Knitwits-Homemade Animal Sock Puppets

Super cute little creatures!
I remember watching how to make this on Martha Stewart show a while back, and today this "Craft of the Day" ended up in my inbox!

It is so cute. What a fun gift for a child!

To watch the 5 minute video of Martha and the inventor making these click on: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/knitwits?xsc=eml_crd_2009_06_04

These charming animals are made using mismatched socks.

Tools and Materials

Sewing machine

Needle and thread

One adult sock

Four children's socks (mismatched)

Polyester stuffing

Scissors

Pins

Old T-shirt

Quilt batting

Chopstick

Fabric pens or embroidery supplies for eyes

Knitwit How-To

For the Body

1. Turn an adult sock inside out and pin the heel flat. Sew the heel shut and cut the excess from the sock. Turn the sock right side out and stuff with polyester stuffing until you have reached the desired length for the body. Cut off excess and set aside.

For the Legs

1. Prepare two children's socks the same way as you did for the body.

For the Arms

1. Remove the heel from one children's sock as you did for the body. Keep the sock inside out for now. Cut the upper band of the sock off and save it to use for the mouth later.

2. Sew two lines of stretch stitches down the center of the sock lengthwise, about 1/2 inch apart.

3. Cut down the middle of the sock, between the two stitched lines, to create two individual arm pieces.

4. Cut two 2-inch-wide strips of quilt batting that are twice as long as the arm pieces.

5. Push the "toe" of each piece in a little to create a pocket. Fold a quilt batting strip in half, and push it into the pocket you made in the arm piece with a chopstick, while turning the arm piece right side out. Stuff the other arm piece in the same way.

For the Antennae

1. Use the same process as for the arms to create two antennae.

For the Eyes

1. Round a ball of stuffing and cover it with an approximately 4-by-4-inch square cut from an old T-shirt.

2. Wrap the shirt tight around the ball to create a small "ghost" and stitch around the "neck," wrapping the thread all the way around every so often, to cinch it tight.

3. Holding the "tail" of the ghost, draw irises on the eyes with a fabric pen or embroider them with a needle and embroidery floss.

4. Cut off the tail close to the ball, being careful to not cut into the stitching.

5. Repeat to make a second eyeball. Tip: Eyes of different sizes and colors give your Knitwit more personality!

For the Mouth

1. Whip-stitch the cut edge of the upper band of a sock.

Assembly

1. Whip-stitch the legs, arms, antennae, eyes, and mouth to the stuffed body piece. Close the opening in the sock used for the body piece with a whip stitch.

Resources

Martha used socks from Little Miss Matched, which were given to our studio audience. All other supplies are available at sewing or crafts stores. Special thanks to designer Quentin Webb for sharing this process. For more information on Knitwits, visit witalator.com.