Project Puppet has decided to extend the deadline for the Glorified Sock Puppet Contest to June 4, 2006. This will allow sufficient time for those who may have missed the deadline. Those that have already submitted their entries but would like to do some refining or add some final touches to their characters, may do so during the week and resubmit updated pictures of their puppet. That will offer those who met the entry deadline the opportunity to tweak their characters, and also allow those that missed the deadline an opportunity to be in the contest.

We have already received well over ten entries. So after the new deadline, all entries will be going to our five judges, for the top ten to be chosen! (For more details, please read the contest rules.)

Thanks to all who have submitted their fantastic creations! We look forward to receiving more over the next week. Spread the word!

Here’s some more Sesame Street goodness. Isn’t it noteworthy that quite a few of the “vintage” Sesame Street sketches or songs involve the police coming in at the end to break up the party (or join in). I think there were a lot more puppets in law enforcement twenty or so years ago.

Kanja Chen of Chensational Puppets recently completed a puppet workshop for kids 7 to 10 years-old using the Rotondo Puppet Pattern. It is amazing to see the characters the kids create. Careful effort was made to make sure the kids actually did the work with “limited support and a lot of guidance”, from tracing the patterns to cutting the foam and even hot gluing. Read more about it and see the kids’ finished characters on the Chensational Blog.

We’ve had a few inquiries regarding the use of Project Puppet patterns for conducting puppet workshops. We are looking into creating a teacher’s kit or workshop kit that would include the necessary items and guidelines for teaching a puppet-making class. We’d like to thank Mr. Chen and his talented class for sharing their experience and for the inspiration.

Anybody remember the Great Space Coaster? It was a children’s television show that ran from 1981 to 1986. Check out the clip below and see if you recognize Goriddle the Gorilla’s voice…

If you guessed Kevin Clash, you are absolutely right! Check out this picture of the young Mr. Clash and Goriddle at the top of the page at www.tgscoaster.com along with some more Coaster memories.

You don’t see stuff like this on Sesame Street these days.

Antron Fleece 101 - Here are the basics, conveniently organized. Enjoy!

What is Antron Fleece?
Dying Antron Fleece
Stitching Antron Fleece
Stitching Antron Fleece - The Whipstitch
Stitching Antron Fleece - The Baseball Stitch
Antron Fleece - Finishing Touches

Pick your seams. With a straight pin, simply pick the seams, freeing any fleece fibers that may have been trapped by the stitching.

Shave the fleece. In the picture, you’ll notice we used a piece of fleece that had been overworked to the point of pilling. We chose to do this to demonstrate that even if your fleece is not in the best condition, professional results are still possible. If your fleece has pilled, shave it. Yes that’s right, shave the fleece-covered head. Here are some guidelines:

• We recommend using double-bladed disposable shaving razors.
• Surprisingly, the fleece will dull the blades of the razor quite quickly, so have a good supply on hand. Shaving one puppet head may take 6-10 razors to achieve a nice even look.
• Be careful around the seams, corners and folds of the puppet head. It’s easy to shave the fleece too close in these areas. Just ease up on the pressure when shaving these areas.

Notice the difference in the picture. The top portion of the head has been shaved whereas the bottom portion has not. The smaller picture shows the finished head with seams picked and fleece shaven. What a difference a shave makes!

The Baseball Stitch

With the right sides of the fabric together, push your threaded needle into the right side of one of the pieces of fabric, close to the edge between the two facing sides, so it comes out the wrong side. Now loop the needle around towards where the two pieces come together, and again, push it into the right side of the opposite piece of fabric so it comes out the wrong side. Continue to stitch in this manner. Your stitches will probably be hard to see, considering that they are small and that the thread is the same color as the fleece, but they will eventually resemble the stitching on a baseball.

The baseball stitch is a bit slower than the whipstitch, but, in our opinion, better in terms of quality.

Also of note, is Swazzle’s use of the ladder stitch in their Ratchet tutorial. Their method not only achieves “invisible” seams, but facilitates the fabric patterning process for covering foam understructures.

With the right sides of the fabric together, push your threaded needle into the wrong side of one of the pieces of fabric, through the second piece of fabric, so that it comes out the wrong side of the second piece. Loop the needle around over the top of where the two pieces come together and again push the needle into the wrong side of the first piece of fabric, through the second, and out. Continue to stitch in this manner for the length of the seam.

The whipstitch is probably the fastest and easiest stitch to use for sewing antron fleece.