Polar fleece

[Melonpool]

The pile on the hands and around the edges of the mouth start to go bald -- basically any parts that rub against one another have this happen.

 

[Animal31]

The pile on the hands and around the edges of the mouth start to go bald -- basically any parts that rub against one another have this happen.

I see, so this is primarily for any puppet used for shows and TV and such that you're talking about. What about one for personal usage, what is the average life span of a "family" puppet?

 

[Melonpool]

I would say that Polar Fleece is fine for that sort of thing. The puppet in my avatar is actually a puppet made from polar fleece. One of the benefits of Polar fleece is that it won't do that sparkly thing that happens when you use a flash with a digital camera, so I'd think making a puppet for home use would work great.

Where it gets a little dodgey is when someone with dirty fingers (like a kid) starts grabbing at your puppet's face. It's been my experience that it's easier to clean and maintain Antron than Polar -- which is surprising since in theory, you should be able to throw a shirt made from Polar fleece into the washer and dryer -- but not Antron.

Another advantage of Polar is not having to dye it. The bad news is that it doesn't really take dye either.

One last thing -- If you like to put things into your puppets hands using double-stick tape -- be careful with a Polar fleece puppet -- the fibers have a tendency to pull out when you remove the tape -- increasing the likelihood of bald patches.

 

[Melonpool]

Also -- that puppet that was built maybe 7 years ago and deteriorated after about 2 years of use -- it's sitting in my office at work and now that I'm not handling him as much hasn't deteriorated much at all in the last 5 years of sitting in an office under fluorescent lights. I think the handling is the main reason these things deteriorate the way they do, so if you wanted to use it as a display piece and occasional showing off, I'd think that polar would work just fine.

 

[yetiman]

One of the benefits of Polar fleece is that it won't do that sparkly thing that happens when you use a flash with a digital camera, so I'd think making a puppet for home use would work great.

Yeah--my puppets are mostly for home use (entertaining friends and young relatives). I find the soft fuzziness of polar fleece to be great for them. And I totally agree about the 'sparkly thing' with antron. It makes puppets look very strange whenever they have their pictures taken with a flash.

Both fleeces hide seams well, which is really important. It appears that antron does it a bit better (I've never used it myself), but often, the difference shouldn't matter. Seam placement can be just as important as material. I try to keep seams away from the middle of the face by putting them in the back of the head, near the corners of the mouth, or around cheek bones and eye sockets. In that way, the seam issue is resolved (at least somewhat) and you can judge the two fleeces by the feel, the color, the price, and the durability.