ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica (later builds, using my newest patterns)

Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

your Kermits are even getting better, I already thought the first one was gret, and now I see the last ones. Wow.
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

This might be a stupid question but I'll ask it anyway. I looked at the Henson stitching tutorials on YouTube but I'm still a little confused. On the head, do you line up both sides with the finished side faceing out and then sew? I hope that makes sense. Great Kermit by the way. You are very talented.

This is what I have so far. You can kinda see the seams.
I'd love it if you could pm some constructive critiques.

IMG_20180925_165754.jpg
IMG_20180925_165809.jpg
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

Not a stupid question at all! And yes, you’re right. With the “Henson Stitch”—aka ladder stitch, you just sew it with the finished side facing out. No need to sew from the back and flip inside out; that’s the cool thing about this stitching technique; it’s easier to attach parts separately—like the arms, legs, etc. Don’t worry about the seam, you’ll still be able to see it to a degree. It looks like you’re using standard fleece, which works fine, but keep in mind that it’s harder to hide seams with it. The antron fleece that is used on the puppets is more suitable for hiding the seams, as the fleece can be ‘fluffed’ a bit with a needle.



This might be a stupid question but I'll ask it anyway. I looked at the Henson stitching tutorials on YouTube but I'm still a little confused. On the head, do you line up both sides with the finished side faceing out and then sew? I hope that makes sense. Great Kermit by the way. You are very talented.

This is what I have so far. You can kinda see the seams.
I'd love it if you could pm some constructive critiques.

View attachment 844830
View attachment 844831
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

Thanks for the reply. The stitch doesn't seem too difficult but lining up the fabric can be a pain. I think maybe pinning the fabric from now on will help.
I've been practicing with the standard fleece and plan to make my first one out of that stuff. I'm hoping if I get good enough to then make my second kermit out of antron fleece. There seems a big difference in quality between the two types of fleece.
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

Thanks for the reply. The stitch doesn't seem too difficult but lining up the fabric can be a pain. I think maybe pinning the fabric from now on will help.
I've been practicing with the standard fleece and plan to make my first one out of that stuff. I'm hoping if I get good enough to then make my second kermit out of antron fleece. There seems a big difference in quality between the two types of fleece.

Yes, definitely make use of the pins to keep the fabric from shifting; I find that it helps to be as light with the hands as possible. Grabbing or pulling on the fabric as you sew can cause shifts. But it looks like you’re doing a really good job. Your seam is barely noticeable with the fleece you’re work with, which is really great, as it’s harder to hide seams on that fleece. Also, don’t worry too much about seams, as they are even visible to a degree on the original Henson puppets! You’d love working with the antron fleece, as it’s easier to sew! There is indeed a really big difference in the two fabrics, and it’s a great idea to try both.


Below are originals which have some seams visible—often only viewable from certain angles and under certain lighting conditions.

0013D32D-B6D3-4D75-A1AC-0F41872AB297.jpeg30CB45B6-6B2D-43A8-9A17-02F883343575.jpeg
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

I just finished up my 4th Kermit Puppet build. It never seems to end, as I'm always seeing things that need to be improved. This time, it was the shape and material of the mouth-plate that motivated me to make this one, along with a scale modification after I spent some time studying an original Kermit up close in an exhibition here early this year. Kermit looked surprisingly small in person--not much bigger than the MR replicas Kermit. I redid most of my patterns, especially the head, as this time I used rubber as the mouth-plate material, giving him a wider range of emotions. Overall, this Kermit is also slightly smaller than my earlier builds--even closer to the original I observed. Even then, he is still just over two feet in height. Materials used, except for the rubber mouth-plate, are the same as previous builds: antron fleece from "Puppet Pelts" (a great shop), black adhesive velvet, ultrasuede (red), jewelry wire (fingers), felt, 35mm domes (Puppet Pelts).


I'll start with the pics of the final result:


https://i.imgur.com/QeCvJ5Z.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KNNNQ19.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/GTZxTJM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Xrnw3YJ.jpg


Some progress photos below! I'm not releasing the new patterns for this build, as it just took far too much work on them to get to this point, however, the modifications were done to the patterns I've previously posted on my earlier Kermit build. I'll eventually write up a few tips/tutorials on how to customize the head pattern to your own hand.


