Why are there no Sesame St/Muppet patterns?

This is a misnomer: many people want to make muppet-type puppets. Yes there are plenty of patterns to be found to make them. This article discusses the specific characters (Miss Piggy, Kermit, etc) found on the TV shows The Muppets and Sesame St. No, there are no patterns to make them… Read on…

A lot of people do searches on the net in order to find Miss Piggy, Kermit, Janice, Animal, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Gonzo, Elmo, Swedish Chef, Whatnot puppets, Scooter, or other Sesame St and/or The Muppets patterns. They don’t find any at all. Why?¹

BECAUSE THESE PUPPETS ARE COPYRIGHTED and owned by The Muppet Studio. This means that the only people who have access to the patterns are going to be employees; and unless they want to be sued and/or fired for releasing copyrighted info to the public, said employees will never share the patterns with us. More importantly, those people who do make replicas have a tendency of getting sued.

Believe it or not, but puppet designs and characters can indeed be protected by copyrights. We all love the look, but actually, you can make your very own muppet-type puppet without breaking the law. The trick is in realising that all muppet-type puppets are built in the same way: you can’t copyright a building technique, but you can copyright the character design. What most people don’t understand is that characters are pretty much secondary: all of the Sesame St and The Muppets puppets are built the same way, and the skin coverings, facial features, and other decorations is what makes the character. So instead of trying to rip off someone else’s work, you can actually create your very own character using the same building methods that Jim Henson developed. 

I say this time and time again on Yahoo Answers! "If you like the puppets so much, please support your favourite artists by buying only official merchandise." This point is made clearer in my post on Avenue Q replicas, where I show you just how much the puppet designer, Rick Lyon, earns from his work and the true cost of making a single puppet of professional quality. Every time you want a replica, the true artists lose because they get less royalties: which means less money to make the puppets you love so much. Amazingly enough, even Henson wouldn’t be rich from his work. And ironically, Henson disliked people who copy other people’s styles, and was always encouraging puppeteers to develop their own. Copying his work would certainly have not impressed him.

If you really want a puppet that looks like any of the Henson designs, then I suggest doing the following:

• You can actually buy official merchandise that are almost replicas. These are usually poseable toys, and are NOT for performance. Head to Muppet Central for the most up-to-date info on who is selling them (and for other info on various kinds of official merchandise). 
• Buy a ‘Whatnot’ from FAO Schwarz. They’re made by the Muppet Studio, and they’re like build-a-bear. They might ship internationally (when I enquired, they said no, but they may ship to other countries than mine), but certainly this is as close as you’re going to get to a real replica puppet. They do come with rods, although from various reviews I’ve seen of them, the puppets are not going to be for professional performance either. They’re more for show and for fun. They cost way less than what you’d spend on having a puppet maker create something for you, so it’s a good deal (and also much cheaper than some rip-off merchant selling illegal replicas anyway).
• You can do as I advise and learn how to make your own muppet-type puppet, which while may look similar to the Henson designs, don’t actually copy them. The great thing about the muppet technique - and why it’s so popular - is the building methods are the same, but can produce a zillion unique characters. There are plenty of resources to help you get started, including this list of free patterns. There are also books and pay-per-download patterns, videos and other things.
• Commission a puppet maker to create something from scratch based on your - or their - own ideas. Or simply purchase a puppet via eBay, Etsy.com, or any other website/physical store; which is one of a kind, or based on the puppet maker’s own designs. There are heaps of puppet makers out there who do fantastic work, most of whom make muppet-type puppets. Support the art form by buying something original!

As mentioned in my post on NOT making puppets from The Lion King [link to be added], it’s not ethical of me to provide step-by-step instructions of how to make your own Kermit or any other Henson-made character. Puppeteers also make their living from Henson’s work by being performers, building puppets, etc, so do yourself a favour and just buy a damn soft toy from The Muppets website. At least you’ll know it comes from the Henson company, won’t be a knock-off, and will be enjoyed as a true way of honouring the brilliant and simple puppet designs. You might want to also read this post from Andrew at PuppetVision, who also rails against replicas.

For some more info on building your own muppet-type puppets, check out this pattern or this one. What materials do you use to make these puppets? Read about it here. Read the article on dispelling some myths about free patterns [link to be added]. What’s the difference between a muppet and a puppet? Find the answer here.

¹This post has been heavily edited as of 11 July 2011. Some of it has been edited to reflect more up-to-date info on official sellers of merchandise and remove dead links since the original posting. The rest has been to remove information which I no longer wish to include, such as links to other people’s attempts at ripping toys apart to produce their own replicas. There’s a line between inspiration and replication and those who buy replicas tend to forget that.

This post AKA How to make a puppet from the Muppets and/or Sesame St, AKA Where to Buy The Muppet Show Puppets, AKA where to buy muppet replicas, AKA muppet replica puppets, AKA tutorial on designing Ernie puppet, AKA why are there no muppet puppets for sale [there are, just not useable ones for performances; see FAO Schwartz comments], AKA create sesame puppet, AKA sesame street puppets for sale queensland, AKA make ernie puppet head, AKA i want to buy a puppet like the ones off the muppets, AKA muppet animal pattern, AKA how to make a kermit the frog puppet, AKA the muppets sewing patterns free, AKA oscar the grouch hand puppet pattern, AKA how to build a whatnot puppet, AKA how to make puppets by the creator of the muppets, AKA kermit the frog puppet pattern