Sock Monkey Monday: How to Make a Monkey

My handwriting isn't the best, so if someone can't read something please ask and I'll translate. 

Gather supplies:

 

 Got everything? Okay, time to start.

 I can't draw, so I traced the sock.

First side. Macro really shows all your wrinkles.

 Start to turn for the toe here. This way, you can cut the cuff off, and you also have a very definite line where the toes will be.
Second side:

I never have a measuring device handy. However, the length from the tip of my thumb to the first knuckle is just the right size.

The "center" line on socks is often not in the center.






Other people do this step very differently. This is the way that I do it. I prefer having two seams on the tail instead of on one of the arms.

Tips:

Do NOT use pen, marker, and especially not Sharpie!

Sew the arms first.

Stop here and turn. You don't want to make the arms too long, and you don't want to sew over the heel for one of them.



Each arm is one knuckle wide.


 The tail. This is why you don't want to make very thick or long arms. You don't want them to be so close together you can't cut them apart.





I marked them with disappearing ink, which is purple. You can sort of see them.




I have very little left over when I'm done sewing.
Next, turn everything right side out and stuff. 

 
All cut and ready to stuff.

Magic!

Next, sew the crotch closed, so he doesn't leak.

Start before the opening, so there won't be a gap. Start from the inside out, so that the knot will be hidden inside the monkey. Pull the thread all the way through here.

Put the tread through the opposite side, with the needle parallel to the opening. Repeat, alternating sides of the hole, and making sure that the raw edges are tucked inside.


This is what the stitches look like before you pull them tight-- sort of a zig-zag. You want to keep these stitches very tight, not loose, this is just to show you what they look like.

Tightened (hold the thread with the other hand to keep it tight, don't pull on the sock).

You can see the sock is naturally folding the cut edges in. This is a good thing.


All sewn. Hiding the stitches makes a more professional looking monkey.


These are all done the exact same way.




Pull tight.

Use your thumb to hold the raw edge inside.

That's a bit blurry, but it's closed completely. Do NOT cut the thread.

Start on the bottom side. You'll use the same kind of stitch you used to sew the crotch closed.


I over lap them a bit.


What they look like loose (for illustration only, keep them tight).






Next, the neck. This is optional.

I'm using blue, because he's getting a blue bow at the end.


Wrap around once, pull tight, but not too tight,  tie... um... a half knot. Go around again and tie a whole knot.
I realize that ring is on the wrong finger. It's supposed to be.

Snip all the excess off.

Time for a mouth. I don't use the heel. You can use the heel and do the mouth the same way, but I don't.

I stuff first, then sew the mouth on, because I think it gives a more even mouth, and there's less risk of ripping the sock. Same type of stitch used to attach the arms. (loose for illustration only).

Don't sew all the way around, he needs a smile!
Tests:

I like the second better.

I use a split stitch to do the mouth. It gives more options.


The last step is the ears... except there was an issue with the camera and I can't find the little teeny-tiny memory card that I took out of it last week. I didn't show how I do the ears anyway, because that's part of what makes my monkeys mine and it took me a bloody long time to figure out how the hell to do them properly. I also didn't include how to make/sew on the bum tags. I didn't think it was important for most people.

This monkey is finished, and his name is Pip. He'll have his photo taken and will be in the Etsy store later this week. 

The Finished Pip:

He's a happy little monkey that really likes Italian Sausages and milkshakes.

Sock Monkey Monday: What the Monkey Maker Sees

This week, I'm doing things a little bit differently for Sock Monkey Monday. See, it's been very, very busy here at Monkeyville Headquarters (um, what used to be my dining room). There are lots and lots of monkeys in the works, so I thought I would share a bit about the Monkeyville Monkey making process.

Sock Monkeys start out like this:

They don't look like anything much at this point. Just a bunch of ruined socks. That's okay though, all monkeys go through an awkward phase (just like us people!).

Next, after sewing, it's time for stuffing!

They still don't look like much, but they're on their way. Most don't have arms and legs yet, because it's easier to do other things first, without the arms getting in the way. 

