Make your own Punch & Judy puppets

I was creator, producer, music arranger, conductor, and director of the Annual Solstice Extravaganza in Durham and Chapel Hill, NC for many years. I was also chief prop maker, and that might have been my favorite part of the whole thing!

I made a huge donkey's head for someone to wear as she capered about during the carol with the refrain, "Hey Sir Donkey, Hey!"

I made two boar's heads on platters for the Boar's Head Carol

I made a papier mache pudding for the wassailing songs that mention figgy pudding.

And I made these hand puppets for a skit we called "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Edenwood Estates." There was a purple serpent, and eventually Eden was bulldozed to make way for McMansions.

Their heads were made over balloons - fat side up for Adam and skinny end up for Eve. Their outer layer is fabric, for durability (and they are 20 years old). Their bodies are made out of two layers of soft knit fabric, quilted together. They have the blasé look of suburban dwellers. I am quite pleased with them still.

These instructions provided by Chris Somerville (see his website in links below).

1. Materials required: Thick unglazed paper ("sugar-paper" from a craft shop is ideal, or some newspapers), cold water paste, cardboard, poster, acrylic or oil paints, mixture of whitening and glue (or wallpaper paste and glue).
   
   
2. Head roll: a strong tube of cardboard - 14cm long for Punch, 10cm long for other characters.
   
   
3. Cover this with layers of paper which have been torn (not cut) into small pieces and soaked in cold water paste (surplus paste should be squeezed out).
   
   
4. When you have formed a rough head (B) insert a peg of wood in the position of the nose: this can be built up into the required shape for each character by using more paper.
   
   
5. When the head has reached stage C, dry it slowly in the oven: a mixture of glue and whitening will give the bead a smooth finish.
   
   
6. Hair and whiskers can be made from crepe hair, odd bits of fur and wool.
   
   
7. Paint the heads with bright colours, using poster, acrylic or oil paint.
   
   
8. Hands: make two tubes of cardboard large enough to fit your thumb (D). Press one end of each tube flat and mark out the shape of the hand; cut away the unwanted parts (E). Cover the whole of the tubes with a layer of paper until a strong pair of bands is formed, then dry and paint them.
   
   
9. Body: Make a shirt of any strong cloth; fix the head and hands in position with thread sewn through holes pierced in the neck and wrists.

1. The Fit-up is made of three sections shown in G. The measurements shown are for a full size fit-up for an adult. The height will vary considerably depending on how tall you are.
   
   
2. The shelf or stage should be about level with your wrists when you hold your hands in front of your face.
   
   
3. The material is any wood about 4cm thick. A shelf 1.07m long, 9 cm wide, and 12mm thick is required for the stage.
   
   
4. The corners of the frames should be fitted with 15cm angle brackets, and two are used to support the shelf.
   
   
5. The three sections are bolted or tied together, and covered with cheap curtain lining or coloured hessian, The pelmet and curtains shown here are made from hessian and are hung from the top rail of the stage.
   
   
6. A curtain of muslin (69cm deep and the width of the inside of box) is hung on a rail about 30cm behind the stage opening. You stand behind this and because the box is covered in, you can see through the muslin, but the audience cannot see you. For this to work properly most of the available light should be from the front, and the curtains covering the fit-up should be as lightproof as possible.

This figure (is it Napoleon?) is from Chandra's Box of Stars. Chandra is a wonderful artist. She writes: "The head and hands are sculpted from polymer clay and painted with acrylics. His hat is embellished with free motion embroidery. The rest of the body is made of needle felted wool, and below you can see a guillotine made entirely from cloth and free motion embroidery!"

On Plaster casting Punch and Judy characters I'm documenting the process my mentee Jeimy and I are going through sculpting heads in plasticene, dunking them in plaster, and then putting paper mache in the plaster molds.

There is a good explanation at PunchandJudy.com of how to sew relatively simple outfits.

I've been looking and looking for information about making the fancy costumes we see on antique dolls, no luck so far. If you have any information you're willing to share, I'd be grateful!

This one belongs to Rob's Punch & Judy

Mr Fraser says: In this illustration puppets are held above the head in a stage opening (proscenium) whose lower border is at the performer's eye level. This position presents puppets where they can be seen over the heads of a standing audience.

The inside of the booth shoes:

1. A curtain rail behind the upper border of the proscenium;
   
2. A playboard where much of the action takes place;
   
3. A chelf for properties when not in use;
   
4. A wire round three sides of teh booth on which puppets are hung; and
   
5. A canvas sling into which puppets are dropped when they have played their part.

The author points out that this system is less tiring than holding your arms over your head for half an hour!