DIY Sock Monkey Pig
My six year old is OBSESSED with pigs right now. And after seeing a friend’s sock monkey - she kept asking if I’d make her a sock pig in a similar style. After putting it off for some time I finally stumbled onto the perfect pair of socks and knew the time was right to attempt a DIY sock monkey pig. And I think it turned out really great! Judging by my daughter’s reaction - I think she liked it too.
This is an easy beginner sewing project that would make a great project for a kiddo or an awesome handmade gift. You can do some of the sewing on a sewing machine or just do it all by hand. I used chenille socks for the project because of how wonderfully soft the fabric is. But if I had to do it over again - I would use a less fragile weave. It made it a little bit trickier than it needed to be.
Materials Needed
- pair of adult crew socks
- needle and thread (your thread should coordinate with your socks - I used pink)
- ribbon (coordinating with color of socks)
- 2 black buttons
- sheet of felt (coordinating with color of socks)
- black embroidery floss
- polyester stuffing
- small piece of elastic (for waistband of tutu)
- tulle or other sheer fabric (1/4 of a yard should be more than enough)
Step 1 - Create Body
Take your crew socks and turn them both inside out.
On one of them - you’ll cut up from the opening to create the legs. Cut as far up as you want the length of the pig’s legs to be. I used the stripes on my socks as a guide to help me determine where to stop cutting.
Next, stitch the bottom of each leg and all the way up the side. Make sure you stop at the top and leave about 3 inches open (in the crotch area) so that you can turn the sock right side out (and stuff it!)
Next, turn the body right side out (so your seams are hidden inside.) Then, stuff the body. In order to get stuffing down the legs evenly - use small bits at a time. Using a chopstick or other long thin object helps to push the stuffing down the leg. Just be careful not to push through the sock (a problem I had with chenille socks.)
Lastly, sew up the opening in between the legs using your needle and thread.
The picture below shows that my stuffing wasn’t super even, but once I massaged it around a bit - it evened out and the body looked more uniform.
Step 2 - Create the Arms
Now you’re ready to make the arms. Take the other sock and cut two equal long thin pieces out of it. It would probably make sense to measure this, but I didn’t!
I eyeballed the sock and cut the size I wanted out, then used the first piece as a pattern for the second. Turn your pieces wrong side out, and stitch the sides and one end closed. Leave one side open so that you can turn it right side out and stuff it.
Once you’ve stitched the sides and end, turn it right side out. Then, carefully stuff the arm the same way you did the legs. The arms can be a bit trickier because they’re generally thinner. But it’s pretty much the same technique that you already used to do the legs.
The picture below shows the unstuffed arms turned right side out. Look how skinny they look!
Once you’ve stuffed those arms, stitch the remaining end closed. I carefully pushed the ends into the arm and then sewed across. Next, you’ll attach the arms to the body. It doesn’t matter where you put them as long as they are the same on each side.
Just eyeball it and place them where you like the look.
And here’s a shot of my completed arms.
Step 3 - Create the Face
Now you’re ready to put a face on this pig. I started with the snout. I cut the heel off the 2nd sock. It made a perfect snout sized piece. Figure out your placement on the face and stitch around 3/4 of the edge.
Stuff it lightly (too much would make it look strange) and then stitch the remaining opening closed. The picture below shows the snout completely unstitched.
Once the snout is attached to the face - you’re ready to add the nostrils. I was shooting for thicker black marks so I chose to use embroidery floss in black because it was easier to get that thick look.
Here’s a shot of the completed snout all attached, stuffed, and nostril-ified.
Next, comes eyes. I decided to use black buttons because it was simple and cute. Attach them to the face with the same black embroidery floss you used for the nostrils.
Lastly, we need some ears. I wanted the ears to look floppy like a real pig’s ears do so I decided to go with felt for that look. I did the same thing I did for the arms and cut out one and used it as a pattern for the second.
Once I had the basic shape, I pinched the ear in half and stitched it a bit at the base.
And the final step is to attach each ear to the pig’s head. Just make sure they’re sewed evenly on each side so your pig looks symmetrical. Here’s a shot of my completed face.
Step 5 - Dress Your Pig
This step is purely optional, but my little girl wanted it to be a ballerina piggy so I used ribbon to create “slippers” and a headband. Then I had some sheer fabric in my stash so sewed a very basic tube with elastic in it and then stitched it closed to create a tutu. You could also create a no sew tulle tutu in a much smaller version.
And your pig is done! Isn’t she so cute?
