No matter if you have old, torn onesRecycle socksIf you want to, or buy new ones, sock animals are the perfect alternative to purchased plush toys. Not to mention the fact that they're a lot of fun to make and you can do it together with the kids, what you end up with is cuddly toys that have a lot of love put into them - after all, they're homemade! Animals made from socks are not only very suitable for your own use. If you buy new, fluffy socks, you can also use them to make cuddly toys to give as gifts and make someone particularly happy: no one else has a stuffed animal like that! Today we'll show you how you can make sock animals yourself. Expand your children's soft toy collection with a monkey, cat, rabbit or elephant!
Make your own sock animals – make a monkey
With thisSock animals instructionsyou can make not only monkeys, but also other animals. All you have to do is match the sock colors and change the shape of the ears depending on the animal. You also have to do a little sewing, but it's nothing complicated, so even beginners can try it. You need:
- 2 long socks
- fiberfill
- 2 buttons
- Fabric scissors
- Needle and thread
If you would like to make monkeys as sock animals yourself, take the first sock and place it in front of you. The heel should point upwards. On the open side, cut the sock in the middle and slightly below the heel. You get the two legs, which you sew closed on the sides and inside out, but leave a small hole open. Roll the fabric up through the hole. Stuff the legs and the other part of the sock, which will be the body, then with polyfill and seal the hole.
Sew all parts together
Now take the other sock and cut it like the other sock, but this time to the heel. You get the two arms that you cut off. Cut out the heel from the rest of the sock (it will become the mouth). Then you need a long piece for the tail and four pieces of the same size for the ears. Sew the piece for the tail and the arms inside out except for small openings for filling and fill them with the cotton wool. You also sew the ears together, left sides together. Once you have filled all the elements with cotton wool, you can attach them to your body. Then all you have to do is sew on the cut heel for the mouth and the buttons for the eyes. The first cuddly toy is ready. Now you can make a few more sock animals yourself!
Tipp:Should the monkey forToddlers or babiesIt is advisable to avoid the buttons as they could be swallowed. Instead, it's better to draw the eyes with textile pens or use child-safe snap fasteners.
Crafting with rice and socks – bunnies without sewing
A particularly fast andsimple projectis this cute bunny that is intended more for playing or lying down than for cuddling. But that doesn't make him any less likeable! Below you will find out how you can make bunnies as sock animals yourself.
- sock
- Reis
- Textile pen
- Yarn
- Scissors
- wide parcel tape (optional)
- Textile scissors
- decorative ribbon
Simple craft instructions
Fill the sock with rice up to the beginning of the heel (you can also use another material for filling). You can make this task easier by placing the sock in the tape ring and folding it over the edges. This way the sock stays open (or you use a funnel). Then tie the sock together with yarn at 2/3 of the filling. Some of the rice should slide up. This part should be smaller than the lower one and will be the head, the heel will be the face. Also tie the sock together above your head. The rest of the sock, which now sticks up, immediately turns into the ears.
To do this, cut the protruding end of the sock in the middle. You can then cut and shape the ears as you wish and determine the length, width and shape yourself. Then use the textile pen to draw the eyes, nose and mouthdecorate the neck with a pretty ribbon. If you want, you can also tie off a small part at the back of the body to create a tail. Butalso a pom pomcan be glued or sewn on for this purpose.
DIY sock animals – simply sew a cat by hand
As with the monkey, you'll need to do a bit of sewing for this cute, lying cat. However, it is even simpler here. We'll show you how to make cats as sock animals yourself!
- sock
- Needle and thread in matching color
- Fiberfill or regular cotton batting
- Textile scissors
- Buttons or black beads for the eyes
- Thread or textile pencil for the nose
Place the sock in front of you with the heel facing up. Then draw the paws. One side should be a little closer to the heel than the other. Then sew along the drawn lines with a simple backstitch. However, leave out the seam between one of the two pairs of paws so that you can fill the body with the filling. Now cut out the shape at a small distance from the seam and turn it inside out. Then you can fill them with the cotton wool.
