'Talking' Sock Puppet

User-Contributed Project

User-Contributed Project

This project guide is not managed by MAKE staff.

Repurpose a musical greeting card into a fun puppet.

  • Author: Angela Sheehan
  • Time required: 15 to 20 minutes
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Add Note x

This sock puppet makes sound when you open its mouth. It is a quick project for a rainy day and is a great way to use up old musical cards instead of throwing them out.

Click here for a video of it in action.

Sections
Tools
Relevant parts
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Add Note Edit Step 1 — Gather materials  ¶ 

  • Round up your tools and some fun fabrics/felt to work with.

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Add Note Edit Step 2 — Gather the 'guts'  ¶ 

  • Open the card to reveal the circuit board, speaker, and switch.

  • Cut along the card fold around the board and mechanism to make a mouth shape. Detach the speaker from the card back (it should just be glued on).

  • Here is a quick video of how the card mechanism works.

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Add Note Edit Step 3 — Cut felt  ¶ 

  • Cut two pieces of felt, one for each side of the mouth. These two pieces will add some padding and protect the circuit.

  • Cut a slit up in one of the felt pieces and slide the speaker wires through, then sew or hot glue the felt onto the card. Use some hot glue to keep the speaker in place on the felt.

  • Be careful not to block the hinge mechanism on the card when you attach the felt.

  • Optional: cut & sew another piece of felt to cover/hide the speaker and add extra padding to the mouth. Set aside for later.

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Add Note Edit Step 4 — Make the puppet body  ¶ 

  • Cut off the end of your sock (in this case I had a knee sock so I cut off the foot part and just used the long end). Then cut a slit in the sides to make the mouth.

  • You can use your felt mouth to trace and line up the edges on the sock. This will give you a good fit when you start sewing.

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Add Note Edit Step 5 — Sew in the mouth  ¶ 

  • Insert your felt mouth piece into the sock body and sew in place. I folded over the edges so that the sock fabric would keep from unraveling.

  • Add the extra piece of felt you cut earlier if you want to hide the speaker and give it a nice clean look.

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Add Note Edit Step 6 — Add finishing touches  ¶ 

  • Use felt, buttons, or thread to add some fun facial features and make your puppet unique.

  • Test out the mechanism by opening and closing the puppet's mouth. If it gets stuck/won't open properly, you might have sewn the felt too tight or blocked the hinge. Open up your seams and adjust as needed.

I’m working on making an updated version using a card that you can record your own sound into. It would be fun to place the record button in the puppet’s ear and maybe have some light up eyes too.

For more information, check out the Repurposed Tech category page.

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