The Moveable Jaw
Here's where things got interesting and extra improvisational.
I had a jaw-like piece of foam left over from what I had cropped out of the original styrofoam ball, so I used that as a base. I cut enough space in it to allow for my thumb to rest there.
And although the piece fits neatly on the head, I also made sure that my whole hand could fit inside the puppet's mouth to operate it hand-puppet style. This will simply take a little trial and error. You could surely fashion a jaw without the extra foam, but I found that it gave it good shape and support.
Then I situated that piece of foam on a sheet of fleece - just enough to cover it, making sure that it was loose enough to keep that thumb-niche. I stitched the fleece in place.
(Note: In that step, you can substitute just about any fabric for the fleece. It need not match the rest of your puppet, because it won't be visible in a minute. Likewise for the stitches/thread. The main purposes of the fabric are simply protection for the foam jaw, ease of attaching things, and comfort for the puppeteer's hand.)
Next, I cut two equal pieces of cardboard to fit comfortably on top of this jaw insert and in the roof of the puppet's mouth. When these cardboard pieces are LATER connected at one end to form a joint, they will be the part of the mouth which the puppeteer operates directly - the visible inside of the mouth.
Cover one cardboard piece with black felt on both sides: Use one piece of felt, folded in half over the rounded edge of the cardboard, to minimize and hide stitches. Use black thread to sew all 3 open sides. Leave a bit of extra felt hanging over on the straight edge of the cardboard, but stitch the felt together along the cardboard edge so that it is not loose.
Smooth out a sheet of fleece on your work surface. This fabric should be several inches longer than your puppet's body will be (excluding the head, including the neck).
Place the second cardboard piece on top of the fabric. Fold the fabric over the straight edge of the cardboard to cover both sides of the piece.
Stitch firmly in place.
Take your fleece-covered "thumb niche" piece and position it upside-down on your fleece-covered cardboard. If you hold it there temporarily and turn the whole thing right-side-up, as though to operate the puppet, you should see that your thumb fits neatly into the niche with the cardboard above it, and the straight edge of the cardboard rests against the palm of your hand.
When I did this, I noticed that what would become the lower lip area would be a little flat. I had some soft green foam at my disposal, so I cut off a slender length of it and sewed it to the "thumb niche" part of the jaw so that the fleece would hang in front of it.
I sewed these pieces together to form the lower portion of the mouth.
First view:
When folded toward me:
Remember that extra piece of black felt that was never attached to anything? I sewed it in place on top of the purple fleece, with that extra bit on the straight edge hanging off the back where the puppeteer's palm rests.
Then I took the felt-covered cardboard piece, lined it up (literally lay it on top of the matching black felt) and sewed it ONLY along that straight edge to form a hinge effect.
And here it is:
If I were to insert this whole piece into the puppet head without connecting it yet, it would look like the first picture in this post. But before I attach it, I want to do one more thing.
See those jowls - the extra purple fleece hanging down to the left and right of the jaw? I pulled those back in such a way that did not create obvious folds and sewed them in place at the back of the jaw. I cut off the excess only where they extended past the jaw piece itself so that they wouldn't interfere with the puppeteer's hand, which will be trying to find its place without any visual guidance once the puppet is all closed up.
So as you secure this portion of your puppet's neck and jaw, mainly keep in mind the functionality for the puppeteer and what will be visible from the front of your puppet. If necessary, look at the whole jaw while it is resting in the head, unattached, and take note of how much of it will be conveniently hidden once it is all connected. That's where you'll want to sew.
Optionally, you may like to add a tongue, teeth, or other mouthy adornments. I imagine now would be a good time to do that, but since the jaw is not yet attached to the puppet head, be sure that whatever you add (such as big fangs) do not prevent the puppet's mouth from closing or moving properly.
Once you're done with the jaw, you can attach it to your puppet's head. Position it in the mouth, being sure that there is enough space for the puppeteer's hand to grasp the cardboard pieces from the inside.
With black thread, stitch the felt-covered cardboard roof of the mouth to the fleece along the cardboard's front edge (where one's top front teeth would be). This will hold it in place, but check back as you work on the next step to be sure of the placement on the fleece.
Loosen the fleece from your puppet head - only below the nose. Sew along the two sides of the roof of the mouth (felt-covered cardboard) to secure it to the fleece. Leave the cardboard's straight edge (at the hinge) unattached. Again, test along the way that the puppeteer's hand will fit into this contraption.
Once you've formed this "pocket" for the puppeteer's four fingers, you'll need to secure the fleece to the puppet's foam head so that the whole jaw doesn't just flop out. Do so with a couple of dabs of Super Glue along the foam, but avoid letting it glob as the glue does go through the fleece. When it dries it could be mildly uncomfortable for a puppeteer. (When it's wet it will be immensely inconvenient for a stuck puppeteer.) Globbed glue is visible on the fleece, but obviously won't be visible on this section of the puppet, in the dark recesses of its throat. Just keep it off of all visible fleece bits.
So, that's all she wrote. Next time, onward and upward - to the eyes - and back down again to the arms and body!
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