Sock monkeys are cute, classic toys for children and unlike their modern counterparts they actually look adorable in photos and give you kids something to do while they are being photographed. Children like the security of having something to hug and parents like the vintage look these props give the photos. Total win-win. The other great news is that these little darlings are pretty easy to make even for someone like me with minimal sewing skills. Here’s how:
First things first, get yourself a pair of socks. I used the Original Rockford Red Heel socks, which are what these little guys are traditionally made from, but you can use any socks you like. I went with a Medium which made a monkey that is about 18″ tall from head to foot. Take your pair of socks and turn them inside out. Lay your socks out as shown below. Grab a sharpie to mark out your pattern.
One sock is going to be the body and legs and the other sock will be the arms, tail, ears and mouth. Take the sock that will be the body and starting three inches below thw white part of the heel draw a line down the center of the sock curving it at the end of each “foot” (shown far right on the left sock). On your other sock you will want to draw a line around the heel about 1/4″ from the white part to make the “mouth”. Draw a horizontal line across the ankle of the sock and divide the top half of the sock (the side away from the toe) in half and make curved “feet” like on the body sock. Starting at the toe draw your tail following the seam and ending at the horizontal line at the ankle. In the space remaining draw two half circle shapes for the ears.
Take your sock body and sew along the lines to form the legs, leaving about a 1/4″ gap between your stiches so you will have room to cut the apart. Leave the space at the top of your line unsewn (shown above left). Take your other sock and sew around the ears, tail, and arms being sure to leave space between your stitches to cut out the shapes. Do not sew around the mouth. Once you are done sewing cut out all of the pieces and turn them right side out. You will have to make a hole in the bottom of each ear to turn it right side out. They should look something like this:
Using polyfill stuf the body and legs, arms, and tail.
Next you will want to sew up the opening at the monkeys legs by hand using matching thread and an invisible stitch.
Now it is time to start attaching body parts. I like to place the mouth first so that you can use that as a guide for placing the rest of the pieces. Center your mouth on the fron of the money body (The front is opposite the side with the red bum (shown above). I placed mine about 1 1/2″ from the white part at the top of the head.
Use an invisible stitch and turn under as you go. I sewed the top half before stuffing the mouth with polyfill and then finishing the stitching. After the mouth is on sew on button eyes.
Now it is time to place the ears. I pinched mine a little bit before attaching them to the head to give them a little contour.
Next, place your arms and sew them onto the body. After the arms are attached flip your money over and attach the tail. You will notice that there is a red part on the monkey’s bum. I didn’t like how that looked so I sewed that part shut to conceal the red portion before attaching my tail.
When you are all finished he (or she) should look something like this:
You can accesorize your monkey with a yarn scarf, sewn on eyelashes (to make it a girl monkey), a hat, or whatever you can dream up. Be creative! I’d
