Sew Sock Monster Softies!

Sock monster softies are easy beginner sewing crafts.

       These little softies are easy to sew and also include three different sewing stitches for young people to learn as they stuff, sculpt, attach eyes, horns, shells, big teeth, tails and anything else a young artist can think of!

Supply List:

• old, clean socks
• giant wooden beads for eyeballs
• white felt or white pom-poms for teeth
• an extra red sock for the mouth
• wool or cotton stuffing
• blue and black felt for eye-balls
• white sock for eyeballs too
• a plastic critter for eating or a companion
• a long sewing needle and matching threads

Step-by-Step Instructions: 

1. First, draw a picture of the sock monster you would like to make. You may make one like ours or design very own. 
2. To sew a large, exaggerated, red mouth similar to my own examples shown here, cut away the heal portion of an old sock. 
3. Turn the sock inside-out and replace the heal opening with a red sock scrap the same size as the one you cut away. Make this replacement by placing the cut heal from the first sock on top of a red sock and cut around that shape.
4. Sew the mouth in with the right sides together while the sock monster is turned inside out. Use a straight stitch.
5. Now turn the sock right sides facing out and use a whip stitch to attach the red mouth knitting more firmly in place. The whip stitch should overlap the straight seam already in place.
6. Now you are ready to stuff your monster softie, stitch the openings at the end of the sock closed  and add strange attachments wherever you would like! 
7. To make big eyeballs like mine: cover a large wooden bead using white sock scrapes. 
8. Then sew the iris onto the eyeball using a whip stitch again.
9. Cut and shape a long narrow tube using a straight stitch from sock material and then push the eyeball down to one open end of the tubing. 
10. Stuff the tubing with a chenille stem and cotton batting, to give it flexibility and strength. 
11. Use the invisible stitch to firmly attach the sock material around the eyeball. 
12. Then thread a needle with red thread and add sew random stitches around the top of the eyeball to make it look a bit more scary, just like a monster with 'red itchy eyes' of course!

Cut away the heal in a sock and replace it with a red mouth.

"Horrible Horned Hare" sock monster is actually made using a single knit glove. I made the 
horn for him from a scrap of grey sock, a tongue from a scrap of pink sock and his teeth from
white felt. He has four ears instead of two, that's what makes him a monster...

"Creepy Crocodile" sock monster with his rubber 'snake' dinner. He also has scutes and a tail feature 
attached down his back. These were made from the second matching sock.

"Savage Snail" Sock Monster and ladybug companion attached to the stripped shell on her
back side. Her teeth are white pom-poms sewn between her exaggerated red lips.

The "Boo-Who?" Costume

"Boo Who?" costume complete with 
light up Jack-O-Lantern purchased
from a dollar store.

       Can you guess which of our dolls is dressed like a ghost this Halloween? This sheet-like costume is very simple to make. Both the hood type mask and long skirt are made from a stretchy no fray fabric that needs no hemming to prevent it from unravelling and the felt letters are glued directly onto the costume.

Supply List:

• black felt
• fabric glue
• stretchy white fabric
• elastic

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut black letters from felt, "Boo Who?"
2. Search for a white tee and leggings for your doll. Tights and leggings are optional, but the tee shirt will be necessary.
3. Cut the doll's ghost-like mask from the stretchy white fabric. It should have a bow shape. 
4. Sew the bow or arch shut with right sides together, leave the bottom of the mask "hood"open.
5. Turn it right sides out and place it over the doll's head to lightly mark whee to cut the eye, nose and mouth holes.
6. You may like to sew on a few eye lashes to the eye sockets at this point. 
7. Glue on the letters next using a fabric glue or tacky white glue. (see photos)
8. Now sew the gathered skirt. Make it very long to cover the doll's legs entirely.

See more vintage ghosts:

• How to make sheet ghost costume for Halloween by Rachael Eve
• Dogs dress like sheet ghosts at Super Cooper Sunday 322
• The Ghost Dance Cartoon music "St. James Infirmary Blues" more of the late, great Cab Calloway.
• Casper The Friendly Ghost cartoon from 1948
• Scrappy's Ghost Story from 1935 Cartoon

Left, this ghost costume has eye-lashes, requested by doll...
Right, she carries a pumpkin light, very vintage and cute!

How to sew doll swimsuits using socks...

This Wellie Wisher doll, Kendall, wears a
cute purple and pink striped swimsuit made
from a sock. There are straps for the suit 
that tie around the neck to hold it in place.

