After School Crew- Weeks 2 & 3

After School Crew- Weeks 2 & 3

Sock Animals!

We spent TWO of our meetings on this craft... but I certainly think it was worth it!

We used Danielle's Place and This Site for inspiration on our no-sew sock animals. The first link has a great tutorial for the unicorn doll (or... what we made into a unicorn, at least). 

This was another craft where the kids got to create whatever they wanted. We had a lot of fun brainstorming how to create different creatures!

The animals are made by stuffing (clean) socks with polyester fiber fill and simply tying off small sections with embroidery floss. We had more luck tying floss around the 'bubbles' than using rubber bands. The bands snapped and slid, so they weren't as reliable. I was surprised by the difficulty some of the kids had (several of them didn't know how to tie a knot), but with a little adult help, we were able to make it work.

For the dolphin, we tugged on the 'top bubble' until it got a nice point. 

The end of the tail is simply tied off with embroidery floss in two sections to create the flippers. 

At the very bottom of the Danielle's Place link, there are patterns for clothes for the stuffed animals. The toe of a sock can easily become a hoodie, and the ruffled tops make a nice skirt or dress. We had a great time coordinating outfits for our stuffed animals once they were completed. Lots of colorful, patterned socks were used.

The bunny was made with the pattern for the puppy in the second link, 

but the ears were left long instead of doubled over. 

After stuffing the socks and tying the 'bubbles,' we (I) hot glued buttons, felt, floss, and pipe cleaners onto the creatures to create faces and other details. We ended up with a couple caterpillars, a cheetah, a few unicorns, a bunny, a bird, a dog, a person, and some other creatures I'm forgetting. 

And look! One of the kids let me take a picture this time!