Robert Robot Hand Puppet
Here's a goggle-eyed, gleaming monster made out of a tissue tube and aluminum foil.
Construct his head as you did Miss Muffet's (No. 17), then wrap it in aluminum foil. By
pinching and pushing the foil this way and that you can get the most gruesome features.
Cut the large parts of the eyes from paper and stick them to the head with silver-headed
thumb tacks, which then make the pupils of the eyes.
Rainy Day Hands
Robert's
right hand can be cut from foil in the shape shown, A, which is then fitted around the
little finger, overlapped and glued or pinched in place. For his left hand, fit the same
shape to the thumb. Simpler mitten hands can be made from paper or foil as for Goldilocks
(No. 19). Longer lasting wrap-around hands, as in A, can be made of felt, leather or
cardboard. Soft wire twisted in the shape shown, B, can be covered with cloth or paper and
then fitted to a paper or leather cuff.
The Basic Body
Here is the pattern, C, for the basic puppet skirt or body. Two pieces
are cut and sewed together down the sides, leaving neck, wrists and hem open. You will
have to experiment to get the proper size for your hand, large enough to allow free
movement, but not so large that too much material gets in your way. Once you have
discovered the right size, make a pattern of cardboard and keep it. With a little
experimentation you will discover ways of padding out your skirts to make characters fat
or broad-shouldered or bosomy. The method shown (D) has the hands attached by rubber bands
to a little pillow, which fits in the palm of your hand under the skirt. This has the
advantage of also holding the hands firmly in place on thumb and little finger.