With school holidays coming up, this hand stitched Sailor Moon Tuxedo Mask finger puppet may be a fun project for anime loving tweens and teens to make. It’s a great way to practice some sewing skills too. Designed by regular contributor Melissa, who is a huge anime and manga fan.
It was the mid 90’s, I was at a different high school, with new friends who introduced me to the heart wrenching, uber-romantic, action adventures of Sailor Moon. At this point Sailor Moon had yet to saturate the western market, and so, I relied on my friends to explain the subtle parts in both their manga volumes and the VCR dubbings of the anime series.
Two decades on Sailor Moon, her friends, and love interest Tuxedo Mask, recast their magic, not only on me, but also on my daughters.
This year we binged our way through a few seasons of the updated anime story of Sailor Moon, and the girls are now collecting and reading the republished volumes of the original manga collection.
The art of Sailor Moon filters into all areas of our lives. The girls have been drawing and writing Sailor Moon fan fiction. I’ve been asked to draw Sailor Moon on more than one occasion. Barbie has being transformed into Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon’s castle has even been built in Minecraft.
The cat would have been given a Sailor Moon transformation, if she could be caught. The girls had Sailor Moon inspired hair buns on school photo day. The eldest is imagining that her favourite boy looks like Tuxedo Mask.
And now, more recently I was asked for help in making a Tuxedo Mask finger puppet. When set a challenge like this, how could I possibly say no?
DIY Sailor Moon craft: Tuxedo Mask Finger Puppet
You will need:
- Felt – black, white, yellow and skin tone.
- Thread – black.
- 11cm aluminium wire (optional)
- Needle
- Pencil and pen.
- Fabric marking pen and fabric chalk.
- Scissors: paper; fabric.
- Pliers
Note:
Most, if not all of the felt for this project can come from the scraps of previous felt crafting projects.
To make the flower accessory, which is sometimes part of Tuxedo Mask’s signature, check out the My Poppet felt flower tutorial.
How to:
1/ Print template at 100% and cut out the pattern pieces.
2/ Trace an outline of pattern pieces onto the felt as per the colour references, then neatly cut out the felt pieces.
3/ Position the hat trim piece onto a single base body piece, as per pattern reference markers. Going forward this base body piece will be the front of the finger puppet. Stitch the hat trim in place with either a plain or edge stitch.
4/ Position and stitch the triangular shirt piece to the body, as per pattern reference markers.
5/ Position and stitch the face and two hand pieces to the body, as per pattern reference markers.
6/ Position and stitch the mask piece to the body, as per pattern reference markers.
7/ Position and stitch the fringe piece to the body, as per pattern reference markers.
8/ Position and stitch the star and two lapel pieces onto the shirt piece, as per pattern reference markers.
9/ Position and stitch the waistcoat corner pieces below the shirt/lapel section, as per pattern reference markers.
10/ With a fabric pen, mark the facial features (mouth and nose), as per pattern reference markers. Then with a plain stitch, sew over these markings.
11/ With right sides facing outward, layer and pin the two body pieces together. If you would like your puppet’s arms to be posable, sandwich the aluminium wire between these two pieces across the arms.
12/ Using a blanket stitch, sew along the outside edge of the two body pieces. The bottom edge must remain open.
Now your Tuxedo Mask is ready for some theatrical Sailor Moon inspired puppet theatre fun.
Halloween isn’t far off. It is best that I be prepared for potential Sailor Moon costume requests.
Your projects are always so cute. Thanks for sharing. Love Tuxedo Mask’s star detail.
Thanks so much, Priscilla!
This is SO cute! I’m a huge fan of Sailor Moon, and love making DIY projects and recipes inspired by the show and the characters. Tuxedo Mask’s birthday is actually in August, so I’m currently brainstorming what to create inspired by him 😂 I’ve never thought about making finger puppets before, but this really is super cute! I love his little mask 🙊
That is awesome, Indya. It’s wonderful being able to express our love of pop culture and other things through making.