How to Wash Hand Puppets
Cloth hand puppets are fun to use. They're also safe and soft for children, but they can be somewhat challenging to wash. Things like delicate construction, fragile materials and paper or other water-vulnerable components make many hand puppets unsuitable for wash in a machine cycle and may mean that the puppet requires care even when hand washing. Handle your puppets delicately during the washing process.
Things You'll Need
- Hand soap or hand washing clothes detergent
- Sit-in stain remover liquid
- Towel
- Seam ripper
- Needle and thread
Instructions
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1
Make sure the puppet is safe to water wash. Consult any care labels that are attached to it. If the puppet is dry-clean only, this should be indicated in these instructions, and the garment should not be hand-washed. You may also wish to dry clean if your puppet is made from delicate fabric or contains special pieces, such as sequins or feathers.
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2
Remove any components that aren't waterproof, such as stuffing or cardboard stiffeners. If you can easily remove any delicate components that aren't likely to stand up well to getting wet, do so. Use a seam ripper to remove any items that are held in place by minor stitching, if you feel confident re-attaching them later.
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3
Apply sit-in stain remover to any stains on the puppet. Let sit according to the instructions on the product.
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4
Run a basin of cold water. Do not use warm, as this may cause dyes to bleed.
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5
Wash the puppet. Use hand soap or clothes detergent designed for hand washing. Gently soap up and rub the puppet.
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6
Rinse the puppet thoroughly. Run several fresh basins of clean, cold water. Massage the puppet to get the soap out. Run it under the direct stream of the faucet to finish.
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7
Dry the puppet. Gently squeeze out the water, but do not wring the puppet. Press between two layers of a towel, then allow the puppet to air-dry. Let the outside dry, then turn the puppet inside-out to let the inside dry.
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8
Re-assemble the puppet.
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