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Making a Sock Doll from Baby Socks

© Lori Seaborg

For her August 7th birthday this year, I made a sock doll for my four-year-old, and thought I would share the instructions with you. It is an adorable doll, and so soft and cuddly, that my daughter loves to sleep with it each night. Along with the doll I made a wee little pillow with a pocket that the doll may slip into. My Britty loves to tuck her doll into the doll's pillow bed each evening. To make the doll even more special, I made it out of little socks that were on Britty's tiny feet when she was a very small baby.

This doll stitches up very quickly. In just an hour or two I had a doll finished. I found that handstitching was faster for me, as my doll was very small because of the size of the baby socks I used.

You will need:

Sock 1 - one sock for the body and hat (I used a pink sock) Sock 2 - one sock for the face (I used a white sock) Embroidery thread OR Acrylic paints Needle Scissors Quilting Thread or other strong thread Polyester Batting

Cut Sock 1 just above and just below the heel, at straight lines so that you are left with three pieces: the cuffed top (HAT), the heel, and the toe part (BODY). Throw out the heel.

Take the toe part of Sock 1 (BODY) and stuff it full of polyester batting. Make her nice and plump, but not so stuffed that you will have a hard time stitching through her body later. Run a gathering stitch along the top (1/4" down, or so) of the cut edge. Set this piece aside.

Cut Sock 2 (FACE) just below the heel. Stuff the heel full of polyester batting, as plump as you would like the face to be. Sew a gathering stitch along the cut edge (1/4" away) and gather it up.

Seat Sock 2 (FACE) into the neck of Sock 1 (BODY). Gather Sock 1 (BODY)so that the face is secure, then tuck in the cut edge of the BODY that is showing. Now stitch the two pieces together. I just used a regular stitch, going through both fabrics (the FACE's cut edge, and the BODY).

Sew lines through the BODY for legs and arms. These lines are just straight lines. The legs are made by starting a line of stiching at the middle of the bottom of the doll, and sewing through the doll and her stuffing from the bottom to about the middle of her body. Important!: Make sure you are looking at the back as well as the front when you place your stitches! Add a belly button by placing a small cross-stitch or french knot in the middle of the doll's belly and securing it to the back of the doll, where the top of her legs were. You could use only a cross-stitch or french knot, but by securing the threads tightly to the back of the doll, the belly button then looks sunken in. To sew the arms, start at the doll's neckline and sew straight down on her right side, about the width of a doll arm, then her left as far down as you would like the arms to be. Your doll now looks like she has plump legs and arms, and a big belly.

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