How to Make a Marionette Puppet

Marionette Idea

Marionette puppets are entertaining for both children and adults and can add excitement and novelty to any school or church curriculum. Purchasing marionette puppets online or in stores can be expensive and can take away from the classroom budget. Luckily, simple yet effective marionette puppets can be made by hand using materials that can be found at any crafts or art supply store.

Things You'll Need

• Medium gauge yarn
• Medium weight cardboard
• Scissors
• Googly eyes
• Craft glue
• 2 wooden dowels (1/4 inch wide, 8 inch long)
• Small tack
• Hammer

Instructions

1. 

   Start by creating 2 pom-poms. First, cut out the pom-pom forms from medium-weight cardboard, which will look like donut-shaped circles. Cut two circles to be 4 inches in diameter, and the other two to be 2 inches in diameter. In the center of each circle, cut out a 1 1/2-inch hole.

2. 

   Place the two larger circles together and line them up. Wrap a ball of yarn around and through the hole of the cardboard circle. Work your way all around the outside of the cardboard circles. Continue to wrap the yarn until it can no longer pass through the hole. Repeat this process with the two smaller circles.

3. 

   Cut in between the circles, separating the two. Hold the yarn firmly so that the yarn does not slip off of the cardboard while you cut. Wrap a 5-inch piece of yarn in between the circles around the wrapped yarn, knotting it tightly. Carefully remove the cardboard circles from the yarn. Trim the edges of the yarn so that the ends are even. You now have a small pom-pom and a large pom-pom.

4. 

   Glue one end of a 2-inch piece of yarn to the smaller pom-pom, then glue the other end to the larger pom-pom. Let the glue dry completely. Cut out 2 foot-shaped pieces from the cardboard. Glue the end of a 3-inch piece of yarn to one of the cardboard feet. Glue the other end to the bottom of the larger pom-pom. Repeat this process with the other cardboard foot. Let the glue dry completely.

5. 

   Line up the wooden dowels so that they are lying perpendicular to each other. Carefully hammer a small tack into the center of the dowels, securing them tightly together.

6. 

   Glue the end of an 18-inch piece of yarn to the top of each foot, letting them dry completely. At the same time, tie an 8-inch piece of yarn to the small pom-pom. Once the glue is dry, glue the other ends to the ends of the dowels. The two pieces of yarn connected to the feet should be glued to opposite dowel ends, while the piece of yarn connected to the head should be glued to the front dowel end. Glue on the googly eyes and let them dry completely. The marionette puppet is now ready to be the star of a school or church puppet show.

Resources

• Blick Art Materials