Thoughts & Things

The Adventures of Making a Sock Monkey

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am in a long distance relationship with an incredible man who is currently here visiting me. When we had confirmed that he was going to be coming for a visit, I set to making him a present that came from the heart. A sock monkey. So I guess the present came from the feet?

I found a Make Your Own Sock Monkey kit at the dollar store. It provided supplies and instructions, without having any of it pre-made, which was super convenient. It also had a picture on the front of what the sock monkey should look like by the end. Fortunately, I have basic sewing skills, so it was all pretty straightforward. Well, mostly.

He mostly went pretty well. I didn't have any pushpins handy, so parts of him are a tad lopsided. I would say he has a crooked smile, but it's more like most of his face is crooked. I think it gives him character. Of course, they gave me about triple the cotton batting that I needed, which leaves me wondering if I even did it right. The poor guy is probably missing organs or something.

The instructions were mostly by picture, with basic written instructions present. Unfortunately I do much better with words than pictures, and I ended up fudging a pretty significant detail. He's kind of maybe upside down? I used the wrong end of the sock as the top. Rather than using the toe of the sock as his head, I used the opening of the sock as his head. I had already attached limbs before I realised that was why it hadn't told me to sew the top shut yet.

Fortunately my little mistake was straightforward to fix. I couldn't exactly go back from the cuts and stitches, but sewing his top shut was simple enough. My error gave him extra character in his unique hairdo. He looks like he has a flat top haircut. He came with a birth certificate, so I named him Gus, after Gus Griswald from Recess.

In the end he turned out pretty good looking. You can definitely tell he's not store bought from the lopsided face. My stitches turned out quite nicely, although the best stitches ended up being on his crotch. I presented Gus to my boyfriend the day he arrived, and he loved it. Handmade gifts are always a safe bet for appreciation.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Forty-One. Five days of leave taken total.)