Classic doll
You can make a cane puppet for the theater with your own hands in the classic version. But this will require more time and toy making skills. First of all, you will need to choose a good cane for the base. What are canes for cane dolls made from? There are many materials - wood, metal, plastic and even thick cardboard. At home, you can use a sharpened branch, part of an old mop (wooden or plastic - it doesn’t matter), a leg from an old chair, and so on - it all depends on the size of the doll you are planning and the heaviness of its head.
If when choosing a basic cane you don’t have to worry about appearance, since it will be hidden by a suit, then when choosing canes that control the hands, you need to use ingenuity. These canes will be in full view of the viewer, and therefore they should be beautiful, monochromatic and not spoil the appearance of the character. Depending on the size of the cane doll, you can use long knitting needles, even turned branches (they can be pre-painted), and plastic sticks from inflatable balls.
The doll's head can be made from papier-mâché: it will be light, it can be given any shape and painted as your imagination allows. You can also sew a head like a soft toy. A simpler option, again, is to use a ready-made head from an old toy. The suit and hands can be made of rags.
Controlling such a doll will require skill. If you are planning a simple performance behind a screen, legs are not required (for female characters they may be implied by a long dress). If you want to bring the doll out from behind the screen, you can also make legs hanging from under the costume - no control is required; they will simply dangle freely when moving.
When making a doll in the form of a four-legged animal, you can attach two canes - one under the stomach, one under the head, leaving the legs in free movement.
