Sock Monkey or Sock Monstar

Materials needed:
• pair of socks (or more)
• sewing machine & thread (or hand sew)
• buttons, googly eyes, felt, embroidery thread (for details)
• fiberfill
• chop stick (or long thin object to stuff arms and legs with)







So who doesn't wonder what to make with a pair of socks? The top 2 pictures is of my version of a sock monkey I made for my husband- this was the very first thing I made of socks! The bottom photo is one of my sock monstars (this is my little sis'). I got the idea for sock monstars from a book my big sis got me called Stupid Sock Creatures: Making Quirky, Lovable Figures from Cast-off Socks (great book for the know how and creativity inspiration).

Sock Monkey How To:
To start the sock monkey I chose my socks (I got a pair of long socks because I wanted this monkey to be able to hug my husband tight) then I laid it out with the heel side down and flattened it out the best I could. Then I cut a line in the center of the leg part of the sock from the part where you put your foot in to until about an 1.5 inches from the heel of the legs to create the legs. Once they were cut I went to the sewing machine and flipped it inside out then stitched the bottom of his legs and then up the inside of his legs leaving the crotch area to flip and stuff the monkey with.

Once his legs were sewn, I flipped the monkey inside out and I got some fiber fill and filled in the monkey (legs first- using a chopstick to stuff it into the bottom). Then stitched his crotch up using a slip stitch.

Next I got the other sock and cut off the heel (for his mouth) and 2 arms (the same way you did his feet) and then cut out 2 sets of ear shapes (4 total because your sock will have 2 layers you cut at once).

For the arms I sewed them inside out leaving one side open to stuff and sew to the monkey. For the ears (there are 2 so you will do this twice) I sewed them inside out all the way around leaving one side open so I could stuff it a bit and sew it onto the monkey head.

Once I had my arms ready I turned them right sides out and stuffed it using a chop stick and folded it under on the sides then did a quick hand stitch just to help it stay then placed it on the monkey and did a slip stitch around the arm twice securing it to the body. I did it again for the other arm.

Next I added the mouth (the heel part of the second sock). Here I folded over a small edge all the way around and flattened it then placed it where I wanted and did a slip stitch around it stopping with enough room to stuff his mouth then I finished sewing it up. Then I went to the ears and stuff them a little bit and again folded a small part all the way around and slip stitched it onto the monkey head. Then I got my embroidery thread and made a quick mouth crease by coming from one side to the other and then tying it off. Lastly I added black buttons for eyes (you can of course use anything you want- googly eyes, felt...ect).

Sock Monstar How To:
To create the sock monstar you use the same principles as the monkey but with a lot more creativity! Here instead of using the toe part of the sock for a head I cut it into a diagonal giving it more attitude (in my opinion at least). Also instead of leaving the heel of the first sock on the back I used it on the front and made it into a sewn down mouth (this came from the book: Stupid Sock Creatures: Making Quirky, Lovable Figures from Cast-off Socks) and I added a pink felt tounge sticking out. Then I did the arms the same as the sock monkey arms I just used different socks to make them. For the eyes I used googly eyes but I sewed them to a patch of hot pink felt that was eye liner and lashes for this girly monstar. Lastly I added some white felt wings so this monstar could fly. What is just so great about this is that you can pretty much do anything. I have added tails big heads, teeth, clothing, all kinds of stuff. It is just so much fun and not too difficult either.

Recycled T-Shirt Baby Quilt

Materials needed:
• 6-12 old t-shirts (or scrap material)
• sewing machine & thread
• embroidery thread
• batting (or old sheet or fabric)
• scrap fabric for borders
• yard or so of fabric for back
• patches (optional)
• felt (optional)
• yarn (optional)




close up view

I am one of those people who feels emotionally attached to my clothing, so I always had a hard time cleaning out my closet when the time came. Even though things wouldn't fit I just couldn't help but wanting to keep them because inevitably they reminded me of some time in my life. So instead of letting them just sit in my closet and never see the light of day I decided to make my husband and I a quilt out of them. The original one is a huge and it took me 2 years to finish (note: I worked on it on and off for the 2 years mainly waiting to collect enough old clothes in the process but I think if I was diligent on it and had all the scraps I needed it would have taken me about 4 months).

This one above took me about 3 days. It is a small version that I made for my little Zoe, while I was pregnant. I really loved the idea that she would sleep with our shirts and smell and be "protected" by us. I have made this baby blanket sized quilt a few other times and don't find it to be too hard to do with a little time and patience.

To start I gathered scraps of t-shirts from our other quilt but chances are you don't have that so you can either use scrap material you have or just gather 6-12 t-shirts that you no longer wear any more but have some attachment to. Then I got a piece of scrap foam board (anything thing and sturdy will do I used it as my template) I measured out how big I wanted the squares. In this one above there are 2 different sizes a smaller square and a larger one. I made the smaller ones 1/2 the size of the larger one and added a 1/4 in seam allowance (meaning the bigger one was 8.5 in sq and the smaller one then would be 4.25 in sq plus the 1/4 in for the seam allowance giving me 4.5 in sq). . Another great idea I have seen is that you just cut long strips and sew them together which gives it a fun stripy look. You of course can do just about anything you want- shapes, colors, whatever you can think of.