       Young girls can design cut and fashion small socks into swim wear. Pictured here is one of our Wellie Wishers and a Best Friends Club Doll, Addison, modeling different variations of this simple sewing craft.
       The swimsuits when made of socks need to have their raw edges sewn down tightly or these will unravel. Sewers may also use a glue made especially to prevent this called No Fray, Dritz Fray or Sit n Sew as an alternative.
       I chose pastel striped socks for our dolls to wear but socks come in so many different, colorful designs these days, it's difficult to choose which print to try for this simple craft.
       I cut the sock straight across where the leg and heal come together. Then I slip this tube onto the doll's body to measure where the leg openings should be and the top of the bathing suit should end.
       Next I sew a small seam between the legs and finish all of the openings with seams both at the bottom and top of the sock tube.
       Finally, I sew on ribbon or straps to hold the swimsuits on the dolls body.

More Ideas for Crafting Doll Swimwear:

• How to make swimwear and bikini for Barbie without sewing by Ideas Barbie DIY
• How to make really cute swimsuits for your doll using socks by Americangirl Land

Day At The Pool for Dolls:

• Take a Brain Break at The Pool! by mixiepixie7 and Sophie Clair's Pool Party Plan
• DIY Pool Floats for Your Doll

Our Addison doll wears a bathing suit made from a green and white striped sock. It is trimmed 
at the top with calico print, cotton ribbon and has a snap in the back to tighten and close the 
swimming suit snug against her body.

Lumpy and Bumpy In A Trunk!

Clowns are from a by-gone era, characters from a traveling circus show. 

      These old sock dolls, I call them Lumpy and Bumpy, were kept for over twenty years inside a small, wooden trunk at the foot of a spindle bed in my in-laws home. I have no idea who they belonged to, but, it appears as though they were quite the favorites of some pernicious toddler! Just look at their funny little stitched faces! 

Left, Lumpy and Bumpy are very, well, lumpy and bumpy. Right,
Bumpy has charming attire, that is, compared to Lumpy’s outfit.

Circus Life for Kids:

• Circus Kids Our Secret World
• Meet amazing circus performer Aberham and Ukrainian Pole Acrobat Emily
• My Life - Peter's C

Agnus & Ruby Rescued from Resale!

 

      Agnus pictured here in a faded black dress and right, in red, is Ruby. These old gals were rescued from a dusty and forgotten toy box at a local resale shop. Both are sock dolls and I think they were sewn in the 1940s or 50s? In any case, they are safe now and have plenty of opportunities to relax, drink tea and gossip with a variety of travel dolls. They no longer need fear the trash heap.

      Great Aunt Marlene donated the lovely pocket watch pin to Agnus. I think it suites her attire. She is a bit elderly and sometimes forgets to wake from a nap for afternoon tea. The pocket watch should come in handy!

       Agnus and Ruby are immigrant sock dolls to our family's collection. But they are greatly esteemed by other sock dolls in the playroom. Each has a unique story and adventure to tell! They have endured many hardships at the hands of romping toddlers with sticky fingers and have met many dust bunnies beneath antique Victorian furnishings. But now they have earned pleasant retirement and merely live vicariously through the trials of more contemporary playthings.

Recycling Your Old Socks Into Dolls

"Sock Doll Workshop" and
"How to Make the Original Rockford Red Heel Monkey"

      Socks are fun and easy materials to work with when sewing dolls by hand. I keep two titles, “Sock Doll Workshop: 30 Delightful Dolls To Create and Cherish,’” and also the newer purchase, “How to make the original Rockford Red Heel Monkey,” (which is a republishing of "How to Make Sock Dolls" by Pack-O-Fun) in my bookcase for students. Sock dolls require far less sewing than most doll patterns and these also demonstrate to students just “how” they might recycle old materials.

      The most popular sock dolls were made from “dec-tec-tip” socks during the Great Depression era in America.

      “Around 1951, the Nelson Knitting company discovered that their socks were being used to make monkey dolls. This company became involved in a dispute over the design patent on the sock monkey pattern. They were awarded the patent in 1955, and began including the pattern with every pair of socks. The sock monkey doll was then used in promotional campaigns celebrating the widespread application of their product by inventive homemakers in the field of monkey manufacturing.

      In 1958, the “scrap-craft” magazine Pack-O-Fun published “How to Make Sock Toys”, a guide to making different sock animals and dolls with red heeled socks. Frequently cited as being their most popular book ever, this pamphlet went through multiple printings and was produced in new editions up until the mid-1980s. In the late 1980s, a company called Marketing Tide of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, sold kits with the original socks and instructions in numerous craft and sewing magazines. Their kit was featured on the ABC-TV Network Home Show in 1992, which helped to put the Sock Monkey firmly back into American Culture.

