Where to buy antron fleece in Australia?

This is a popular question - and unfortunately, you can’t buy antron fleece in Australia. There simply aren’t any suppliers or importers of the fabric. (Don’t worry, I’ll give you some alternatives in a moment) Here’s why:

There is only one manufacturer of the fleece, Georgia Stage (Georgia, USA). This means that everyone around the world can only buy antron fleece either direct from Georgia Stage, or from importers and resellers. Antron fleece is also prohibitively expensive: at least $15-20 USD per yard. (Yard = about 0.9 metres. Most puppet makers will use about 5 or 6 metres of fleece per puppet. The fleece alone will cost you $100 AUD. Shipping will likely be three times as much)

Because antron fleece is a niche product, you won’t find anyone importing it into Australia. (Because it’s really only manufactured for use in puppet building, Spotlight isn’t going to carry it if you know what I mean) Puppet makers themselves only import it for themselves, or buy it whilst in the US.

To import antron fleece yourself direct from Georgia Stage, you’d end up paying heaps more in shipping (I know, I enquired about it; luckily I happened to take a trip to Georgia for a festival and could pick up some fleece for minimal shipping costs. It was still cost prohibitive). There are ways of getting it cheaper, by going through an American reseller. Puppet-mart for instance buys huge lots at a time and then resells it in yards at a cheaper price - shipping is still a bitch, but whatever lowers the cost, right? 

However, even Georgia Stage has its own problems with manufacturing the stuff. It’s so niche that they often run out of the fabric, to the detriment of puppeteers all over the world. So much so that even the resellers have trouble getting their hands on it. To this end, the people at Puppets and Stuff have created a list of up-to-date info and suppliers so you can keep track of who is selling it and where.

So what are the alternatives?

Surprisingly, most professional puppet makers will tell you that antron fleece is unnecessary. Whilst it is the preferred fabric for covering muppet-type puppets, frankly it’s a luxury item and you can get away with any number of other fabrics. Most suggest using a normal no-pill fleece that can be found in any fabrics and crafts stores. If you’re Australian, your best bet is to walk into Spotlight and get several metres worth of any fleece they sell. It’s about $14.95 AUD per metre, and there are always a range of plain colours and patterned. I’ve used it myself on a number of muppet-type puppets (see my pattern for an example of how it turned out) and been able to get my hands on some antron fleece. While the latter is definitely much softer and allows for dying different colours, the former is certainly suitable enough to make puppets with. Really, no one but you will know the difference.

More information about materials and tools for muppet-type puppets can be found here. More info about where to buy puppet supplies in Australia can be found here.