Pattern Bag: It took me 6 different designs to arrive at the head that you see on this build. Most of the changes were small, but made big differences!

https://i.imgur.com/bZr4mnd.jpg



The feet are based more on the iconic Kermit feet than the earlier flat looking style that I used on my previous build.

https://i.imgur.com/x0fPgVG.jpg


Arm/hands patterns were upgraded by combining the palm with the arm (like the MR pattern). A bit more streamlined than my earlier pattern.

https://i.imgur.com/ql02ZX1.jpg


Styrene "palm" insert. The finger wires were hooked and then epoxied into the plate for more security.

https://i.imgur.com/MsrVzmA.jpg


The eyes are 35mm domes (scaled down from the 40mm ping pongs I'd used on my previous builds), purchased from "Puppet Pelts", and then painted. I also modified the attachment in the back with a nylon screw and nut, as I wanted them to be removable. At some point I may sand down the profile of the nut so that it is less intrusive on the performer's hand.

https://i.imgur.com/uT2pMyy.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/z5ccZXh.jpg



Giving the felt a slightly yellow tint. I wanted the felt to have a slightly more lime appearance with a hint of yellow, to make it look more like some of the earlier Kermits. The exhibition one I saw had a collar similar to this color:

https://i.imgur.com/kTStqm3.jpg



I'll update more with some tutorial drawings and tips!

Hello i am so amazed that you took time to make this it looks amazing, and i am making one myself i have been doing research on making one for 5 months and already have the material needed except the collar/feet color it doesn’t look right when i hold it up next to the green antron, i think it may be too dark, may i ask what antron fleece and dye you used for your kermit? please respond when you can, thanks.
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

Hello i am so amazed that you took time to make this it looks amazing, and i am making one myself i have been doing research on making one for 5 months and already have the material needed except the collar/feet color it doesn’t look right when i hold it up next to the green antron, i think it may be too dark, may i ask what antron fleece and dye you used for your kermit? please respond when you can, thanks.


Hi, thanks! For the collar and feet, I bought the “lypple” color felt from overtheriverfelt on ebay. But I then dyed it slightly yellow; the stock lypple color is pretty good but a bit too lime. But the overall tone is close. The color for the collar/feet is hard to really determine, as it can look very different depending on which era Kermit you’re going for, as well as it just looking differerent under different lighting and photos. I’d say ideal range would be somewhere like a warmer lime green, although you can go more yellowish if that’s the look you prefer. The Kermit puppet I saw at Imagination Unlimited had a collar that was sort of warm lime-like, as opposed to something that was very yellow.

The antron color I used is the “frog” color from the lineup that Puppet Pelts offers on their site. It’s actually pretty awesome looking, and I feel close enough to Kermit’s green. Of course, you could custom dye your own to get it even closer, but I decided not to, as it’s just a ton of work to get right.



CMKhyIk.jpg
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

Hi, thanks! For the collar and feet, I bought the “lypple” color felt from overtheriverfelt on ebay. But I then dyed it slightly yellow; the stock lypple color is pretty good but a bit too lime. But the overall tone is close. The color for the collar/feet is hard to really determine, as it can look very different depending on which era Kermit you’re going for, as well as it just looking differerent under different lighting and photos. I’d say ideal range would be somewhere like a warmer lime green, although you can go more yellowish if that’s the look you prefer. The Kermit puppet I saw at Imagination Unlimited had a collar that was sort of warm lime-like, as opposed to something that was very yellow.