      The Nelson Knitting Company was acquired in 1992 by Fox River Mills, and the original brown heather, Red Heel monkey sock is still in production by Fox River Mills. A distinctive change in the red-heeled sock design distinguishes monkeys made with Fox River Mills socks from Nelson Knitting Company socks. Fox River heels are more uniformly ovular, without the end points that gave Nelson Knitting-made sock monkeys their smiles or frowns.

      In the 21st century, efforts by crafters, writers, photographers, and artists to immortalize the sock monkey doll beyond soft sculptured socks has intensified. Today, sock monkey images can be found adorning books, greeting cards, journals, calendars, book marks, paintings, playing cards, quilts, clothing, jewelry, and bakery goods like cakes and cookies to name but a few. Sock monkeys have also been immortalized in polymer clay, fiberglass, and in commercials. They have been themes for weddings, graduations, birthdays, and baby showers. They continue to make their way into our homes and hearts.” 

The first sock doll that I created from recycled materials was a clown.
 He has a funny little expression and freckles on the tip of his nose.

More fun video for making sock monkeys:

• Sock Monkey Tutorial by SewBrenna
• Camera Test – How to Make a Sock Monkey
• Kia Sock Monkey Commercial
• Make a sock monkey with a sewing machine, if you prefer.
• How to personalize a sock monkey...
• Family sock monkey obsession!

 Related Sock Monkey Articles:

• 18" Doll Sized Sock Dolls
• Invasion of the Sock Monkeys 
• Freebie Friday: A sweet little sock monkey! 
• Sock Monkey Shower {party theme} 

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

Sew a Jersey/Sweater for Ken or Barbie

This striped sock sweater/jersey includes a turtleneck collar and ribbing on both the sleeves and around the waist.
This sock sweater requires two socks in order to include the stripes and ribbing on the sleeves.

 This jersey (above) is sewn from a pair of socks. Sewing with sock can be tricky but the results are very pleasing. Some tips to remember:

• Sew with very small stitches and sew over your stitches several times to prevent unraveling.
• The clothes only look as good as the socks, so, use either new or like-new socks to begin with.
• Choose interesting patterns and colors that suite the age your doll represents.
• Try to avoid stretching the socks while you work with them. This will prevent oddly shaped garments.
• Use very strong thread for sock crafts such as these. Sometimes I will even use dental floss to sew with knit materials for dolls.
• Use a sticky craft glue or no-fray fabric glue when working with the knit socks to prevent unraveling. 
• Whether you use one sock or two to sew a doll's sweater will depend upon the pattern, design or size of your doll. Continuing the design of the sweater across the chest and onto the sleeve is a matter of design preference.

The candy stripped sock sweater above includes ribbing
around the waist only; plus a tiny knit belt. See directions
for her sweater skirt here.

       For this particular version of a doll sock sweater, (right) the cuff of the sock becomes the finished edge of the doll's sweater waist. The cuff provides a natural elasticity for the sweater so that the garment possess some durability when a child dresses and undresses her doll.

      There is also a tiny knit belt, cut from the former sweater. If your recycled sweater does not have a detail like this one, simply cut a bit of knit twine or decorative yarn to tie about the doll's waist instead.

Supply List:

• a pair of clean larger socks for Ken's sweater, one child's sock for Barbie's sweater version
• needle and strong thread (Use dental floss, unwaxed if you have it.)
• matching pale pink, cotton thread
• tiny sharp scissors
• a doll to measure by (I used a ken doll, made by Mattel and a lovely dark skinned Barbie.)

Step-by-Step Directions:

       Cut the child's sock into three separate pieces, two identical sleeves for the arms (from the foot of the sock) and one continuous piece for the torso of the doll, cut from the leg of the sock. (see photo below) Then thread your needle with the dental floss and sew both a straight seam and then a blanket stitch up the sides of each sleeve leaving a opening for the shoulder at the top of each sleeve and an opening at the bottom of each sleeve for the doll's hands to stick through. Sew a straight seam and a blanket stitch across the top of the neck line leaving a hole for the doll's head to fit through. The cuff of the former sock becomes the waistline opening and it is left open all the way across.

 

       Observe in the pictures below how the heal part of the sock (gusset) is left to shape the shoulders of the sweater. It is easy to notice this here because the heal of the sock is solid pink along with the waistline area. You can also observe from the close up shots that I have turned the collar back and stitched a tiny blanket seam around the neck opening.  This stitch prevents fraying, allows for elasticity, and makes an attractive, finished edge.

