Three Wise Monkeys

Well, for my next project I’ve started working on three monkeys that will make the three wise monkeys which embody the principle ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. The first one I have done so far is the ‘see no evil’ monkey. This monkey is pink and like the wise monkey, is covering his/her eyes.

The other two monkeys in the series are going to be made from the same pattern of sock, but in green and orange. I’ve already cut out the pieces and now just need to stuff them with love (and polyfill), and sew them together!

I’ve also started the pieces for a sock clown, which is going to be made from a rainbow sock that is striped with black. My plan is to use pom poms down the middle of the front and wool on the head to create the clowns buttons and wig. I’m also going to use some bright red felt for the clowns’ large mouth.

I’ve had some suggestions from other people as to animals to get stuck into – including a lion and a giraffe. I’ve got some ideas for the lion as to how he would look, but am unsure about the giraffe, I think I’d need to get some knee high socks to accomplish one. Hmmm… need to give that some more thought. I’ve also had a request from my older brother that perhaps I get some squeakers to insert into the toys and create a sock toy for their dog. I’m not too sure if this is something I’d do or not, as I’m not sure how I’d feel watching my hard work being torn apart by their dog – no matter how cute he is or how much he would enjoy himself!

Does anyone else have ideas for me to start thinking about for other sock animals? Soon all I’ll have time to do is the planning of the animals once the new family member has arrived!

Owls on Parade and Sock Zebra

Well, now that I’ve worked out a basic pattern for the sock owl, I’ve made a few. Each owl is unique (since it is hand made) and has a character of its own. I decided to switch the button eyes to completely felt eyes as I thought this suited the owl more. I also angled the wings more towards the front and flipped them so that the same pattern from the socks was the outer of the wing, rather than the inner. The feedback that I’ve had from my family who have seen the owls is that they like them, especially the ones with the really large eyes. What do you think? All feedback is helpful!

Last night I couldn’t sleep (silly baby kept me up, kicking me in the stomach causing indigestion), so I worked on the sock zebra idea that I had. I’d already sewn the pieces on the machine, so it was just a matter of stuffing, and figuring the placement of body parts and how to do the mane and tail.

Overall I’m fairly happy with how he turned out – especially with the mane. I got the technique for doing the mane from a book called “Stray Sock Sewing: Making One-of-a-Kind Creatures from Socks” by Dan Ta (can be purchased through online retailers such as Amazon, but the pattern for the zebra is my own).

Unlike the sock monkeys I make, the zebras ears sit higher on the head, the nose sits lower and has button nostrils, and a short fringed tail (technique for the tail is my own as well – this still needs a little tweaking I think).

Upon seeing the zebra this morning, my husband commented that he liked it and thought he was good. Unsolicited praise! Yay! That being said, zebras are my hubby’s favourite animal, so the fact that he liked the sock zebra did mean a lot to me. What do you think of the zebra, any recommendations for improvement? Personally, I’m not sure about the eyebrows on him, but would love to hear your opinion.

Now to start planning out my next project idea. With the long weekend coming up I hope to get another project done before the new baby arrives (I’m due April 8^th) and I’m not able to get much done for a while.

Sock Owl

Well, I made my first attempt at a sock owl. It isn’t perfect, but it is a good start. (Excuse the poorly photoshopped photo - I'm still learning how to use photoshop!)

I used felt and buttons for the eyes and beak. The wings are made from sock and from fleece material. It turns out, that sewing the two different types of material together wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be – I don’t have a lot of experience – and so the wings are a bit… special. I’m also not happy with how the shape of the wings turned out either. I’m sure the next one will be better, that’s for sure!

The owl is approximately 13cm tall, approximately 10cm wide (measured between the owls ‘horns’) and is stuffed full of love. I wouldn’t normally use such plain socks either, but I didn’t want to use my nice socks on a prototype!

Speaking of socks, I received a new bundle of socks in the mail today – super exciting! 

I’ve already started work on my next project… a sock zebra! The socks are perfect, and I can adapt my sock monkey pattern to suit a zebra. I hope it turns out well.

Inaugural Post

During my pregnancies I am not a very well woman – I have a condition called POTS during pregnancy that causes heart palpitations, shortness of breath and dizziness. The end result basically means that I can’t do a lot standing. In order to save my sanity I have been making sock monkeys, which has turned into a bit of an obsession! I’m also starting to make other sock animals now and I have worked out how to make a cute sock dog and a sock bunny.

This is what the sock bunnies, dogs and monkeys look like:

The sock monkey’s started out as me making gifts for the little people in my life, and then when I was chatting about it to some of the wonderful mums I know (you know who you are!) I was asked by a few if I sold the monkey’s. So, I figured, why not? It also gave me something to do since I’ve been so unwell.

A side effect of becoming interested in making sock animals is that I have also started a little bit of a sock collection going. 

I keep finding cool socks online that I just have to get to turn into a cool sock animal. So far, I’ve definitely had more luck buying socks online than in shops – Australia just doesn’t seem to have the same number of cool socks available as America and England (or at least so I have found).

Today I’ve decided that I’m going to start trying to make a sock owl. People at the moment seem to be quite into owls, though I have to admit I’m not entirely sure why. But, I have an idea and I’m hoping it will turn out cute – stay tuned for my first attempt!