The antron color I used is the “frog” color from the lineup that Puppet Pelts offers on their site. It’s actually pretty awesome looking, and I feel close enough to Kermit’s green. Of course, you could custom dye your own to get it even closer, but I decided not to, as it’s just a ton of work to get right.



http://i.imgur.com/CMKhyIk.jpg

Thank you so much! i’ll try to update you as much as i can, again thank you.
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

I have been looking into hiring someone to make me a Kermit. But they are too expensive. This has made me really want to build one. Ecl yours look great! I can see the love and attention to detail in them. I have been pricing and finding all the materials I need to start one today. I have a question, what material did you use for the tongue and mouth hole? Also where did you source your ultrasuede? Thank you so much for providing all this information. I can’t wait to start! I definitely will have more questions later.
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

I have been looking into hiring someone to make me a Kermit. But they are too expensive. This has made me really want to build one. Ecl yours look great! I can see the love and attention to detail in them. I have been pricing and finding all the materials I need to start one today. I have a question, what material did you use for the tongue and mouth hole? Also where did you source your ultrasuede? Thank you so much for providing all this information. I can’t wait to start! I definitely will have more questions later.


Thanks! And I know the feeling. Before I even decided to attempt to make these Kermit, I had thought to find one to buy, but ran into a couple of problems: the few options I found were almost always not accurate enough, as well as being very pricey. I used felt for the tongues on mine, although that varied on the originals—some appear to be as thick as a felt material, and some are basically flat, possibly something like ultrasuede? Not sure. I think felt looks great, and it adds a bit of dimensional detail to the inside of the mouth. The mouth hole/throat pattern was cut from black adhesive velvet, the same stuff I use for his pupils. Ultrasuede is pricey stuff; I usually buy them in the smaller sheets as you don’t really need much for the mouth (the red surface that is glued to the rubber base). I’ve purchased the sheets from both ebay and amazon. Something like this would work: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/292739182041. Although, red felt would work as well, it’s mostly just personal preference. I personally like the ultrasuede for the mouth because it is very durable and I prefer the more subtle texture of it.
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

A few more photos of my most recent builds :)


N98jTI1.jpg 7zMO4n6.jpg Qp6jmF0.jpg
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

Really wonderful work here. It all rings true. I'll parrot everybody else's kudo's on the build, but I really love the dated photos. They look like they're straight from the old movie magazines from the 70s and 80s. I used to subscribe to Cinematographer Magazine, and your pics are what the old issues are starting to look like.
 
Re: ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica, version 4,5, and 6, and photo puppet versio

View attachment 855998
AMAZING! You have inspired me to get to work, and I have been for about a month now and have some questions I'm hoping you wouldn't mind answering. 1.) Did you just glue the feet to the legs with the contact cement? 2.) Did you stitch 2 patterns together for the arms and legs or just double the width and fold over the felt and use one stitch? 3.) Any chance you'd be willing to post some close ups of where the arms and legs are sewn to the body? Or are they contact cemented?
 
AMAZING! You have inspired me to get to work, and I have been for about a month now and have some questions I'm hoping you wouldn't mind answering. 1.) Did you just glue the feet to the legs with the contact cement? 2.) Did you stitch 2 patterns together for the arms and legs or just double the width and fold over the felt and use one stitch? 3.) Any chance you'd be willing to post some close ups of where the arms and legs are sewn to the body? Or are they contact cemented?

Thanks! I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

1) For the feet, only the felt bottoms of the feet were glued on via contact cement around the edges and toes. There is an oval cardboard or styrene insert where I put some stuffing on top of to give his feet that subtle bulge on the tops of his feet. Here’s an old drawing I made hopefully show how I did this. Basically, the foot is constructed first. To make it easier, I cut out the foot shape from the fleece first, then I glue the oval insert to a piece of felt (for the bottoms of the feet). I then slowly use contact cement to glue the edges of the felt to the fleece foot cutout (no need to trim the felt to a foot shape yet until it’s glued onto the fleece; much easier that way). Before I completely glue on the felt bottom all the way around the foot, I will add a small bit of stuffing that sits in between the felt and fleece, and on top of the insert. This will give the foot that little bulge that can be seen on top. Once that’s in, I just simply use contact cement to glue the felt all the way on the fleece—toes, etc. After that, you can just take a pair of sharp scissors and trim the felt, using the outline of the already cut fleece foot as a guide. I then sew the foot onto the leg; this is a bit awkward, but to aid the process, I make sure the leg is already stuffed so that it forms a cylinder shape. Since it’s hard to use pins for this, I just slowly sew the bottom of the leg to the foot. It’s not too bad after some practice.


