Nylafleece is the nylon puppet fleece sold today as the direct successor to the original Antron fleeceAntron fleece is the nylon fleece that became the standard s..., and it is what most builders mean when they say they are using Antron.
Why it exists
The original Antron fleeceFleece is the knit fabric used as the outer skin on most mod... More stopped being manufactured around 2006 when the yarn it was knit from was discontinued. Builders had spent thirty years designing around its behaviour, so the gap got filled. Nylafleece is the material that filled it.
What makes it different from craft store fleece
A dense, short nylon pile that closes over a stitch line and swallows it. Real four-way stretch, so it pulls smoothly over a compound curve like a skull without puckering. It takes dye evenly and resists pilling under the constant handling a working puppet gets.
The cost
It is mail-order and several times the price of polar fleece, sold by specialist suppliers rather than fabricFabric is the outer surface of a puppet — the skin, the cl... More shops. For a first puppet that is difficult to justify. For a puppet that has to look professional on camera, it is the difference.
Working with it
Use a ballpoint or stretch needle — a sharp needle cuts the knit loops and leaves holes that grow. Mind the napNap is the direction the raised fibres of a fabric lie — p..., which is directional like any pile fabric. And buy from one bolt for a single head, because dye lots vary.
Alternatives
Fuzzelle is a common option with a slightly different hand. Polyester puppet fleeces exist and perform well. Ordinary polar fleece builds a perfectly good puppet and simply shows a seam that nylon fleece would hide, which is a design constraint rather than a failure.
The hack: order swatches before you order yardage. Colour on a screen is not colour under stage light.