Sew a Sock Monkey

What You Will Need

• Pair of socks
• Sewing machine
• Buttons (just two for the eyes)
• Ruler
• Pens
• Scissors
• Stuffing
• Pins
• Needle and thread

The first step is to make the monkey’s body and legs. Place one of your socks so that the heel is centered and facing up. Use your pen and ruler to draw a straight line down the middle of the sock toward the sock opening. The line should start wherever you want the legs to begin. The line marks the midpoint. You will sew on both sides of it to create two separate legs, turning at the bottoms to create the monkey’s feet. Once this is done, take your scissors and cut along the line to separate the legs.

The next thing to do is turn the torso inside-out, so that the seams are on the inside. Now he is ready to be stuffed. A chopstick can be quite handy for pushing in the stuffing. You can use polyester stuffing from a craft store, or whatever stuffing you prefer. Push the stuffing in through the hole in the center at the top of the legs (the firmer the stuffing, the better). Sew up the center hole through which you pushed the stuffing. You now have a headless monkey torso with no arms, so get him some appendages!

Start with the second sock. The first thing to do is make the tail: turn the sock inside out and lay it flat in profile, with the heel to one side. Draw a line from toe to cuff (around one inch from the side), making sure not to get too close to the heel, as that is what we are going to use for the monkey’s face. Now, starting at the toe, sew along the line, just like you did for the legs, to create the tail. Once you’re done, cut off the toe of the sock and along the tail seam down to the cuff, freeing the tail. Turn the tail inside out and stuff it.

Cut the remaining piece of sock into three pieces, isolating the heel. The foot portion of the sock will become the monkey’s ears, the heel will become its face, and the leg portion will become its arms. We’ll begin with the arms. This will be the longer rectangular piece. Cut it length-wise up the middle. Then take one piece and fold it in half with the right sides together, and sew along the edge. Round off at the end, just like the tail and legs. Once you finish the first one, do the other the same way.

For the ears, take the shorter rectangle and cut it length wise and then width wise. You should end up with four identical squares. Lay two pieces on top of one another and draw your ear shape. Sew along the line, leaving the end open. Repeat for the other ear. Now stuff the ears and arms.

Next, it’s time to sew on the tail and arms. Do the best you can, it can be a bit tricky. Now for the monkey’s face. Take the remaining heel and sew it into position on the face, leaving a small opening so that you can stuff it. Once the stuffing is done, close the hole. You’re almost done!

Now just sew on the ears, and sew the buttons in the for eyes, and you are finished with your sock monkey!