So after making my templates I grabbed my shirts and placed the template right on top and then used my rotary cutter and cut around the template (you can also mark it with sewing pencils or chalk and then cut on your line). Once I had enough to lay it down (the total size of my quilt with out the border was 27.5 in x 36.5) I laid out the pieces the way they looked best to me. I just did a simple pattern here of a big square, 4 small squares, big square, 4 sm. sq. across and then switched it for the next row and made it 4 sm sq, big sq, 4 sm sq, big square and again for the next row I switched it back. Ending with 4 rows across and 4 rows down (and a row I count as the size of my big square).

Once they are in position the way I like them I take one section of the 4 sm sq and sew those together to make a piece that is as big as my bg sq. I do this for all my sm sq until they are all in big pieces. Then I pin my first row together and sew it. Then I take my second row and sew it and then the third row and sew it. Then I pin the first row to the second row and sew and then that piece gets pinned to the 3rd row and I sew it.

Once that whole center piece is done I then find a scrap fabric to make a border on my edges (normally this means it will be a mix of colors but you can of course finish it off with the same color and fabric or whatever is easiest for you). For the border on this one I used 2 inches thick of material and sewed it to my shorter sides all the way up. Then I trimmed off the excess material (I didn't do any measuring lengthwise because when I do I inevitably end up with miss matched pieces in the bad way- this is how I avoid any problems). I did the same to the other short side (I did this so my sides would look the same but you can just work your way around if you want- going from short side to long side to short side to long side or if you know how you can even make diagonal cornors). Once the 2 short sides were done I did the long sides.

When your border is finished I then added a little batting. I used the batting (from the fabric store) I had left over from my other quilt but if you want you can also use old sheets or old curtians- whatever. Then I laid the quilt onto the batting with the quilt facing up. I smoothed it out and pined it using quilt safety pins. The reason I use those is because they don't rust out in time and this project can take a while (like my 2 year quilt). Then I trimmed it down to about the edge of my borders just to make it easier to work with.

Next I got embroidery thread (leaving it as 6 strands but you can make it as thick as you want) and did a simple stitch around where I sewed my t-shirts together, sewing the t-shirts to the batting. I loved doing this chunky hand stitch because it really looks hand done and has a quirkiness about it.

Once I sewed all of my squares to the backing I then trimmed down the batting about 1/2 in from the edge of the border all the way around (I leave it on at first just in case I pull on the batting and end up too short on one side). Then I added my monstar and dragonfly. To do the monstar I just cut the shapes out of felt and fleece remnants I had and then hand stitched it to my quilt before finishing it off I got a little bit of fiber fill and stuffed it making it 3-D but plush still. Then I got some patches (a dragonfly and flower) and hand sewed them on.

When the decorating is done I got a large section of scrap fabric (it measured over the final size of my quilt) from my other quilt or you can buy about a yard of a soft fabric (measure your final piece and make sure to get enough fabric for your piece) or just sew a couple of larger scraps together. Then I pinned it with right sides together and started sewing starting the edges together leaving an opening for me to flip it inside out.

Once sewed I trimmed the corners so they would lie flat and then flipped it inside out. Then I pinned the border down and sewed (stitch showing) around my border close to the t-shirt part. This helps it attach to the back piece of fabric better. Then I hand stitched my opening closed using a simple slip stitch and it was finished. If you are making a larger quilt I recommend getting some scrap yarn and sewing little knots on the corners of your squares to tie them to the fabric below. On the small quilt this doesn't matter as much but the larger the quilt the more stability you need to keep the 2 pieces from sliding around.

Hand Embroidered Card

Materials needed:
• blank cards and envelopes
• needle
• embroidery thread
• awl (optional)
• scrap paper










So this is a project I did a while back but I still really like it. I love to embroider and came up with an idea to embroider a greeting card.

To do this project I got a set of blank cards and envelopes. I then drew out a picture on a piece of scrap paper and used a awl (you can also use any sort of sharp pointed object) to poke holes around my image where I wanted to embroider. Then I got my embroidery thread (color of your choice) cut it fairly long and then pulled out 2 of the threads (they normally come in 6 thread strands). Then I made my knot and started embroidering with a simple back stitch and went around my pattern. Then tied it off with a knot again and trimmed the string. It was pretty simple and the back even looks good since you have holes to follow so it keeps it clean. For a really simple project you can even take it to your sewing machine and just sew fun lines all over with a fun thread and finish it by trimming the thread or even let it fly free.

Monstar Onesies

Materials Needed:
• blank onesie
• embroidery thread (colors of your choice)
• felt (fleece can also be used but felt is better)
• embroidery needle
• embroidery hoop

So I decided to create a blog of the many crafts I find myself getting sucked into. To start I will introduce you to some of my Monstar Onesies. These were started when I was pregnant and decided to make some embroidered onesies for my little Ethan.

To start I bought a 5 pack of onesies from the store and several colors of felt and white embroidery thread. I cut the monstars out and placed them on the shirt until I found something I liked the look of (later on I would sketch out monstars and then create them- though they always look a bit different once they are finished). Then tried to sew as much together as possible before sewing it onto the fabric (to minimize thread knots) and then sewed it on the onesie using an embroidery hoop to keep my fabric taught. Then with some of the details I used embroidery thread and different embroidery stitches to create different looks. Here are a few samples of ones I have made.