Sew What I'm Not a Seamstress?!

I am not a seamstress and that fact has never really bothered me at all.  I can sew a button so that it will stay on, but don't ask me what kind of stitch I should be doing when I do it because I have no clue.  I learned a few cross stitching skills from my mom when she used to do that a lot  in the early 80s, but that's about it.  I've never wanted to sew, have a sewing machine or torture myself by continually trying to put a tiny piece of thread in an even tinier eye of a needle.

But, for my sweet friend and past boss, Jane, and her sex-not-yet-known and name-not-yet-known baby, I made a concession.  I had been looking at some cute sock monkey things because I thought they were adorable and could serve as a unisex gift.  But, instead of buying something, I decided at somewhat the last minute (typical) that I should MAKE one.  There were patterns all over the Internet, so it must be easy!  How hard could it be to sew two socks together in pieces, even for a non-seamstress?!  I was going to find out!

I got the socks, the patterns, the stuffing, the needle and thread (no sewing machine here) and started to hand-sew this little primate.  After day one (I will not say how much time I spent because even novice seamstresses would gasp), the first sock actually took on the shape of a little body.  I was excited.  Then, I started stuffing and, pop!  My seams were obviously not sewn correctly and were not going to hold, so I started again and finally got the seams (no matter how incorrectly they were stitched) to hold the innards.  Day two, the body got completely stitched up, ears were cut, stuffed and sewn.  Okay, it's getting there and it didn't pop over night, so day three the tail was created, stuffed and sewn.  Day four, it is a monkey!!!  Time for eyes and mouth and then I'm done!  Wow...it was actually a monkey!

I have to say, the monkey looked pretty darn cute.  I am still embarrassed about all the seams because although in most cases, I started out with the right stitches, I inevitably lost the correct stitch along the way and just kept going however I could figure out how to get it done.  But, no matter what, it was handmade with love by me for my friend.  So, I decided to put my initials on monkey's butt to fully complete my first sewing project.

Monkey needs tender care.  His tail, ears and arms may fall off if he is not handled carefully.  But, I hope he provides some fun and comfort in the baby's future.



Sock Monkey's Profile



Finished Sock Monkey