Puppets can have skin made of paper, fluffy fabric, wood, old socks (wash them first PLEASE), rubber-like compounds, or really anything at all.  The puppets on this site are very large, usually standing about 3 feet tall.  To keep them lightweight, they are made of polyurethane foam.  The foam is then covered with fabric to protect it from turning yellow and crumbling.  While the puppets might look like soft sculpture, there is no needlework involved.  Under their skin, they have fully developed features.  Here, take a look.

It starts with a shell of super high density polyurethane foam.

Softer foam is added to sculpt in the brow, cheeks, nose, chin, or other features.

A layer of fabric becomes the "skin" and protects the foam

Eyes, ears, hair and teeth finish him off.  In this example, glasses were also added, although he says they really don't help him see.  Hey, if you had plastic eyes instead of real ones, you might have a few vision problems, too.

All of the puppets on this site feature moving mouths and fully turning necks.  Their arms and legs have wooden "bones" for support, as well as thinner bones (wire) in the fingers for more realistic poses.  Some have moving eyebrows or other special effects.