Puppet Theater Tutorial
This past Christmas my in-laws gave Abby an awesome puppet theater from Restoration Hardware. It was actually more like a puppet theater kit with cute hand puppets, a stage, and storage box. Unfortunately, the stage wasn’t very functional for younger children (it is made of cardboard and can be tippy).
Making a simple puppet theater has been on my to-do list all summer. This week my children have been extra cranky. The fighting has increased ten fold and I’ve been searching for things to keep them happy and busy. After hearing “there’s nothing to do” for the hundredth time this afternoon I decided it was time to pull out the sewing machine and whip up this simple project.
Supplies:
- fabric
- accent fabric
- sewing machine
- iron/ironing board
- fabric scissors
- tension rod
I didn’t have a pattern to use (this was a fly by the seat of your pants kind of project) and I used fabric scraps I had in my stash. You may remember the striped jersey from this craft. I even had a tension rod lying around. (lucky me!)
I wanted the theater to work on any doorway in my home. These measurements fit our widest doorway so I’m sure they will work for you too.
I used a zig-zag stitch.
The striped fabric was used as an accent around the curtain opening. This is a really great tutorial for making ruffles. Once your ruffles are made, just pin and stitch to your curtain.
I like how the curtain is so low to the ground. I wanted Audrey to be as comfortable using it as the big kids.
I’m happy to report the children were on their bellies taking turns playing puppet master for the rest of the afternoon.
Although, not everyone understood that the curtain’s purpose was to hide them from their audience.