Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Puppet Out of A Stuffed Animal

Now that Isaac has a new puppet theater he needed something...like...PUPPETS! Of course I am not going to go out and spend a ton of money on them. So I made him some from stuffed animals. I thought I would show you how.
Materials:
Stuffed Animal
Cotton Fabric
Coordinating Thread
Sewing Machine
Pins
Scissors or Rotary Cutter
Measuring Tape
Pen or Marking Pen
Iron and ironing board

Directions:
1. Find a longer torso'ed stuffed animal like this one below. Wash him in hot water in the washing machine if he needs cleaning.
2. Now this is the sad part. Cut off the legs of the animal. Mourn the loss and move on. Next stuff your hand into the animal and take out some of the stuffing to make it comfortable on your hand.
3. Slide the puppet on your arm and mark where the bottom of the puppet lands on your arm. Then measure the tip of your middle finger to that mark and add 1". That is how long you want to cut the inside lining. Then measure the width of the opening of the animal and add 1/2".
4. Tuck under the edge of the animal and sew it with a sewing machine to keep it from unraveling.
5. Now with the right sides of the fabric together cut out a puppet shape. It doesn't need to be perfect. Just keep in mind the measurements that you took for the length and width of the animal making sure the shape is that wide and high.
6. Sew all three sides together with a 1/4" seam leaving the bottom open.
7. Now press the bottom opening up 1/2" inch all the way around.
8. Put the lining on your hand and shove the lining in place.
9. Pin the lining in place and sew around the puppet bottom on your sewing machine.
The whole project took me 10 minutes. Easy peasy. Yes I know...a pink bear for a boy...Shut it.
I am going off to massacre some more animals.

27 comments:

  1. SarahSeptember 8, 2009 at 11:27 PM

    Now that my friend, is a fabulous idea. Much more creative than the way I rid my home of stuffed animal litters. I usually just pass them off to my dog, one at a time. When she's loved one to death, I simply replace it with another. Yep, your idea is definitely more FUN! Thanks for sharing your great project.
    God's blessings, Sarah :D

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2009 at 12:45 AM

    Another great idea!!! now I wish I would not have gotten rid of all those stuffed animals a few weeks ago :(

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  3. JennSeptember 9, 2009 at 12:49 AM

    Aw, come on! No cute bear voices? Great idea!!

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  4. LanaSeptember 9, 2009 at 1:32 AM

    All I can say after 5 kids - I feel the pain. Did I really just type that?

    Okay, I love the idea...however, my kids would shoot me if I did that to their beloved stuffed toys. I gave the others away. Yes, I'm the mean mommy. Well, most of the time. Except for ice cream runs.

    Blessings to you,
    lana @ ilovemy5kids

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  5. WillowSeptember 9, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    Oh,I love it and I love the idea of doing something with the girls stuffed animals collecting dust!!

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  6. SaraSeptember 9, 2009 at 7:33 AM

    That is simultaneously brilliant and hilarious!

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2009 at 8:29 AM

    Could you leave the legs on and just slice the behind and do the same thing? That way the legs could hang over on some of them. I bet he is loving having puppet shows. He is so creative.....I'd love to hear him do one!
    Isaac's Grandma

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  8. LindySeptember 9, 2009 at 9:53 AM

    Precious! You are such a creative mama!

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  9. CarmelSeptember 9, 2009 at 10:44 AM

    I especially like the demo video! : ) Isaac's too little to notice yet I think? Eddie doesn't seem to care too much... now, if you were trying to put a pink shirt on him, that would be a different story! : )

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  10. Lisa BSeptember 9, 2009 at 10:49 AM

    So cute!! Love the idea of trying to keep the legs on a couple. Now I need to go dig through the old stuffed animals and start chopping them up.

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  11. Amy JoSeptember 9, 2009 at 11:59 AM

    You don't know how happy this post makes me. (Not that I need any more projects to add to my list at the moment) BUT. I knew there was a reason I've been holding onto stuffed animals! I really hate stuffed animals, and my kids don't seem to care for them much either. Still, I have dozens of them. I can't wait to start chopping them up.

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  12. CarrieSeptember 9, 2009 at 12:11 PM

    Seriously...amazing. I never...and I mean NEVER would have thought of that.

    You rock.

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  13. UnknownSeptember 9, 2009 at 12:36 PM

    Brilliant. And I don't mean just this post but the entire blog. Quickly my most anticipated blog reading.

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  14. CrystalSeptember 9, 2009 at 2:02 PM

    I love this idea. (Now I need to go dig through my bags I was sending to goodwill) We will be making a lot of these in our home!

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  15. Mabry's gammaSeptember 9, 2009 at 2:24 PM

    Clever girl!

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  16. CareSeptember 9, 2009 at 3:29 PM

    Love it, love it! I'm going to have to try this version too!

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  17. DeeSeptember 9, 2009 at 3:47 PM

    uhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Gasping for air. Did you really cut her legs off? Okay, now I'm over it. Very darling idea!

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  18. ErikaSeptember 9, 2009 at 6:17 PM

    I am new to your blog. I found you through the U Create blog and I am just in LOVE with all of your work. I spent the last hour or so going through your old posts and found TONS of inspiration for projects!
    I used to live in Indiana (Noblesville in Hamilton County) and am now in South Carolina. So on top of all of your craftiness, I got to enjoy a little taste of "home" too!
    Thank you for sharing your talent! I have bookmarked your site!

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  19. techcatSeptember 9, 2009 at 7:12 PM

    I always new there was an evil side to you. :) Cutting off that poor little bears legs. So here is the question that has not been asked..... Did you keep the legs for another project?
    C-U-Friday

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  20. Amy {The Red Chair Blog}September 9, 2009 at 8:08 PM

    What a creative project idea--aside from the whole cruelty to stuffed animals issue :)

    Thank you for letting me know about my name link issue. I'm puzzled, because when I click on my name in the comment section of your blog, it takes me to my blog. Don't know if that's just because I'm...me? In any event, thanks for tracking me down :)

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  21. JaneSeptember 9, 2009 at 11:15 PM

    Awesome!!!

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  22. stephanie hSeptember 9, 2009 at 11:44 PM

    awesome idea! : )

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  23. WhitneySeptember 10, 2009 at 4:23 PM

    Great idea! Turned out super cute.

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  24. KimbaSeptember 10, 2009 at 9:56 PM

    You're a sick, sick woman. Abusing those poor animals that way. :)

    It came out so cute! Just don't let the kids see the in-process part, right? Mine would be totally scarred.

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  25. Sarah BonnSeptember 10, 2009 at 11:23 PM

    My kids totally love puppets but I never buy them because they're so expensive. Now, if I could only get over my aversion to second-hand soft toys...
    (Could you sew the legs back on the front when you sew in the liner?)

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  26. michelle@somedaycraftsSeptember 14, 2009 at 5:43 PM

    GREAT, GREAT idea!!! I am featuring this in a post about kids at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my "featured" button.

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  27. TraceyOctober 1, 2009 at 10:10 AM

    Great idea!!! My kiddos have soooo many stuffed animals, that I even have a bag full stashed in the closet. I have been thinking of making some puppets. This saves so much time!

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