).

@MsPuppet

Could you post a link or tell us where you got that info about rods? I'm sure others would be interested in reviewing or bookmarking it - even if it doesn't apply to myself.

This is also interesting because I never thought about imports. Not that I ever expect I will be doing that, but it does make me wonder if there are some rules about shipping overseas I've missed in my state/fed regulations. (Then again, they're still not quite up to speed on the fact that people can earn money via the net, so it wouldn't surprise me that very little regulations exist in this area)