Toys from Socks and Gloves

This post is part of the "I Made It Party at Everything Etsy." Click on the link to see what other people have been making.

As part of my ongoing search to find something that will sell in my Etsy store, I recently made some toys out of socks and gloves. I've always had a fondness for stuffed animals and I got the idea for making these from the wonderful book by Miyako Kanamori called Sock and Glove. The book has some very cute and easy to follow patterns for making all sorts of animals and dolls out of socks and gloves. If you think you can't sew and that it would be impossible for you to make something this cute, this book will probably change your mind. Believe me, if I can do it, you can. For a little extra help, I did download from a google search, some instructions on doing basic hand stitching - backstitching, running stitch etc. With my downloaded stitching instructions and this book, I made all of the following little critters.

My first attempt, following instructions from this book, is this dog. Even his shirt came from a pattern in the book (the author also shows you how to make little pants, a dress and a hat). I found the buttons in my mom's old sewing kit. The socks were purchased at Target. I made the mistake of purchasing tube socks which don't have a heel so I had to improvise a bit, but I think he turned out okay. He's kind of a lanky fellow, but I think I'll keep him.  He took me about two and a half hours to make and the shirt took almost another hour. If I can figure out my sewing machine, I think I could make the next one a lot faster.

My first attempt at making an animal out of two gloves is this funny little bunny who I've named Rose. I think the hardest part of making her, was sewing her head on to her body. Hidden underneath her removable turtleneck collar (the extra cuff from the second glove) there is a bit of Frankenstein style stitching on the back of her neck. But I think she turned out pretty cute. Her nose came from a jar of red buttons that I bought at a local antique consignment store.

My second attempt at a glove animal is this little dog, who I've named Elwood (don't ask me why, he just looks like an Elwood to me). Vintage buttons make up his eyes and nose and a little extra hand stitching gave him his quirky smile.  Once again, attaching his head to his body was the most difficult part.  No matter how hard I tried to get it on straight, he ended up with his head cocked up and a little to the right. To dress him up a little, I made him a collar out of a red satin ribbon.  I put a little velcro on the back of the collar so that it could be removed easily. To decorate the collar I made a small heart out of black polymer clay. After forming the heart, I dusted it with some gold metallic powder, embossed a smaller heart in the center and then baked it to fire the clay and make it nice and durable. I think the little heart makes a nice touch, like he's wearing a license tag.

My two glove animals are for sale in my Etsy store. Since he was my first attempt, I decided to keep the Sock Dog, but I've already got plans to make some more.

By the way, this post is part of the "I Made It Party at Everything Etsy." Click on the link to see what other people have been making.