Making Sock Monkeys and Penguins

Sock Monkey and penguin by Jen Goode

I joined in with a new challenge… make a sock monkey with the help of Ana and Megan Araujo from When Creativity Knocks. They’ve put together a fantastic video tutorial called  Sock Monkey’s Go BanAnas.  It’s a fun, step by step how to build your sock monkey DVD plus printed patterns using the Original Rockford Red Heeled Socks! I’ve never made a sock monkey, so I was excited to see how difficult it would be. It wasn’t hard at all and only took a couple hours.

Sock Monkey and penguin by Jen Goode
Sock Monkey and penguin by Jen Goode

Of course, because penguins seem to pop up everywhere around here, I had to make a penguin out of the sock scraps. I had a great time making this projects! It wasn’t difficult once I checked out the video.  Once my sock monkey was created, I started noticing a ton of sock monkeys everywhere I went. Did they really just pop up or had I not noticed until now? I had no idea they were becoming so popular again – crazy fun!

Sock Monkey Penguin and accessories by Jen Goode
Sock Monkey Penguin and accessories by Jen Goode

There are basic instructions for making a sock monkey that include the sewing, adding eyes and a mouth along with little nostrils for the nose. To add my own personal touch, I included eyebrows and a belly button. I also stitched up a cute hat and a scarf that says “I heart penguins”, all created from felt scraps.

My sock monkey package also included a sock monkey stamp. I started to make a keychain by stamping some polymer clay, but I haven’t finished it just yet…

Rit Dye is a sponsor of this challenge as well, however, I love the brown of the socks so I chose not to dye anything this time.

There’s a contest you can enter until December 19th to win a sock monkey package worth over $40.oo!

Prize pack includes:

  • DVD “Sock Monkeys Go BanAnas
  • 1 pair of Rockford Red Heeled Socks
  • Sewing kit, including: needle, button eyes, floss and stuffing
  • Plus 1 pre-sewn sock monkey

Here’s how to enter:

  1. Go to the When Creativity Knocks website.
  2. In the Member Login box click Create An Account.
  3. Enter the code: Sock Monkey

 Special thanks to the sponsors of this challenge:

 

To see more fun sock monkey creations, click on the Designer Connections links to the right. Happy Hopping!


Monkey! Monkey!

I love how many cute monkey characters there are out in the world… so I have created a few of my own. I keep playing with the same basic concept, and every now and again I come up with a variation I really like.

My first monkey was this crazy guy

Cheeky Monkey

Cheeky Monkey

He eventually evolved into a little less chaotic version…

I Love Monkeys

I Love Monkeys

This second guy has a whole pile of fun alternate views for the same character. Monkey dressed in a few dozen different outfits. I really wanted something even more cute for the even younger crowd, so I have been playing with some baby monkey doodles… more about those later.