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Outfitting Your Puppet

When you purchase a puppet, it usually comes with a shirt or outfit of some kind. That outfit will work for most of your plays, but some plays may call for a different type of outfit.

We discovered early on that most of our puppets wear a size 2T shirt and knew there were places we could get some at low cost or even free. One place to find children’s clothing is at nearby yard sales. Look for sales that have a lot of kid’s toys on display and usually there will be a large assortment of children’s clothing to go along with it.

Clothes that button or zip are much easier to get on and off your puppet. Depending on the sale, you can pick up nice quality clothing for as little as 25 cents apiece. Sometimes you can get six or more items for a dollar.

The nice thing about getting clothes at a garage sale is that they are usually the style and type that children are wearing, so your puppet’s clothes will fit right in.

It’s a good idea to get a variety of clothes-short sleeve, long sleeve, T-shirts, dress shirts/blouses, polo style shirts, etc. Also, if you do any winter plays, look for hats, scarves, mittens, and sweaters.

While you’re at the yard sale, also look for one or two small suitcases to store your puppet’s clothes. We found a couple of nice, cloth sided suitcases at a yard sale for only $1 apiece.

Other places to look for inexpensive clothing are church rummage sales, Salvation Army or Good Will stores, local consignment shops, and clearance racks at department stores.

Another potential source for free clothes is in your own church. Put out an announcement about the need and ask if anyone would be willing to donate items to the puppet team.

Most often, the clothes that come with your puppet will work fine, but consider developing a puppet wardrobe to add more variety.

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