Spandex — also sold as Lycra or elastane — is a highly elastic knit used in puppetry for body suits, tight-fitting skins and any surface that must stretch in every direction without wrinkling.
What it is for
Full-body puppet suits and performer blacks. Smooth-skinned characters where fleeceFleece is the knit fabric used as the outer skin on most mod... More would look furry. Stretch panels at joints on an otherwise fleece-covered body. Anywhere the material has to move with a body underneath it and return to shape.
Four-way stretch is what you want
Two-way stretches across the grain only and will bind on a compound curve. Four-way stretches in both directions and conforms to almost anything. Check by pulling a corner in both directions before buying.
The catch: it hides nothing
Spandex has no pile, so every seam is visible and every lump underneath telegraphs through. Seam placement becomes a design decision rather than a construction convenience, and whatever is under the fabricFabric is the outer surface of a puppet — the skin, the cl... More has to be genuinely smooth.
Sewing it
Ballpoint or stretch needle, and a zigzag or stretch stitch. A straight stitch in a spandex seam snaps the first time the garment stretches, usually while someone is getting into it.
Finish matters
Matte spandex reads as skin. Shiny spandex reads as a costume and catches stage light in a way that flattens whatever is underneath. For most puppet work, matte.
Black spandex
is standard for performer blacks in tabletop and black light work, though for black light specifically test it under UV first — some blacks fluoresce faintly and ruin the effect.
The hack: buy a half yard and stretch it over a foamFoam is the structural material most soft puppets are built ... More offcut before committing. Spandex looks completely different relaxed and under tension, and only one of those is how you will use it.