cmCLWyi.jpg


4sOnhsl.jpg


rrTdN8a.jpg


nY7DhgQ.jpg




2) For the arms/legs, there is only stitching running along one edge, so just basically just use the pattern as is, but fold it in half so the edges meet and sew along there. Kermit’s limbs are quite noodle thin on the original puppet I saw—especially his arms. The new patterns I use for my arms look something like seen below—basically the palms and thumbs are all one piece, which is more effective than what I did on my earlier builds.

3ijpgnV.jpg



3) The arms and legs are just sewn onto the body using the same “Henson” stitch—aka ladder stitch. It’s a bit awkward at first, but for the arms, you can just use pins to pin them onto the body first and then sew as usual. For the legs, as mentioned earlier, I’d recommend putting in the stuffing or foam in them first, so that they are more cylinder-like, making it easier to sew them onto the feet.

Photo of Legs being stitched up:

75pDd3C.jpg


Kind of difficult to show how the stitching looks on the final, as the seams really do hide very well. For the shoulder where the arm meets the body, just make sure there isn’t any stuffing around that area—this creates that flattened shoulder joint look that you can easily see on the originals (often times the shoulder looks flattened, or pinched, which is the way it should be). If there’s stuffing or foam there, his arms would not sit right as they’d sort of just bulge out, looking like pool noodles.

Same goes for the elbows and wrists as well. You can see that in the pic below. Leave a little space there for the fabric to bend.

ufgGVQV.jpg



Hope this helps!
 
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Hi - Kermit looks Awesome ! BY chance would you consider selling Kermit Hand Puppet ? we are looking for one for our grandson Christmas present... please let me know if interested. Thank you

Thanks for the comment! I don’t really make these for sale, although have sold some of my previous builds in the past—just didn’t need so many sitting around. Unfortunately I don’t have any available....if perhaps someday in the future I make another one and one becomes available, I can list it in the JY here on the forum.
 
Thanks! I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

1) For the feet, only the felt bottoms of the feet were glued on via contact cement around the edges and toes. There is an oval cardboard or styrene insert where I put some stuffing on top of to give his feet that subtle bulge on the tops of his feet. Here’s an old drawing I made hopefully show how I did this. Basically, the foot is constructed first. To make it easier, I cut out the foot shape from the fleece first, then I glue the oval insert to a piece of felt (for the bottoms of the feet). I then slowly use contact cement to glue the edges of the felt to the fleece foot cutout (no need to trim the felt to a foot shape yet until it’s glued onto the fleece; much easier that way). Before I completely glue on the felt bottom all the way around the foot, I will add a small bit of stuffing that sits in between the felt and fleece, and on top of the insert. This will give the foot that little bulge that can be seen on top. Once that’s in, I just simply use contact cement to glue the felt all the way on the fleece—toes, etc. After that, you can just take a pair of sharp scissors and trim the felt, using the outline of the already cut fleece foot as a guide. I then sew the foot onto the leg; this is a bit awkward, but to aid the process, I make sure the leg is already stuffed so that it forms a cylinder shape. Since it’s hard to use pins for this, I just slowly sew the bottom of the leg to the foot. It’s not too bad after some practice.


View attachment 940251

View attachment 940260

View attachment 940253

View attachment 940254



2) For the arms/legs, there is only stitching running along one edge, so just basically just use the pattern as is, but fold it in half so the edges meet and sew along there. Kermit’s limbs are quite noodle thin on the original puppet I saw—especially his arms. The new patterns I use for my arms look something like seen below—basically the palms and thumbs are all one piece, which is more effective that what I did on my older builds.

View attachment 940255


3) The arms and legs are just sewn onto the body using the same “Henson” stitch—aka ladder stitch. It’s a bit awkward at first, but for the arms, you can just use pins to pin them onto the body first and then sew as usual. For the legs, as mentioned earlier, I’d recommend putting in the stuffing or foam in them first, so that they are more cylinder-like, making it easier to sew them onto the feet.

