DIY Sock Monkey Tutorial – Part 3 (Face & Tail)

Are you looking for the perfect stocking stuffer or Easter basket filler?  Sock monkeys make great hand made gifts!  This week we’ve been working through a tutorial on how to make your own sock monkey from a pair of crew cut socks.  You’ll need one sock to make the body and legs of the monkey and one sock to make all the other pieces of the monkey.  If you’re just joining us, make sure to go back to Part 1 (body & legs) and Part 2 (arms & ears) before you read on for finishing up the monkey!

How to Make a Sock Monkey Face

How to Make the Tail

One last step on how to make a sock monkey tail and then your monkey will be complete!  For the tail I used a roll of white felt instead of fiberfill because the tail is so long and skinny, I didn’t want it to get lumpy from stuffing with fiberfill.  If you’d prefer fiberfill, or no stuffing, you can certainly do that too!  Here is how I made my sock monkey tail…

1.  Take the part of the sock meant for the tail and sew the right sides together with a sewing machine, making a shape similar to the arms.  Cut a rectangle of white felt that is just a smidge longer than your tail and about 5x as wide.

2. Roll the felt up and do a quick whip stitch so the tail stays rolled as you work.  You can hot glue it instead if you’d like.

3. Stitch the end of your felt roll to the bottom end of your tail to keep the roll in place.  I just laid them flat against each other and did a quick whip stitch to secure the roll to the tail.

4. Using a stick (I used a chop stick but a wooden spoon handle, pencil, That Purple Thang or some other sort of stick will work),  turn your tail right side out with the felt roll on the inside.

5.  Put the stick right on the top of your end and slowly work the tail backwards over the felt roll. Keep the stick inside the tail until you’ve gotten it worked all the way down your felt roll.  Remove the stick.

6.  Do a  running stitch along the end of the tail and tuck in the raw edges.  Sew the base of the tail closed (just as you did to make the ears and arms in Part 2).

7.  Attach the tail to the bottom, back of your monkey and you are all done!