Posted on 15 Comments

Striped Sock Puppet

My six-year-old’s buddy had a birthday party today, and we wanted to make him something special.  Enter our friend Sock Puppet.  We’ve made a few of these before, but this time I thought I’d share the steps here, in case you’d like to make your own striped friend.  Eamonn chose all of the yarn colors and buttons from my stash, and I knit it up in a couple of days.

Notes

The I’ve assumed here that you are already familiar with loom-knitting.  If you need help with some of the specifics of sock-making (like short-row heels, shaped toes, and flat closed binding-off) see the following resources:

Sock puppet guts

Materials

  • 1/2 skein worsted weight wool in blue
  • 1/2 skein worsted weight wool in yellow
  • 1/4 skein worsted weight wool in purple
  • 2 matching red buttons
  • 1 big focal button
  • Small amount of yellow embroidery floss
  • Small handful of pillow stuffing

Supplies

September: A Month of Mornings: 02/30

Directions

  • Cast-on using the e-wrap method, with a double-strand of blue yarn.  (The entire sock will be knit with a double-strand.)
  • Knit 6 rows in a rib pattern K2 P2.
  • Switch to yellow, and knit 4 rows, entirely in knit stitch.
  • Swtich back to blue, and knit 4 rows, entirely in knit stitch.
  • Continue alternating four rows of yellow and blue until you have knit the fifth blue stripe.
  • Switch to purple and add a short-row heel using pegs 1-12. (See Notes above)
  • Switch to yellow and knit as before, alternating yellow and blue stripes of four rows each, until you have finished knitting the fourth yellow stripe.

It's hard to knit when he's looking at me

  • At this point, I find it easier to add the eyes, than to wait until the sock is closed up.  Sew the red buttons onto the next-to-last blue stripe, using the yellow embroidery floss.
  • Switch to purple yarn and add the toe of the sock, adding shaping with pegs 1-12, and then with pegs 13-24. (See Notes)
  • Using the embroidery floss, sew the big focal button onto the purple section to serve as the nose.
  • Bind off using the flat closed method, and weave in the ends. (See Notes)
  • Stick a small handful of pillow stuffing in the toe of the sock to give the puppet a nice bulbous nose.
  • Your puppet is all done, and ready to be gifted to a friendly neighborhood kid!

pstriped-sock-puppetampt-flickr

This tutorial is now available as a handy take-it-with-you e-book. Download it for your mobile device, or just to show your support. Thanks!

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Posted on 15 Comments

15 thoughts on “Striped Sock Puppet

  1. he’s adorable, this is definitely one for me to use for Christmas presents. Thanks Lisa
    .-= See Emma’s latest blog post: It’s a boy =-.

    1. My pleasure! It takes about 2 nights in front of the TV to whip up one of these 🙂

  2. The whimsical knitters might enjoy this. http://bit.ly/JvhgH

  3. It is super cute!

    1. Thanks, Isela! I’m looking forward to your sock book coming out – I’d like to get a firmer grasp on the whole heel and toe thing, so I can actually write out my own instructions instead of sending people elsewhere in the middle of a tutorial!

  4. Hello! Did you like how the flat-closed method worked for finishing the toe? I’m teaching a loom sock class at the yarn shop soon and I’m curious to an alternate method that doesn’t require knitting needles. Was the seam lacy or solid?
    .-= See Tanya’s latest blog post: RAWR! =-.

    1. Yes, I was pleased with it. The only thing is, that I was using a double-strand of yarn, and these socks end up REALLY heavy (and unwearable, in my opinion). I’m not sure how it would be with thinner yarn.

  5. […] A certain six-year-old is attending a friend’s birthday party tomorrow, and I’ve got a sock puppet to finish […]

  6. […] This is a nice, single-day project and has been our go-to kid gift for the last year or so.  My tutorial is here, if you want to loom up one of your […]

  7. cute!! Polka Dot Cottage: Striped Sock Puppet http://goo.gl/sXu9g

  8. Does the puppet have a mouth that opens? I’ve made these before with fabric scraps and hand sewing and the children all prefer puppets with mouths that can open and shut so they can better pretend it’s speaking. Otherwise this critter is super cute!

    1. Not exactly. It’s just a regular sock shape, so if you put your thumb in the heel of the sock, it makes a mouth-like shape (that’s how my kids have used them for years, and they haven’t complained) but it isn’t specifically built to be a mouth. I hope that makes some sense…

  9. Yes thank you for your help. I may alter the pattern some and make a Muppet type mouth for some of the older children as they enjoy putting on little shows for us at holiday gatherings. Grandparents get enlisted for assistance with things like that. Best wishes to you and yours.

  10. […] links to places that will teach you those things if you need to know them. The free pattern is here, and the $0.99 eBook is […]

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