The Henson Stitch

Super Scooter

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I don't recall this ever coming up anywhere, but does anyone actually KNOW what the Henson stitch is? How is it done? I've come up with something that kind of hides seams, at least much better than regular stitches, but it doesn't hold up very well. Does anyone have a pattern of the stitch or something that would show how it's done? I know a lot of you make some beautiful puppets, that you can just barely see the seams with. Have you discovered the Henson stitch? I'd greatly appreciate the help. Thank you!
 

Fozzie Bear

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Hey, Scooter Supe! Glad you're okay.

There's been a plethora of information on the elusive Henson Stitch, and last I remember it was said to be a rumor.

As best I can recall, it's when you sew in tight stitches really close together and trim the excess material as close as possible to the stitches without clipping the threads or gapping the material.
 

Ryan

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Fozzie Bear said:
Hey, Scooter Supe! Glad you're okay.

There's been a plethora of information on the elusive Henson Stitch, and last I remember it was said to be a rumor.
Actually, it';s not a rumour, as Don Sahiln dicusses it on Muppets On Puppets from 1967.
 

Fozzie Bear

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what'd he say about the henson stitch? did he describe it? Was he irritated that it wasn't the Sahlin Stitch? j/k.

What'd Don say about the stitch?
 

Ryan

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Fozzie Bear said:
what'd he say about the henson stitch? did he describe it? Was he irritated that it wasn't the Sahlin Stitch? j/k.

What'd Don say about the stitch?
Mostly that he called it the Henson Stitch, what it was, and that it takes hours to do :wink:
 

Super Scooter

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Ryan,
Don Sahlin didn't actually say a whole lot about the Henson Stitch in his speach. Just that it took hours to do.

Fozzie Bear said:
Hey, Scooter Supe! Glad you're okay.
Ah, they were right. I'd be back in a month (although it's been a few days more than a month). I missed it around here, and though I won't be on here as much (especially come September), I figured I'd stop in again...

Thanks for the link, Phil. I think I might have figured out something close, and, Fozzie's almost dead on (Foz, if you want, I can teach you a different trick you could use that will help a little in hiding seams. I think rather than try to get someone to spill the beans, I'll just stick to that. It's actually fairly obvious in what to do!). But, of course, in order to do the stitch I'm talking about, you either need fake fur or antron fleece. But, that's okay. That's what I'll be using anyway.

Thanks for the help!
 

Fozzie Bear

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Heya, Scoot.

Just email me, or post your ideas here. I think it'd be great to keep it open for discussion so we can all learn from one another.

FOZ
 

Torarin

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The thing that makes people confused is that they think the "secret" is in the stitch itself. Therefore someone says it's a rumor and some claim it's not. The stitch they use is just a whip stitch - around and around the edge of the two fabrics. But to hide it, you would try to flatten the seam down (you could try to iron it without the heat turned on) and pull out the fleece from inside the seam, and just work with the fleece until it kinda covers the seam. The seam isn't supposed to be completely invisible, they arn't if you look at them close in real life. But on video or pictures it's pretty surprising how good it looks.
 
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