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Rajhastani
Puppets- Making your own Puppets
How
to Make Your Own Kathputli Puppet excerpts from Shilpa:
Folk Dances, Music, Crafts and Puppetry of India, By Carol
Hansen, Peggy Mueller, and Marilyn Turkover. New Delhi:
Educational Resources Center, 1980.
The
patterns given here are designed to resemble traditional
kathputli. The skit provided for this activity “The
Magic Sarangi” is scripted although kathputli normally
do not perform with a script. Each character in the skit
“Magic Sarangi” is inspired by an Indian puppet.
For simplicity, paper sculpture has been chosen as the art
medium rather than woodcarving.
Materials
per Puppet:
·
1 sturdy cardboard cylinder, 6 inches round and about 8
inches long.
· One piece of felt or colorful cloth, 9 inches by
12 inches.
· One piece of bright-colored cloth for kilt or skirt,
13 inches by 24 inches.
· Cotton batting or cloth cord 40 inches long.
· One regular size needle and thread.
· One large-eyed needle.
· Bits of decorative materials, i.e. ribbon, trim,
sequins, etc. Paints and/or color crayons, masking tape,
glue, scissors.
Copy
the puppet heads onto plain white paper ready for construction,
as thefollowing
picture shows, and then move on to Step One.
Step
One:
Choose
the character you will construct as a puppet. Paint or color
the head as you wish. Lips and markings on forehead, nose
and ears are red. A red dot goes in the corner of each eye.
Cut out the head, nose and ears making sure to cut also
on dotted lines if they are indicated. Fold nose on dotted
line and insert tabs into slits on face. Secure tabs on
back side with tape or glue. Fold back tabs on ears and
tape or glue to designated place on face. Set aside and
prepare the cardboard body.
Step
Two:
Use
heavy cardboard tubing such as foil or wrapping paper tubing,
about 8 inches long and 6 inches or slightly more in circumference.
There are no legs. The marionette wears a kilt or skirt
for easy movement
About 4 inches from the tube, make a small
hole with scissor or large needle. Reinforce with masking
tape. Directly across from it, make another small hole and
reinforce it in the same way (See illustration 19).
Step
Three:
From
pattern given here, cut two pieces of cloth for arms and
stitch as directed on pattern page, wrong sides together.
Turn and stuff with cotton batting or strips of scrap cloth.
Turning raw edges in, stitch arm ends closed and wrap wrist
several times with colored thread or yarn. A hand is not
necessary but may be added by cutting one from cardboard.
The Indian puppets sometimes have a little yarn tassel added
in place of a hand . Sew little cloth tabs to underside
of each arm at shoulder (Tab is about ¾ inch by 1
inch). Next, attach arms to tube at the X markings. Be sure
attachment is firm by using good glue or little brass brads
or some method of your own (See illustrations 21 and 22).
Step
Four:
Either paint the bodice directly on the
tube with poster paint or glue bright cloth or felt around
the body (accommodating the arms with slits in the cloth
or felt). The bodice is about 2 ½ inches wide and
goes entirely around the tube. Its lower edge will be about
5 inches from the top edge. (illustration 22)
Step
Five:
Choose
gaily colored cloth to harmonize with the bodice. Cut a
piece 13 inches by 24 inches. If bordered cloth is used,
border should run along the 24 inches side. Try to use a
salvedge to eliminate the need to hem the bottom edge of
the kilt. Right sides together, stitch the raw edges of
the 13-inch side together. This will form a large tube from
which the kilt is to be made. Gather the top edge of the
kilt with a running stitch (use double thread for strength
when gathering).
Turn
the cloth so that the right side is out and begin pulling
the gathered edge together. This is to be the waistline
of the kilt. Place the tube inside the gathered kilt and
draw the gathers up snugly about the tube just above the
lower edge of the bodice. Pull from both ends of the gathering
threads so that you can tie and knot the ends tightly to
help secure the kilt. Use strong glue at waist to secure
the kilt firmly to the tube.
Step
Six:
A double thickness of material, the same
as used for the kilt or commercial seam building may be
sewn over raw edges at the waist to form the belt. Secure
at the backside of the puppet.
Step
Seven:
A length of string or heavy carpet thread
40 inches in length is now attached to the puppet at two
points. Thread one end of the strings through two holes
in the tube, entering from the outer side at one of the
holes, passing across the diameter of the tube and emerging
at the opposite side through the hole made at that point.
Pull the string through far enough to knot with the long
end of the string and position the knot just above the center
point at the top of the tube (illustration 24).
Attach the other end of the string to the
backside of the puppet at the waist using a large eyed needle
to sew it into place (illustration 25).
Step
Eight:
Glue or tape the tabs on either side of
the face around the tube so that the tabs rest just above
the arms. Clip off the rounded neckpiece if it interferes
with the bodice. Decorate bodice with colored tape or ribbon.
(Illustrations 16, 17). Practice working the puppet by working
the string in and out between fingers of one hand. (Illustration
25)
Backdrops