Photo of Legs being stitched up:

View attachment 940256

Kind of difficult to show how the stitching looks on the final, as the seams really do hide very well. For the shoulder where the arm meets the body, just make sure there isn’t any stuffing around that area—this creates that flattened shoulder joint

look that you can easily see on the originals. If there’s stuffing or foam there, his arms would not sit right.

View attachment 940257


Hope this helps!
Wow, what a thorough response thank you! Really grateful for the arm patters with thumb attached. I'm really having a hard time finding the right thread color and felt color for the collar and bottom of feet. Do you have any suggestions?
 
Wow, what a thorough response thank you! Really grateful for the arm patters with thumb attached. I'm really having a hard time finding the right thread color and felt color for the collar and bottom of feet. Do you have any suggestions?

No problem! As for the thread color, there’s no need to worry too much about it. Anything that is within the ballpark color of the fleece is close enough, since the thread is basically hidden and invisible with this stitch style. I’ve been using this:

wbj7t2V.jpg



sFGgl1B.jpg


Although just about any other brand or color within this range would be just fine. As for the bottom of the feet and collar...that’s a more complicated one, mostly because the color seems to vary a lot in references. I based mine as closely as I could to the puppet I saw at the Imagination Unlimited exhibit, which was essentially like a lime green but with a hint of yellow to it. I believe this color varies throughout the years on the real puppets, so in the end I think it’ll be more of a personal preference—more lime green with a hint of yellow, or something that leans much more on the yellow side.

I get my felt from an ebay seller called “overtheriverfelt”. They’re prompt and professional and the felt has worked out pretty well for me. They also sell them in bigger sheet sizes so it’s no problem cutting a collar from it. The color that I’ve used on my builds is the “Lypple” color, however, it’s a bit too lime, so I dye it slightly with a hint of yellow—just a bit to make it it more warm and less like lime. But I like using the Lypple as a base color because it seems to be just the right darkness and green hue, just lacking a touch of warmth, which the yellow dye compensates for. You’d think something like a lime-yellow color would be easy to find as a stock color, but I’ve yet to find a pre-dyed color that I’ve been satisfied with!! I’ve looked at retail stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. and have come up empty; always either too yellow or too green. Although, the felt the ebay seller sells appears to be much higher quality than the stuff you’ll find in the retail stores.
 
No problem! As for the thread color, there’s no need to worry too much about it. Anything that is within the ballpark color of the fleece is close enough, since the thread is basically hidden and invisible with this stitch style. I’ve been using this:

View attachment 940336


View attachment 940337

Although just about any other brand or color within this range would be just fine. As for the bottom of the feet and collar...that’s a more complicated one, mostly because the color seems to vary a lot in references. I based mine as closely as I could to the puppet I saw at the Imagination Unlimited exhibit, which was essentially like a lime green but with a hint of yellow to it. I believe this color varies throughout the years on the real puppets, so in the end I think it’ll be more of a personal preference—more lime green with a hint of yellow, or something that leans much more on the yellow side.

I get my felt from an ebay seller called “overtheriverfelt”. They’re prompt and professional and the felt has worked out pretty well for me. They also sell them in bigger sheet sizes so it’s no problem cutting a collar from it. The color that I’ve used on my builds is the “Lypple” color, however, it’s a bit too lime, so I dye it slightly with a hint of yellow—just a bit to make it it more warm and less like lime. But I like using the Lypple as a base color because it seems to be just the right darkness and green hue, just lacking a touch of warmth, which the yellow dye compensates for. You’d think something like a lime-yellow color would be easy to find as a stock color, but I’ve yet to find a pre-dyed color that I’ve been satisfied with!! I’ve looked at retail stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. and have come up empty; always either too yellow or too green. Although, the felt the ebay seller sells appears to be much higher quality than the stuff you’ll find in the retail stores.
You have been incredibly helpful, I really appreciate it! I'll be sure to share some pics of Kermit when he is complete. I know you previously stated that you haven't reproduced any other muppets yet but if you ever do I'd love to see them!
 

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