Basting is temporary stitching used to hold pieces in position before they are sewn permanently, removed once the real seam is in.
Why bother on a puppet
Puppet pieces are small, curved and often cut from stretchy fleeceFleece is the knit fabric used as the outer skin on most mod... More, which means pins distort the fabricFabric is the outer surface of a puppet — the skin, the cl... More and slip out of a compound curve. Basting holds the shape without deforming it and lets you check the fit before committing to a seam you would have to unpick from inside a finished head.
How it is done
Long running stitches by hand, in a contrasting thread so it is easy to find and pull afterwards. Speed matters more than neatness — it is coming out.
Machine basting
is the same idea at the longest stitch length with loosened tension, so the thread pulls out in one go. Faster on long seams, less controllable on tight curves.
Where it earns its place in puppetry
Fitting a fleece skin over a foamFoam is the structural material most soft puppets are built ... More head before the final seam. Positioning features — eyes, brows, a muzzle — so you can stand back and look before anything is permanent. Holding a mock-up together to check a pattern.
The related move is pinning before gluing
Contact cementContact cement is a flexible solvent-based adhesive applied ... gives you exactly one attempt, so pinning features in place, walking ten feet away and photographing the result is the adhesive equivalent of basting. Same principle: make it temporary until you are certain.
Contrasting thread, always
Basting in a matching colour means hunting for stitches to remove and cutting the real seam by accident.
The hack: baste, then photograph. The camera flattens depth and shows placement errors your eye forgives in the round — and at that point nothing is committed.