Today we'll teach how to make a marionette of an old lady. It can be used in theather, in performances, or as a toy for kids and adults!

Step 1: Supplies

You will need:
fabric paint
white spray can (optional)
11 inches hose
11 inches conduit (approx. ½ inch thick)
2 beads
black waxed cord
feathers (optional)
fabric (a little piece of a thicker one, and some colorful ones, to the clothes)
pieces of wood (1 inch and ½ inch thick, approximately)
a small nail
sandpaper
4 screw hooks
a wooden cross (5½ x 6 inches)
a piece of wire

And the tools:
a drilling machine (and a small hole saw)
a sawing machine
a staple gun
a plier
a hot glue gun
a scissor
a sewing machine (optional)
a brush
a pencil
a ruler

Step 2: Making the Body and Feet

Cut the body 2½ x 4 inches, with the sawing machine, and drill 4 holes near the edges, like in the picture. Note that the drilling angles for the head and feet are different! Put ascrew hook at the top of the body.
Cut the feet about 1 inch (circumference), with the hole saw. Drill 2 holes in the feet, like in the picture.

Step 3: Making the Head

Saw a piece of 2½ x 1½ x 1 inches to make the head. Cut a triangle out of it, like in the picture, and sand the edges. Then split the resulting polygon in 2: the smaller part will be the moving jaw. Join the 2 pieces of the head by stapling a little piece of thick fabric. Add a screw hook at the back. Drill a hole in the superior part, and put a nail in the jaw. Put a screw hook at the top of the head.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

Cut the conduits and hoses 1½ inches (4 parts each). Conduits will become the legs, hoses the arms, and beads, the hands. Join the head and body with screw hooks. Use the waxed cord to join the parts as in the pictures, finishing with knots. Tie a piece of waxed cord to the nail at the jaw, and insert it through the hole in the head. Tie a waxed cord to the screw hook at the top of the head. Burn the ends of the waxed cords with a lighter. Paint it all white.

Step 5: Sewing the Clothes

Use the puppet as a mold to cut the fabric. We made a long sleeved shirt and a long skirt, so the legs and arms get full covered. You can make a collar or not. For now, the skirt is just a rectangular piece of fabric. Sew them with a sewing machine, or by hand if you don't have one. Staple the skirt into the body of the puppet making pleats, and dress the puppet with the shirt. With no collar, you just have to make a tiny hole in the fabric with the screw hook (this way is better sometimes, because the shirt won't fall sideways). Paint the head the color you want. It will dry while we tie the puppet to the cross used to control it.

Step 6: Tying the Strings

Tie a waxed cord to the cord of the leg, in the place where would be the knee. Pass through the skirt and tie it at the hole in the cross (see the picture for where to tie each thing). Put a screw hook at the back of the puppet, tie a waxed cord there and tie the other end at the cross. Tie a cord at the hand, pass it through the holes at the wire, and then tie at the other hand, making a continuous string, so you can raise both hands of the puppet at the same time.

Step 7: Finishing

Time to finish the puppet! We used feathers glued with hot glue to the hair, a toy tail to the nose, and painted the face and mouth with fabric paint. The painting of the face is the time to give the puppet his facial expression. The finishing materials will depend a lot upon your own style and on which materials you have at hand and want to use. It's always good to remember that we can use repurposed materials, things that we don't use anymore or find at the rubble. This way we help preserving the environment where we live!