Material for eyelids?

[greenman]

Hi, everybody. I'm new to the forum. I started building puppets a few months ago and would like to know what kind of material (foam, felt) is used to make eyelids on muppet like puppets? I also would like to know if there is any type of thread puppet makers prefer to use when making puppets? I have been using nylon thread because of its strength. Is that a good choice? I do all my sewing by hand and it is a little hard to work as far as tangling and getting knots. Thanks for any help.

 

[D'Snowth]

Welcome!
As far as I know, try felt for eyelids. As for thread, Muppets are "seemless", they carve the entire thing out of a block of foam. And they apply the fabric a special so when they do close-ups, they are seemless.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Actually, on most Muppets you can still see the seam. What HIDES the seams so well is the type of fleece they use to make the characters: Antron fleece. It's kind of got a fluffy surface which hides the seams very well. Of course, with fur, you don't have that problem. After you sew the puppet you just take a comb and comb the fur out of the seam.

They used to carve whole heads from foam (Bunsen, Pigs, Statler and Waldorf) but now they use a mold and then flock the molded heads.

For eyelids, you can use ANYTHING; but I prefer the cheaper fleece or the more cheaper felt material. Sometimes, if you use like a plastic spoon ladle, you can paint the eye lids on it, too.

 

[Skeet]

I don't know if they use this method on muppets but it looks really well when done. Try using pipe cleaner for eyelids. It won't be very large though but i guesse it depends on the look your looking for.

skeet

 

[Buck-Beaver]

There's a good eyelid tutorial at http://www.puppet-planet.com/Armslength_Eye_Tutorial.htm

 

[biblebetty]

tangling and getting knots

There is a way to keep your thead from tangling & knots. I do a lot of beaded purse work and also hand sew some of my puppets. I use a wax called Heaven thread or bees wax. just run your thread thru the wax before you start sewing and it will keep your tangles to a mimium. I get a lot of tangles doing bead work and I find this works great.

 

[Whatever]

They used to carve whole heads from foam (Bunsen, Pigs, Statler and Waldorf) but now they use a mold and then flock the molded heads.

ToastCrumbs said that they mold Statler, Waldorf and Piggy, but they still carve everyone else.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

They "used to" carve whole

Nowadays, they have molds and flock the results. I think I read that the MFS movie went through 10 Piggy heads? Is that correct?