Hi
I'm a newbie here and don't know if this has maybe been covered somewhere else - so apologies if it is  
I have my first complete puppet and am only now wondering how to go about putting in a lining.  He is foam construction and I was thinking of just a plain cotton lining but am wondering how to go about it as I don't want to mess him up but would really prefer the feel of a lining to just the bare foam.
Hope someone out there can give me some advice.

Many thanks

Well, if the puppet is finished, I'm not sure what to say.  Have you attached the "skin" fabric to the bottom of the foam?  If not, you can probably take the foam out, attach a lining to it at the top and again at the bottom.  Then, pull the "skin" fabric over and turn to inside at bottom.  Does this make sense at all?  lol
It's hard to explain without pictures. 
You can attach the lining by pulling it over the foam to the outside at both top and bottom.  That way, when you pull the "skin" over it, the edges will not show.
Hope that at least gives you a starting place!
Sara

Well now you decide to add a lining!  Just kidding with you.  It would have been easier earlier on but you might still be able to do it.  did you use a pattern for your foam?  If so then try using the same pattern to make a lining out of cotton. You will most likely need to add seam allowance to the fabric. Then see if you can push that up in the puppets head to see how it fits. Now the tough part is figuring out how to get it to stay there if it does.

If you had not put in the mouth plate yet then it would be pretty easy to glue it in by running some tacky or fabritac glue around the mouth area and then along the seams of fabric then laying it into the foam..... I am going to have to give this some more thought. 

I see there has been another post while I composed this.... good idea Lovable puppet pals!

BTW: Most folks don't line the inside of the head which is why we are kind of at a loss on this one.  I am sure with some thought we'll come up with some ideas though.

As Shawn said, most of us do not line the inside of the head. I have pretty long fingers myself and have never really noticed the feeling of the foam. I feel it more important to line the mouthplates of the puppet to make that more comfortable.

I think that lining the inside of the head though would be easier when the puppet hasn't been completed and you just have a head to work with. If you can, follow Shawn and Lovable's suggestions and maybe try "rolling back" the body if you can or maybe even temporarily unstitching the neck from the body. Would make life a bit easier. Just a thought!

Rather than lining the inside of the head, you might consider getting thin cotton gloves for performance. You can get them relatively inexpensively, at band supply websites like this: http://www.bandshoppe.com/catalog/productDetail.do?p=Cotton_Marching_Band_Gloves

I sometimes make a glove lining that is attached to the mouth plate and continues down thur the body serving as a glove and body lining. This covers that raw foam feeling. I use a stretch lycra as it can be a snug fit.

Thanks for all your help guys ... I really appreciate it!
The gloves sound like a good, inexpensive and simple solution to my problem. I might be able to achieve a lining for the body ... the mouth plates are lined already just sometimes the foam irritates the top of my hand but as I say the gloves look like a good overall solution.
Thanks everybody - I certainly know where to come for advice in the future!

I certainly line my puppets. The foams last way longer , and the puppet is much easier to put on and off during a performance, the lining helps strengthen the ´hinge' of the mouth card, and if the lining is snug, it helps keep your hand in the  mouth properly without it slipping around. It is of course best to put it in as you make the puppet, but it can be done later with some success. I do this for prototypes that I did not bother doing a lining for and then decide I want to keep it as an 'extra' or givaway to some needy cause, or have a puppet like a bird  beak that you cannot invert due to design, and have to invert the cloth first and then later glue the card beak in.
   To do that, make your lining and glue the mouth to a THIN mouthcard to give it some ridgidity, then put glue on that card, and carefully insert it into the puppet without getting glue everywhere, and glue it to the card mouthpiece already in the puppet.
   If you are in a hot climate gloves, as well as the lining, is very wise. You can wash the sweaty glove... We have occasionally replaced linings, by the thin card method, when they have got unbearably stinky, and have even removed the card mouth, washing machined the outer skin, and reassembled. That's when there are no patterns for a rebuild job, as it is better to just make a new one if you get to that point of deterioration. We have also totally disassembled some puppets to replace bits , like around the mouth, and while at it, taken the patterns to be able to replicate the  character if necessary. That is where a TV program commits the  big mistake of buying a character without the ability of replacing it when it wears out.
Hope that helps.