Welcome to Thursday Coffee Hour. This is an open topic thread so help yourself to the goodies and sit a spell and let us know what is new with you. On St. Patrick's Day I showed a picture of the Irish sock monkeys I made. There was some interest in how I made them so I though I would do a tutorial on the making of sock monkeys. My brother has gone nuts for them and I am making quite a few. This one is going to be a birthday present for a dear friend. They aren't hard to make and I can usually get one out if about three hours.
Start with finding a pair of socks that you like. They need to be crew length in order to have enough material to make the arms and legs and for them to be in proportion.
Turn one of the socks inside out with the heel facing you. Starting about an inch below the heel make a line in the middle of the sock.
These are going to be the legs. Sew starting at the heel part and with the edge of you presser foot on the line sew down towards the cuff. When you get to the cuff you want to make an oval for the foot. Be sure to back stitch top and bottom so they won't ravel.
Go back and do the second leg. When done it should look like this.
Cut on the line in the middle. And round the edges of the feet. You will have a small hole in the crotch where you can turn the sock right side up. Fill the legs and body. You should use fiber fill as it gives the smoothest look. Stuff the sock full as it is supposed to be pudgy. A chopstick is the perfect tool for pushing stuffing down.
After stuffing use a needle and thread and fold edges of crotch together and sew it up.
Now for the tail, arms, ears, and muzzle. Turn the second sock inside out but this time keep it side wise. Starting just below the toe draw a line down the side of the sock that doesn't have the heel. It should be an inch wide. This is going to be your tail. Sew it just like you did the legs with the oval edge at the cuff.
Cut straight across and remove the toe. You can toss this if you want but I use it to make a cap for the female monkey. The men get to remain bald.
Cut about a quarter of an inch away from your seam to remove the tail. Turn it inside out and stuff it full.
You will cut the remaining piece into three parts. Make two straight cuts on either side of the heel.
Cut the longer piece in half lengthwise. These will be the arms.
Cut the shorter piece in half lengthwise and cut those in half across the center. You should have four squares. These will be the ears.
Sew the arms just like you did the tail. Turn and stuff. For the ears sew down one of the longer sides and make a slight curve and go across the bottom and do another slight curve and go up the other side. Trim and turn and stuff. You are now done with the sewing machine.
Stuff everything full.
We will start with the tail. Pinch the edges together and sew across the top. Place the tail on the bum (the heel) on the body of the monkey. Whip stitch the tail on. I always go around twice since it keeps the tail in place better.
Place the arms about half way down on the body. Attach the same way that you did the tail first stitching the top together and then whip stitching it to the body. Again I go around twice.
Now it is time to start giving this monkey a face. Take the heel and turn it right side up.
Folding down the edges pin the mouth on the face right above where the arms are. You can fiddle with it here until it looks centered.
Whip stitch along the top and ends of the mouth. Fold the bottom edges of the mouth and place it below the top of the mouth. It is supposed to poof out since you will be stuffing it. Pin half of it. Sew towards the middle and stop.
Stuff the mouth full.
Sew the rest of the way around the mouth.
Folding the edges in attach the ears. I find that placing the top of the ear right at the edge of the toe is the perfect place. Sew the ears like you did the rest whip stitching the top and sewing it around. The ears and mouth I only go around once. Place two buttons near the top where the eyes are.
Now for the finishing touches. I use six strands of embroidery thread and starting where the seam is on the mouth and make straight stitches. I then come back and weave the thread trough the straight stitches giving the monkey a mouth.
I take the toe of the sock and make a cap with it especially for the female monkeys. Sew some trim around the edge and use bows of flowers or whatever you think looks good.
And there you have it a beautiful sock monkey..