How to Make Simple Marionettes

Marionettes are generally large, expensive puppets that are made out of wood, cloth and other materials. Making traditional marionettes by hand is a skill that can take years to acquire and perfect. However, it's simple to make a marionette out of paper cutouts and string. It's best to make these types of marionettes from a stiff substance, such as cardboard or poster board. Once the marionette is complete, help your child act out scenes and make up stories using the puppet.

Things You'll Need

• Cardboard or poster board
• Pencil
• Markers, crayons or paint
• Sharp scissors
• Wire brads
• Hole puncher
• 2 chopsticks or pencils
• Tape
• Needle
• Fishing line
• School glue

Instructions

1. Lay the cardboard or poster board on a flat surface. Sketch out individual body parts for the marionette. The puppet will need two separate arms, two separate legs and a torso section with the head attached.

2. Decorate the sketched puppet with markers, crayons or paint, and cut out the pieces.

3. Assemble the puppet face-up on a flat surface. Lay the torso piece down first, then arrange the arms and legs on the marionette so that a section of each overlaps with the torso piece. Push a wire brad through each joint in the puppet; punch holes in the paper if it is too thick to be pierced by the brad alone.

4. Lay down two chopsticks or pencils to form a cross. Tape the sticks together where they intersect.

5. Thread a needle with fishing line. Knot the line and draw the fishing line through the puppet's ankles, wrists and shoulders, knotting and cutting off the line after drawing it through each body part. The length of fishing line extending from each section needs to be long enough to reach the sticks, which should be at least 6 inches above the shoulders; longer if the head is large.

6. Knot the fishing line extending from the puppet's shoulders to the center of the cross. Knot each of the four strings connected to the puppet's limbs to an individual arm of the cross. Dot school glue on each knot to keep it from untying.

References

• Leprechaun Marionette
• How to Make a Paper Marionette

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish