Sock Monkey tutorial

I have made a few sock monkeys now.... maybe it is time to describe the process.

First... buy a pair of socks... no, one orphan sock won't be enough for a monkey, you will see why later.

Some socks waiting their turn

These have a dark, un patterned sole.

The Argyle sock monkey was made..... eventually...click here to read about it.

These have stripes all the way around the foot!

The way the socks are made will affect the way you make your monkey. I do not like the dark soled socks for the head and body... see photos below....

If you use the toe for the head, the argyle stops at the side of the face.

These stripes make a better head.

Rustle the wrestler has his head made from the portion nearest the cuff, argyle all around!

My mom wanted to give a sock monkey to one of the grandkids for their birthday, so I offered to help.... if I could take photos along the way.... well.... we did get the monkey done, but I missed a few photos along the way! so here is the beginning of a monkey.

Here are the basic body parts, head and body-all one piece-including the heel of the sock;
arms from the piece with the cuff (unfolded);
legs from this sock if it is long enough, or from the second sock.

Second sock is cut for mouth, tail, ears, and hat.

Mouth is embroidered and the edge folded and basted . These legs are inside out, one end closed.

Arms stuffed and wrist stitched to form hands.

Tail stitched in a curve before cutting it from the foot of the sock. Ears will be sewn and then cut from this piece also.

Tail ready for stuffing

favorite stuffing!

Button eyes and a ribbon, but she still needs something!

A Hat!

Gretta, waiting for the birthday party!

I have a request for a monkey out of those yellow argyle socks.... hope I remember to take photos of all the steps next time!

Soft Toy Ball pattern

When each of my grandchildren reach their first birthday I give them a pair of soft toys, a small ball and a slightly larger ball.  The pattern  piece looks like this:















You will need 12 pieces for each ball, preferably lots of different colors and prints. There is no "grain line" on the pattern because only one side could be "on grain", so cut at will!

You can  download a pdf pattern page   new link

On the wrong side of each piece mark a small dot at the corners of the seam lines.  To do this you will need to poke a small hole in the pattern paper; I use the tip of my seam ripper. The hole must be large enough to fit a pencil tip through, but not so large as to be inaccurate!

Most of the time a regular pencil is all you need.

Some cloth needs a colored pencil to make visible dots

When you sew the pieces together, begin at a dot and stop at a dot. DO NOT stitch from edge of cloth to edge of cloth.

EXACT seams required, and these thread tails must be tied to secure the seam.

Sew, beginning at the previous seam, towards the next dot.

Five pieces sewn to the five sides of the baseball print cloth

Next sew the sides of those 5 pieces to their neighbor

Two halves of a ball

I made the second half to mirror the first one, so that when I sew them together I can make sure that none of the prints are sewn to a matching piece. I am also making another ball with matching pieces paired up.

Pairs sewn together

Can not piece this one as "2 half balls"; this is step 1.

Sewing 2 halves together, every corner is formed by 3 pieces. All seams must meet exactly but not cross.

This side up is difficult to match, the seam must begin exactly where the red and blue seam ends. See above photo.

Sew all the seams but 1, turn right side out and stuff.

Sew the last seam by hand (yes, I am left-handed!)

I should add... press all the seams open as you sew. A seam roll is a "must have"!

Roll up a towel to use for a seam roll if you don't have one.

Largest ball, do not over-stuff or it becomes too hard for little hands to grasp.

Plan for the medium sized ball.

All 4 balls and their patterns... ready well ahead of schedule for July and August birthdays!