Puppet Productions Puppets and Fleece Question.

[puppetpackpepe]

hello, it's been a while since i've posted here.
I noticed that on my Puppet Productions Puppet it says something about "Dave Pannabecker designs". does that mean that dave pannabecker works with Puppet Productions and Arms Length?

Just wondering.

Also, has anyone had any experience with anti-pill fleece. We made are last puppet out of this and it came out very nice. I was wondering if this would be a good material to make and sell puppets with?

Thanks,
Cody

 

[Shaver80]

I believe that Mr. Panabecker has an agreement with Puppet Productions for their use of his Handi-Sphere design. I found that info on their website.

 

[robinthecrow]

Anti-pill fleece... now I can shed some light on that one... don't use it is my advise really. It doesnt hide seems at all, then again I did use a sewing machine with it. But I'm sure if you sewed it as though you were sewing antron fleece then maybe it would work.

It shows up imperfections from the original foam head shape I've discovered, which isnt helpful. Then again covering these bits with hair, eyes, or whatever would also be good.

 

[puppetpackpepe]

the one we made seemed to come out very good. we plan to use the same pattern for most of them and alter the hair, face, etc. Thanks for the advice. I wish i could find out what they use for the hand-spheres....

 

[dramaqueen]

Hi,
They use practice foam golf balls, cut in half. You can find them in the sports department at walmart. The ones I found are yellow.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

After using anti-pill fleece, I'd say it'll work as long as you line up the direction of the weave. If the fibers spread away from each other at the edges you're sewing together, you'll see the seam as clearly as the Great Wall of China from outerspace. If they run into eachother, or both run up or down, the seam will be fairly unnoticable.

Still, I'd rather use the "pilling" stuff.

 

[Shaver80]

I believe Drama Queen is right on about the handi-spheres.
They are a great addition to Puppet Productions Great products.

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

Kinda going a long the same lines with the fleece, is there any advantage to using fleece over another material, such as felt?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

If your goal is to hide seams, you want a material that has a pile ("fuzziness"). The higher the pile, the easier it is to hide seams. That's why Antron fleece is so popular, because it has a nice pile to it.

There are a lot of different kinds of felt. Most people find craft felt (the kind you'll find in craft stores or Wal-Mart) unsuitable for puppets because it's difficult to hide seams. Real wool felt can work nicely, although it's harder to find. At Unraku we've used wool felt to make a lot of puppets (you can see some examples here), but we make our own fabric, custom knitting 100% natural wool before putting it through a felting process.

I hope that helps!

Oh and just FYI, the proper name for "practice golf balls" is EVA foam balls I think.

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

That was a lot of help thanks.