hello pineapples: Free pattern Friday: Make your own Monkey!

Free pattern Friday: Make your own Monkey!

I've been meaning to get a decent tutorial put together on how to make a sock monkey. Sometimes, I think I'd like it if how to make a sock monkey was some kind of state secret and the only way to get one is to buy one of mine. Then I could be a Professional Monkey Maker. But truthfully, I'm happy that the how-to of monkey making is out there for the whole world. If it wasn't, then I wouldn't have had a guide to make my first monkey.

So in the spirit of sharing the monkey love, I'm going to link you to a fantastic tutorial on Urban Threads. That's pretty much how I do it. Of course, I'm still very new to the sewing machine technology. All of that sewing can be done by hand (I recommend using a doll making needle - they're crazy long, but make it easier to sew these creatures by hand).

You can use the pattern that is provided by the folks who make the original Red Heel socks:

That pattern was all I had when I did my first monkey. Somehow, he ended up without a tail. oops.

I've even given my monkeys some embroidery tattoos like the ones in the tutorial. Actually, I recommend the embroidery as a way of covering up either writing on the sock (like a brand name) or unsightly holes.For example:

hole in toe? (what you see here is the tip of the tail)

flower!

accidentally make a hole in the front of the monkey? (seam ripper accident)

now he's all heart!

Next time, more ways to embroider your monkey...like tattoos or monograms.

xoxo.