No-sew felt kits have become the default entry point for people who've never made a puppet before, removing the single biggest barrier to entry: needle-and-thread skill.
Kit makers say the format has been especially popular with parents looking for a screen-free weekend activity, and with classroom teachers running short craft sessions where thirty minutes is the entire budget.
The tradeoff is durability — glued seams hold up to normal play but don't survive a wash cycle the way a stitched seam will, so most kits are marketed as display pieces first, toys second.