These are all identical, because they're a set of five that I'm working on for a special order. I liked getting them all sewn in one bunch, and I think from now on I'll do it like that. All of the light colored monkeys for the week in one group, all of the dark colored one for the week in the next. That way, there's minimal thread changes on the Magic  Monkey Making Machine (sewing machine to non-monkey makers). It's also much easier to get a lot of them done if I do it in more of an assembly line way. 

Last night, I was working on one of the girl monkeys for this order. She's based on a real person, so I had think of some new ways to do certain things. Normally, I use either embroidery floss or yarn for the eyes. Occasionally buttons, but I'm trying to steer away from those and stick with all CPSIA exempt materials. Because the monkey I was working on is supposed to look like a real, human person, I had to do her eyes differently.

There are faint blue marks on her face, that's okay, those are my guides so I could make sure the eyes were the same size. I'm better with yarn and floss than a pen though, because I didn't follow the guide lines very well! There is also a very large knot in the center of her face. That's fine because that knot will be hidden later. (Shhh! Behind the scenes secrets!)

I'm very happy her eyes. They came out just like I imagined in my head, which makes me happy. I love it when that happens!

I also put her hair on, but that was a bit of a mistake. Next time, I'll leave that step until after I do the rest of the sewing, so it doesn't get caught in anything. I used a very nice, "blond" colored yarn for hair, this is the second monkey I've made with hair, but there will be a few more coming. I have at least one that I would like to put in the Monkeyville Etsy store.

After her face was done, it was time to do something I've never, ever done with a sock monkey before-- make her voluptuous! She needed a very well endowed chest, because that's what her human counter part has.

There is a bit of me that's still 14 I think, because I cracked up the whole time I was sewing. I was also talking to my Ninjas via yahoo instant messenger. "Brb. I have to sew a boob on" is probably one of the more random things I've ever said!

Side boob. Not so sexy actually. Also, there's no way I'm going to give away the secret to how I did this. Though experienced sock monkey makers out there will probably be able to figure it out. Getting them both the same size was really hard. Kudos to all the plastic surgeons out there!

I had dreams about this all morning before actually doing it. In my dreams, I was sewing basketball sized boobs, and I gave them felt... um [must consult google]... areolas with french knot nipples. The real monkey is not quite so life like.

A Monkey Maker's point of view. This induced much laughter, and I'm trying really hard to keep this PG, but at this point, it certainly felt perverted. Next time, the... stuffing entrance... gets sewn shut before I do this. Hopefully that will make it at least a little bit less dirty.

After the chest was completed, it was time to attach the arms, legs, tail, and mouth and get her looking less like a blob of sock with a face and boobs, and more like a person. Then, it was time for a bit of a fashion show. I've sewn t-shirts for monkeys before, but I wasn't quite sure if what I wanted to use would fit.

Thankfully, it did. I did the hem a bit later, I didn't leave the edge raw like that. She has her hair put up because I didn't want to get it tangled. I still have to make her pants though.

While I was working, I realized that her hair up like that made her look like a very well endowed Alice, from Alice in Wonderland. I have some less fancy blond colored yarn, and plenty of the black, so I think whenever I get a bit of a lull in orders, I'll do an Alice one... without the boobs of course!

This is what I really love about sock monkeys. They start out as just a plain old pair of socks, and with some work, they turn into something completely different, and no two are ever exactly the same. The socks that I used to make this monkey are the exact same style as the ones that I used to make this little guy:

The techniques to make both aren't all that different either. Just a few changes and the monkey is completely different! I often see people using the same socks that I do (there are a ton of reverse Olivers on Etsy) but it doesn't bother me at all, because as Albert demonstrates, it's not what socks you use, but how you use them.

Next Monday, I'll be posting a how-to for making sock monkeys. I'll be doing a more traditional one like Albert, not like the girl monkey above. However, like I said, the techniques I used to make Albert are the same that I use to make the girl. I just changed a few things and made her much more detailed.