How to Make Talking String Puppets
String puppets are a fun craft project that can be done by both children and adults in a relatively short amount of time. Similar in design to the more traditional marionette, a string puppet can be used to put on puppet shows, amuse friends, and making one is a wonderful activity for the whole family. The components needed to make a string puppet easily are found at any craft supply store.
Things You'll Need
- Medium-gauge yarn
- String
- Two wooden dowels, 1/4-inch wide and 6 inches long
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Craft glue
- Googly eyes
- Tack nail
- Hammer
Instructions
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1
Make two pom-poms for the body and head of the string puppet. To do this, cut out two circles of cardboard that are four inches wide, and then two that are two inches wide. Cut smaller circles in the center of each of these cardboard circles.
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2
Put the two 4-inch circles together and wrap the medium-gauge yarn around them, pulling the yarn through the center holes that were cut out. Do this until the circles are fully wrapped and the yarn is so dense that no more fits through the center holes. Snip the ball of yarn from the twined cardboard circles and tie off the end.
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3
Cut carefully between the two circles and twine a 3- to 4-inch thread of yarn around the center of the circles; securely tie it off. This forms the body of the string puppet.
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4
Put the two inches circles together and repeat steps 2 and 3 to create the head of the string puppet.
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5
Cut a 3-inch piece of yarn from the main ball. Glue this piece to both the head and the body. Hold the string in place until the glue has dried enough so that it doesn't pull away when gently tugged.
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6
Draw a mouth on a piece of cardboard. The upper portion of the mouth should be of standard size to the head type desired, but the bottom portion needs to be able to move, so it should be slightly oversized.
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7
Punch small holes in the corners of the bottom mouth piece. Loop small pieces of string through each hole and tie them off to the bottom portion of the head piece of the string puppet.
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8
Glue the upper mouth piece onto the string puppet head above the newly attached bottom mouth piece.
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9
Draw feet on piece of cardboard and cut them out.
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10
Cut a pair of 3-inch strings of yarn from the ball and glue them to the bottom of the body. Align the feet so they are facing the same direction as the mouth. Glue the feet to the bottom of the pair of 3-inch threads.
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11
Glue the googly eyes in place above the mouth on the head of the string puppet.
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12
Cross the two dowels, forming an "X" pattern. Place the tack nail in the center of the "X" and carefully use a hammer to nail the two dowels together.
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13
Attach a 12-inch long piece of yarn to the head of the string puppet. Attach the other end of the string to one of the four tips of the crossed dowels.
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14
Run a 14-inch piece of string through the head of the puppet and glue that end to the interior center portion of the bottom mouth piece. Attach the other end of the string to the opposite side of the dowel from the head attachment.
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15
Attach two 18-inch pieces of yarn to the tops of each of the feet and tie the other ends to opposite ends of the crossed dowels.
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16
Allow the glue to dry fully on the string puppet before using it.
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