Sock Monkey Pattern and Tutorial

This has to be one of my FAVORITE baby/child gifts,

and I've probably made about a million of them.

Okay, maybe not a million, but A LOT.

The infamous sock monkey.

I found a knitting pattern a long time ago by Patons but have tinkered with it here and there to get what I believe to be the best pattern.

So I thought I would share.

For those of you out there that knit, this is not as difficult as it looks, but it does take some time, and isn't a project that is easy to start, stop, and start again.

For those of you that don't knit, I WOULD recommend that you start,

but I WOULD NOT recommend you begin with this project. :)

It would take a heck of a lot of pictures for this to be a full blown tutorial, so I'm including the whole pattern with some pictures along the way, so you know what it should look like as you go.

Abbreviations are at the bottom if you are not familiar, and as always, if you have questions or need clarification, just let me know by comment. 

You could obviously use whatever yarn and colors you want, but this is what I used...

Supplies:

3.75 (U.S. 5) Double-Pointed knitting needles (set of 4)

Stuffing (I use a polyester fiber fill)

Yarn:

I used Patons Classic Wool Yarn

2 skeins of grey marl (you'll actually need about 1.5-1.75)

1 skein aran (you'll actually need about .5)

1 skein bright red (you'll need very little just for the mouth)

Useful but not necessary: a crochet needle to hide all your yarn ends.

Step 1: Legs

**With a pair of double-pointed needles and aran yarn, cast on 6 stitches.

1st round: Inc 1 st in each st to end of row. Divide 12 sts onto 3 needles. Join in rnd. Place marker on first round (or let your "tail" from casting on hang out where you began).

2nd and alt rnds: knit.

3rd rnd: *K1. Inc 1 st in next st. Rep from * around. 18 sts.

5th rnd: *K2. Inc 1 st in next st. Rep from * around. 24 sts. Knit 8 rnds even. Break aran yarn. With grey yarn, knit in rnds until your leg measures 5.5 inches. Leave sts on a piece of yarn.

repeat so you have 2 legs (duh), but leave the second leg on the needles when finished.

Step 2: Join Legs

Join your tail yarn from leg 1 to the knitting yarn from leg 2 so they are connected.

Add the sts from leg 1 to your needles so they are evenly spaced (16 sts on 3 needles).

Step 3: Knit Torso and Shape Neck

Knit body in rnds evenly until the torso is about 5.5 inches long.

to shape neck, 

1st rnd: K2tog for the whole rnd. (24 sts)

2nd rnd: knit

3rd rnd: Inc 1 st in each st for the whole rnd. (48 sts)

Step 4: Knit Head

Knit in rounds until the head measures 2.5 inches from the neck.

Break grey yarn and with aran yarn, knit 8 rnds.

Step 5: Stuff

Stuff from the legs up to the neck to your desired stuffiness.

Step 6: Cinch Neck

With a yarn needles, run a length of grey yarn through the stitches of the neck all the way around (I recommend picking a back side at this point).

Tie the ends together and cinch until the neck is as narrow as you would like it to be. Not too much, just enough so you can tell where the torso ends and the head begins.

Step 7: Shape Head

1st rnd: *K6. K2tog. Rep from *around. (42 sts)

2nd and alt rnds: knit

3rd rnd: *K5. K2tog. Rep from *around (36 sts)

5th rnd: *K4. K2tog. Rep from *around (30 sts)

7th rnd: *K3. K2tog. Rep from *around (24 sts)

9th rnd: *K2. K2tog. Rep from *around (18 sts)

11th rnd: *K1. K2tog. Rep from *around (12 sts)

Stuff the head to desired stuffiness.

Break yarn, leaving a long tail and draw that through your loops so you can pull it up and secure. It should look like this...

Step 8: Arms

(same as legs, make two... duh.)

** With a pair of double-pointed needles and aran yarn, cast on 6 sts.

1st rnd: Inc 1 st in each st to end of row. Divide 12 sts onto 3 needles. Join in rnd.

