18-inch marionette man—shoulders 4 inches wide, hips 3 inches wide
16-inch marionette woman—shoulders 3 inches wide, hips 3 inches wide
15-inch marionette man—shoulders 3 inches wide, hips 2½ inches wide
13½-inch marionette woman—shoulders 2½ inches wide, hips 2½ inches wide
Keep your character in mind. A warrior will have broad, heavy shoulders and be deep of chest. A slender young woman will have a light frame. Take the shoulders and hip piece, and place them on your working drawing as in the illustration and then fasten them together with a strip of cloth, tacked as indicated.
A Wire construction B Finished hand sewed into lower arm, which is weighted with small shot
Hands. Arms, hands, legs, and feet are yet to be constructed. Let us begin with the hand. Its length is that of the face from the chin to the line of the hair. Into a piece of wood drive seven brads as in the illustration. Take a piece of light-weight copper wire, such as a strand of aërial wire, about thirty inches long, and attach one end to the lower wrist brad. You then loop the wire around the brads loosely, in the order indicated, beginning and ending with “A.” When you return to “A,” lift the wire loops from the brads carefully, holding the wrist loop. Now thread the loose end of the wire through these wrist loops in order to fasten them together. With the loose end, you now begin the tying of the two wires of the thumb together by going under and over as the illustration indicates. From the thumb, go to the fingers, taking each in turn. After tying the little finger, return to the wrist and wrap it three or four times before cutting off the last bit of wire. This wire frame corresponds to the bony structure of the hand. Small pieces of plasticine or modeling wax are now applied, long narrow strips to the fingers, heavier strips for the palm of the hand. A hand should show character. Keep this in mind as you are shaping it. The last thing to be done is the wrapping of the hand with quarter-inch white tape. Begin at the wrist, then wrap the thumb, carry the tape back to the wrist, then wrap the palm of the hand. When the hand has been carefully wrapped, then take a needle and thread and close any openings, such as those at the ends of the fingers or in the palms of the hands. The hand can now be pressed into any number of lifelike positions.
Arms. The upper and lower arm are made in one piece from white stockings or any other soft white material. The illustration indicates fairly wide seams. Begin your sewing at the wrist and follow the arrow around and back to the wrist. Now stuff the upper arm rather lightly with cotton. When you reach the elbow, stop and sew twice across, leaving one-fourth inch between the rows. This will make the arm flexible at the elbow. Then stuff the lower arm until it is quite firm. Into the open wrist insert and sew the hand. Attach a small piece of tape to the top of the upper arm and then tack it to the shoulder piece as in the illustration.
