Why are there no free costume patterns for puppets?
Well, there are a couple out there on the net - but very few can be found. Why? Because puppets can vary wildly in type, shape, colours, size, method of operation… each puppet, even if it’s made using a pattern, is unique. The costume is therefore not only unique to the puppet’s requirements, but also your requirements. Puppets are simply not one size fits all.
Please note, this refers to costumes for puppets only, and not for humans… so no, it won’t help you build your halloween costume.
Eg. What if you want a free (or, for that matter, paid for) puppet costume pattern, and search for it on the net? But what costume do you want? Do you want something with a cowboy theme? A tshirt? How about a dracula’s costume? What about the method of operation - you will have to leave room in your costume for placement of rods, strings, puppeteer’s hands, etc.
This is why you won’t find many free patterns for puppet costumes. It’s too hard to offer a range of patterns, because anything you will find might not meet the needs of your puppet, or your show. Most free costume patterns will be for a specific type of puppet (ie. glove puppet), or will only have instructions for parts of a costume (ie. sleeves).
Take a look at my post on puppet costumes; there you will find a link to a great FREE book on how to make your own puppet costumes. It will suit every puppet type, for every show, every style, every shape, and every material. You’re going to need to make a costume either way, and it’s actually ten times easier to make something from your own designs, than to try and rework a pattern to fit your puppet. And if you really can’t be bothered making the clothing, then you can try purchasing costumes [link to be added].
You may want to also read the article on dispelling some myths of free patterns [link to be added].
This post AKA puppet clothes patterns, AKA making clothes for puppets + free patterns, AKA pattern for puppet clothes, AKA string puppet costume patterns
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Ooh, thanks for that Kelvin - I've heard of Barge too, but since I've never found it in Australia, had largely forgot about it. When I did a search for the product just now, I also saw that Adam Savage from Mythbusters loves it... so it's got to be good ;) I'd love to try all these fancy things you have in the US!
... School of Puppetry on What glues do you use to make puppets with?Also, the thing about letting the glue dry a bit before attaching the two pieces together is also something I've heard of, and commonly referred to as 'tacking'. (I guess because the glue gets 'tacky' or sticky, which makes it easier to attach especially for liquid glues) Oddly enough, the term 'tacking' seems to be something I've only heard, I couldn't find references of it myself.
Spray glue, like I said in the post, is something that I haven't quite found to be useful. I agree it would work best for smooth gluing, but when I use spray glue the only thing that happens is that the material sticks for a minute then curls away from whatever you're gluing it to. Evidently I need to try a different brand...