sewing puppets!

Hello everyone,
I was wondering if you could help me with some advice. I have no
sewing experience! I am a therapist and love doing all kinds of play
therapy with children. I would really like to get into puppet
therapy, where you work with children to create their own puppets used
in play. I found a neat activity which discusses creating puppets
that fit on your hand by cutting out cotton and then sewing it
together. I would like to make a bunch of these and have them
available for clients to decorate themselves. Are there any
inexpensive sewing machines that would allow me to do this? I am not
looking for something complicated here, just to be able to sew two
pieces of cotton together in a typical puppet shape. I would fear
that doing it by hand would take a long time, if I was going to make
30 puppets!
Thanks for your feedback!
Matt

Matt wrote:

in play. I found a neat activity which discusses creating puppets
that fit on your hand by cutting out cotton and then sewing it
together. I would like to make a bunch of these and have them
available for clients to decorate themselves. Are there any
inexpensive sewing machines that would allow me to do this? I am not
looking for something complicated here, just to be able to sew two
pieces of cotton together in a typical puppet shape.

Sure. Check your local thrift stores and see if they have any older
machines in good condition (test them first). I find great machines
there all the time and pay between $5 and $40 for them. That's your
best deal, and you will have a machine that will last you a long time.
--
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

"Matt" wrote in message
om...
I found a neat activity which discusses creating puppets
that fit on your hand by cutting out cotton and then sewing it
together. I would like to make a bunch of these and have them
available for clients to decorate themselves. Are there any
inexpensive sewing machines that would allow me to do this?

Matt, you can do that with a simple straight stitch machine. Check out your
local charity/thrift stores, car boot/yard sales and the small ads in your
local paper, or even ebay. You're looking for something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=60 5
or this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...category=60 5

The second one doesn't have a motor: you turn the handle on the right to
make it sew. That means you're sewing with one hand but it also means you
can control the speed very easily. It doesn't have to be a SInger: those are
just the ones that are around most.

Check that the machine works and that it has a manual - although, if it's an
old Singer, manuals are readily available. Get it home, clean it and oil it
as the manual instructs, give it a new needle and some good-quality thread
(Gutterman or Mettler) and come back here if you have any problems.

DO NOT get a cheap new machine, especially the tiny hand-held ones: they're
junk.

HTH

--
Sally Holmes
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England

Do not use cotton no stretch, raveling, - use polar fleece. You can
sometimes get it cheap in pieces ( variety of color) - where I live ( lately
I bought it for $ 1.50 Canadian per pound . It is perfect for puppets and
finger puppets and you can glue ( or use glue gun) colorful scraps of other
fleece and yarn to it. Use ready made eyes from craft stores.
As other before me mentioned used old sewing machine is the best always !

Ella

"Matt" wrote in message
om...
Hello everyone,
I was wondering if you could help me with some advice. I have no
sewing experience! I am a therapist and love doing all kinds of play
therapy with children. I would really like to get into puppet
therapy, where you work with children to create their own puppets used
in play. I found a neat activity which discusses creating puppets
that fit on your hand by cutting out cotton and then sewing it
together. I would like to make a bunch of these and have them
available for clients to decorate themselves. Are there any
inexpensive sewing machines that would allow me to do this? I am not
looking for something complicated here, just to be able to sew two
pieces of cotton together in a typical puppet shape. I would fear
that doing it by hand would take a long time, if I was going to make
30 puppets!
Thanks for your feedback!
Matt