Then take a larger amount of cotton wool, divide it into two equal amounts and roughly shape them into balls with your hands. Use this to first stuff the hind legs. Then fill the body and front paws with an even larger ball. Then use your hands to roughly shape the head from the outside. Then sew the hole closed using the so-called mattress stitch, also known as a magic seam. If you used regular cotton wool and a lot of lint remained on the fabric, you can remove it with simple tape.
Make sock animals yourself – make the head
Next, you can make the head for cats as sock animals yourself. To do this, take the second sock and draw cat ears directly above the heel. Sew along the lines again with the same seam, cut out the ears and turn the fabric inside out. Then take two small cotton balls and fill the ears with them and then use a larger ball to fill the rest of the head, which you can now shape.
Then cut off the excess part of the fabric at the neck. Now close the hole with a simple seam around the edge of this opening. Sew the head to the body by first piercing through the fabric of the head, then through the fabric of the body, and back again. Continue like this until you're done.
Make the tail and face
Then sew the tail from the toe part of the sock. Draw it again, sew along the line, cut out the tail and fill it with the cotton wool. You can use a stick (e.g. a chopstick) to do this. Thread the thread through a bead and tie a knot. Pull the thread through the bead until it reaches the knot. Now push the needle through the place where the eye should be.
Further to the right, where the second eye should go, bring the needle out of the cat's head again. Tighten the first bead, thread the same thread through the second bead and secure it on the head with a knot. So both eyes are connected with one and the same thread. Then you can tie a bow around your neck. Complete! Wouldn't you like to make more sock animals yourself?
Make your own elephants as sock animals
Would you likecute animalsYou can also choose to make such an elephant out of socks that don't need to be sewn. Although the classic elephant is gray, you can of course choose any other color and even fun patterns for the socks. The more colorful, the better and more child-friendly! Here's how you can make these funny sock animals yourself:
- long socks
- fiberfill
- felt
- Rice or beans
- Rubbers
- Googly eyes
- Hot glue
Did you like the elephant and now you want to make such sock animals yourself? Then first form two balls out of the filling cotton, stick the first one into the bottom of the socks and tie a ball with the elastic. Repeat with the other ball on the other side. These are the elephant's two hind legs. Now fill the area up to the heel with plenty of fiberfill to create a fluffy elephant body. Form two balls for the front legs on the left and right again using rubber bands and filling cotton. Next you need a larger ball of cotton for the head, which you put into the sock in the heel area. Tie the transition between body and head together with another elastic band.
Pull the remaining part of the sock forward towards the elephant's face, where you use a rubber band to form the trunk. Cut off the cuff (elastic) of the sock, roll up the fabric and secure the roll with hot glue. Mark the places for the eyes and glue the googly eyes there. To give the animal socks ears, cut them out of the felt as shown in the instructions and hot glue them to the back of the elephant's head. And because it was so easy, you can also make a few of these sock animals yourself.
Craft ideas with socks – teddy bear
The teddy is a classic,when it comes to cuddly toys. That's why it can't be missing from our list. If you would like to make sock animals yourself, you can also choose this simple bear. This is how you can sew the animal socks:
- sock
- fiberfill
- Needle and thread
- Scissors
- tweezers
- small piece of white fabric
- Buttons
- Pearls
- felt-tip pen
- Pencil
First, draw the outline of the bear's head, legs and arms onto the sock and cut them out. Then fill the head with fiberfill and sew the opening closed. Then sew an oval piece of white fabric onto the face, as well as beads for the eyes (see instructions for the cat) and a button for the nose. You can sew the mouth or paint it with a textile pen. Then stuff the body and sew it shut. Then fill the arms and sew them and the head to the body.
Crafts with socks for animals
From socksMake animals– Sock animals instructions for a rabbit as an Easter gift