       To sew on the sleeves you must take a tiny pair of sharp scissors and cut out a small arm whole on either side of the sweater just below the shoulders. Be careful not to cut these openings too wide. As you sew the arm seams these openings may be stretched a bit.

       Turn the sleeves right-side-out so that the front sides are facing together as you sew around the arm whole seams. See the photo below on the far right. In the Center photo, you can see that the sweater when turned inside out, it should have all muted colors and when the sweater is turned outside in, the colors are all brilliant.

       I finished the bottoms of each sleeve on this pattern by gently rolling them up and tacking them down with a bit of cotton thread and a blanket stitch.

How To Sew a Straight Knit Skirt for a Fashion Doll

Barbie Doll dressed in knit top, skirt and faux leather boots.
Click here to see how to sew the sweater.

       Knit doll clothes cut from recycled sweaters and socks can be finished in such a way as to prevent future unraveling to some extent. However, you must treat the clipped ends of the knitted stitches with a fabric glue or tacky glue!

       These clipped ends must also be sewed securely, making sure to pass a fine needle back through each row of the knit and firmly sewing shut any stitched seams with several tight lines of straight stitches.

Supply List:

• sleeve from a knit sweater (recycled clothing)
• needle and thread to match
• tacky, white craft glue or no-sew fabric glue
  

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Cut a clean, laundered sleeve from a knit garment. You can cut two knit skirts from an adult woman's size sweater for one 11 1/2 inch doll.
2. Lay the sleeve out on a clean flat surface to cut. Lay your fashion doll on top of the sleeve to measure the length you would like to cut for her skirt. This measurement will vary given the size of your doll.
3. I cut the top of the skirt from the finished bottom of my sweater's sleeve. That way, the doll's waist will be finished and less likely to unravel over time.
4. Sew a straight stitch down the side seam of the skirt. Repeat this again, layering several seams on top of each other.
5. For the unfinished, clipped end of the skirt, insert a tube or a group of pens to hold the tube of knit open temporarily while tipping the edge of the garment with glue. Let the glue dry this way and then pull the pens or tube out.
6. I used a blanket finishing stitch around the bottom of the skirt on top of the glued edges to ensure the skirt would not unravel for some time.
   

Left, the sleeve of a knit sweater is cut off the main body of the garment in order to make the measuring and cutting
of my doll's skirt easier. Center, here is a photo of pens inserted inside the raw end of a cut sock. This is how I hold
open the clipped edges of a knit garment in order to apply a fabric glue to each end. You don't want the fabric to sit
on top of anything that it might adhere to during the drying time of the glue. Pull these pens out after the glue
has dried. Right, the bottom finished edge of the skirt has an additional seam sewn through its edge on top of the glue. 

Left, here you can see the top edge of the doll skirt is actually the finished portion of the former knit sleeve that
it was cut from. Center, the bottom edge of the skirt is hand-stitched over with a tiny, tight blanket stitch using
 matching thread. Right, this knit skirt will last considerably longer than most, given the attention paid to finishing
 it's edges.

Make Simple Beanie Caps for Baby Dolls

This little Berenquer Doll came dressed from the local Goodwill! He is the
 perfect companion to my other little boy, baby dolls. I think he needs a hat.

    It seems as though you can make just about anything from a nice pair of socks these days. If you don't feel your up to knitting little beanie caps from scratch, cut up a some of those socks that you can't find a match for! Suddenly, knit baby bonnets will become fashionable in your doll nursery. 

   Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut across a sock just above the heal. Turn the sock piece inside out and sew a tough seam across the end cut side. Repeat this seam several times to eliminate the prospect of the sock unraveling. Turn it back to the front sides facing out and fit it over a bald doll's head. Now tuck in the peaks until you've got the beanie looking fit and trim. Thread an embroidery needle with contrasting floss and sew the nips and tuck down securely to the shape of your doll's head.

Socks Make Great Garments for Dolls:

• Making Doll Sock Sweaters
• Adorable dolls clothes knitting patterns for those of you who love to knit

Tuck in the corners of the sock and sew them down with a embroidery thread and needle.
I did this using a blanket stitch. The trick to getting this just right is to do it while it is
 stretched over the surface of a bald dolls head. Don't do it if your doll has a wig! 

These socks no longer have a matching partner so I've decided to reshape them into nursery beanie caps for a few dolls.

Introduce your child to sewing with this simple doll cap craft. My grandmother taught me to sew on a machine
 step-by-step by adding costumes to my doll's wardrobe many years ago.

Their heads are warm, now all they need are some booties.