2nd and alt rows: knit

3rd rnd: *K1. Inc 1 st in next st. Rep from *around. 18 sts.

5th rnd: *K2. Inc 1 st in nect st. Re from *around. 24 sts. Knit 8 rnds even. Break aran yarn and with grey yarn, knit in rnds until arm measures about 6 inches.

Cast off.

Step 9: Tail

** With a pair of double-pointed needles and aran yarn, cast on 6 sts.

1st rnd: Inc 1 st in each st to end of row. Divide 12 sts onto 3 needles. Join in rnd.

2nd and alt rows: knit

3rd rnd: *K1. Inc 1 st in next st. Rep from * around. 18 sts.

Knit evenly for 12 rnds.

Break from aran yarn and with grey yarn, knit until the tail measures about 6.5-7 inches.

Cast off.

Step 10: Ears

(make 2)

With a pair of double-pointed needles and grey yarn, cast on 8 sts.

1st row: knit

2nd row: Inc 1 sts in first st. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 st in next st. K1. (10 sts)

3rd row: Knit

4th row: Inc 1 sts in first st. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 st in next st. K1. (12 sts)

5th row: Knit

6th row: Inc 1 sts in first st. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 st in next st. K1. (14 sts).

Knit 4 rows.

11th row: K1. K2tog. Knit to last 3 sts. K2tog. K1. (12 sts).

12th row: knit

13th row:K1. K2tog. Knit to last 3 sts. K2tog. K1. (10 sts).

14th row: knit

15th row: K1. K2tog. Knit to last 3 sts. K2tog. K1. (18 sts).

Cast off.

Step 11: Mouth

With a pair of double-pointed needles and red yarn, cast on  8 sts.

1st row: K8, turn work upside down and pick up 8 sts on another needle. K8 on these sts.

Divide sts with 8 sts on first needle and 4 on the second and third.

1st rnd: K1. Inc 1. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (first needle). K1. Inc 1 in 2nd st. Knit to end of needle (second needle). Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (third needle). (20 sts)

2nd rnd: knit.

3rd rnd: K1. Inc 1. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (first needle). K1. Inc 1 in 2nd st. Knit to end of needle (second needle). Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (third needle). (24 sts)

4th rnd: knit.

5th rnd: K1. Inc 1. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (first needle). K1. Inc 1 in 2nd st. Knit to end of needle (second needle). Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (third needle). (28 sts)

6th rnd: knit.

7th rnd:K1. Inc 1. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (first needle). K1. Inc 1 in 2nd st. Knit to end of needle (second needle). Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (third needle). (32 sts)

Break with red yarn and continue with aran yarn:

8th rnd: knit.

9th rnd: K1. Inc 1. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (first needle). K1. Inc 1 in 2nd st. Knit to end of needle (second needle). Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (third needle). (36 sts)

10th rnd: knit

11th rnd: K1. Inc 1. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (first needle). K1. Inc 1 in 2nd st. Knit to end of needle (second needle). Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (third needle). (40 sts)

12th rnd: knit.

13th rnd: K1. Inc 1. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (first needle). K1. Inc 1 in 2nd st. Knit to end of needle (second needle). Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 in 2nd to last st. K1 (third needle). (44 sts)

Cast off.

Step 12: Putting it Together!

Stuff and sew on your appendages. 

Step 13: Eyes and a Personal Touch

Sew on your eyes. I use buttons. (Make sure they're secured well so no one chokes!). You could also sew them on with black yarn or felt.

I like to give this little guy a heart. I mean, right?

So cute.

I also try to embroider the first initial of the child on his left foot if I know the name.

Hope you have fun making these! 

I LOVE 'em and they are a fan favorite! I would love to see your results! :)

Abbreviations:

alt- alternate

inc- increase

k- knit

K2tog- knit two together

rep- repeat

rnd- round

st(s)- stitch(es)