The Cat Puppet Saga - Part 3

Well, yet another week has flown past, and here I am again - Cy Bear - to give you the final installment in the Cat Puppet Saga.  We have yet to hear whether she (for it is indeed a she-Puppet) has arrived safely in Tulsa, but it took about  10 days for the last package we sent to America to reach it's destination, and thus, we hope we'll know sometime this week that the journey has been safely accomplished.
However, since last week's post was all about the Prototype that was made to see if the concept actually worked, we thought you'd like to see the finished version - so here she is:

The human hand manipulating this Cat Puppet is another fellow resident of ours - a lady, who is blessed with long fingers and a wider hand than Isobel has, and found her easy to work.  (Which means that if  MrJS from Tulsa wants another person to help him, either his son or daughter will probably have little difficulty in stepping into the role.)

The fabric this Puppet is made with was specifically chosen by MrJS after he was introduced to our Mohair fabric supplier, Mohair Bear Supplies Limited - who are based in Telford, Staffordshire, England,, UK.  (We were very lucky to be able to use it, because when first chosen we were informed that it was "out of stock".)  However, there was just enough when Isobel contacted Mohair Bear Supplies Limited for our requirements. I gather that she fits the bill exactly and her arrival in Tulsa is awaited eagerly.  (The Puppet on which this Cat is based was well known for not being the happiest individual, and Isobel tried very hard to replicate her facial expression from the photographs that were sent to her.)

This shows the Cat Puppet in a sideways on, semi-prone position.  As the front paws are unstuffed, Isobel had to arrange them so she appears to be leaning on her elbows, but the back legs and tail are able to stay where they should be.

This angle gives her face a rather sweet and forlorn look I feel.  
And I'll finish off this final piece about our Cat Puppets (until Isobel is asked to make another one!)   This shows the two completed Puppets - using this model and both made from the same pattern, despite the apparent difference in size.  What makes the difference, is the thickness of each fabric.  The Sad Puppet on the left is made from a Faux Fur fabric - while the Cheerful Chappy on the left is made with a Plush material.  It all depends on the thickness of the pile utilised for each project.

At the moment, and because we've not yet listed the prototype in our Shop, if another one is made, probably it will be like  our original suggestion.  But..... in this toy making business, it would seem, one can never tell.  We remain at the service of our potential customers.
Good bye for this week. By the way, Isobel has added another skill to her toy-making abilities by finally managing to alter a pattern from the diagram she finds in her pattern books.  The result took two evenings to achieve, and was accompanied by some not very ladylike expressions of frustration (from what I  could hear from my perch in the bedroom), and I hope to be able to show you a picture of the latest addition to  our Shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES) sometime soon. 
Until next time - your Friend, Cy Bear.

The Cat Puppet Saga - Second installment.

Greetings Everybody:
Cy Bear back again, as promised last time around - this time to tell you that, indeed, the Cat Puppet we were asked to do using the alternative Cat pattern did indeed prove possible.

Isobel set about cutting out the pattern using a similar fabric to the one used for the Ginger Sitting Cat in our previous post, and then did a lining.  Whilst having a lined  puppet might seem a little over the top, Isobel likes to do it because so often the canvas backings which are used in plush fabrics can be a bit scratchy.  So if the operator has his/her hands inside for too long, she feels it's very uncomfortable for a puppeteer to cope with.  Here's the prototype before it's stuffed.

Here, you see it  - from the other side,

And now on his back - with the Coldham Cuddlies label discreetly sewn  in place and before Isobel attached the felt pads to all the legs.  The back legs, tail, and head/neck will be stuffed, leaving the tail end open for the operator's hand to be inserted, and the front legs are left "as is", so that they can be manipulated by the puppeteer as required.

Isobel then went in search of one of her fellow residents to "borrow" his hand to demonstrate that a man's hand could fit in comfortably so that MrJS could rest easy on that score.  The puppet still needed to have his ears attached, as well as the pads for the back legs.  These deliberately had no pads on the back legs, because the stuffing of each was the next step.  
Normally, one would do the stuffing of such appendages AFTER the pads had been sewn on. However, as this project is a Puppet, Isobel decided to close the leg on the inside of the body, and stuff the legs from the feet upwards - and than attach the felt pads.  (That way, the stuffing can be kept in place while the operator moves the Toy around).
In the case of the tail, she did the thing - retaining the integrity of the inside of the puppet - and filled in the tail by stuffing it from its tip and then sewing the seam up with a ladder stitch.  The same thing happened in the case of the head - before the ears were attached.  (A cardboard tube, covered with calico fabric was inserted into the neck before that cavity was closed.  Then the head was stuffed, with the polyester fibre fill being carefully arranged around the tube so that it was held in place while the head gets moved around by the Puppeteer)

  This is a better view of the almost completed puppet, waiting to have legs and tail filled in.

The rear view (seen here) with the required components in place and ready to be deployed as a Puppet.  
In this prototype's case, though Isobel discovered at this point that she'd made a mistake when cutting out the puppet, and on one side the fur pile is going in the opposite direction to the other!  It's not noticeable unless one knows about it, but if  - or when - it is posted to our Etsy shop (www.COLDHAMCUDDLIES.Etsy.com), it will not be offered at the full price a properly constructed Activity Toy would be.   While it won't affect the mobility of the puppet, the "look" will not be to the standard to which COLDHAMCUDDLIES aspires. 

Here is the finished Puppet, just waiting to have some whiskers added.  I can tell you, it's very difficult to take a photograph of a hand puppet - without the operator's hand inside it.  But, Isobel did her best here.

Lo and behold - the prototype Cat Puppet ready to be operated by whomever wants to do so! Having proved that the original Cat pattern can be converted, Isobel set out to make MrJS's version of his Cat Puppet - which has been completed satisfactorily, and I'll be telling you all about her, next time around.  (She's been packed up and is currently en route to Tulsa).
In the meantime, have a good week everybody.  It's turned mighty cold, and a bit threateningly grey this afternoon, after a week of lovely sunshine.  All the flowers are coming out in the garden which surrounds where we now live and if I look out of the windows in the flat, there are some lovely sights to be seen.  Hope you all have equally nice views.
Your friend, Cy Bear.