Mouth Fabrication

[D'Snowth]

I'm just curious, what do you guys like to use to fabricate themouthplates of your puppets, both inside (where you hand goes to protect the plates from your sweat), and the outside (where people actually see)?

For years, I've bascially been using felt, and it works pretty well, though my only hang up is when you're layering the felt (ala the mouth, then the throat, then the tongue, etc), the thickness of the fabric really adds up, so at times, it can make closing the mouth a little more difficult than it needs to be. The only other thought I've given to mouth fabric is like a jersey knit (like t-shirts), I've seen like these store-bought stock puppets (the kind Rick Lyon rants about on his site) using that kind of fabric for not only their mouths, but for their overall fabrication as well (and it feels like some kind of slick/silky fabric on the inside of the foam and mouthplates).

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

I use felt, it means that I can buy it by the metre and save money than if I were to buy smaller individual sheets of felt and something else for the backside of the mouthplate (where the hand goes).

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

I've been using felt for the mouth and leftover fleece for the back. That jersey knit sounds interesting D'Snowth. I never would have thought of that so thanks for mentioning it.