Saturday 16 November 2013

How to make a sock turtle


Making sock animals is fun. See these happy-looking sock turtles, do you like them? You could make any happy-looking sock animals to give as a gift. It can be a unique gift. Let's do it now. I will show you the steps to make a little sock turtle today. 
  
Materials:
1. One kid's crew sock
2. Embroidery floss, red & black
3. Poly-fill material   







Turn the sock to wrong-side with the heel facing up. Place it as shown in the picture. Part A is to be used to form the shell of turtle. Part B is for the back-legs, Part C is for the body, Part D is for the front-legs and tail and Part E is for the head.





First of all,  we will sew and cut out the body piece of the sock turtle. Now, flatten the heel facing the toe part. Sew a curved line on the flat sock fabric follow the curve of the flattened heel as shown in the picture (follow the green dotted line). Flatten the heel facing the cuff part when you sew the second curved line. Remember to keep about 1mm seam allowance at one end. This part will be cut off later as it will be the opening to the body of the sock turtle. Do not cut out the body piece until after you have sewn the seams. Cut out the body piece as shown in the picture.









Now, cut off the 1mm seam allowance that you kept just now. Be careful when you cut this, don't cut the thread accidentally.Then turn the body right-side out through the opening. Stuff up the body. Run stitch near the raw edge. Before pulling this tight, fold in the raw edge.Tighten up the opening by pulling the thread fully. Make a few stitches across, knot and cut thread.





Take the first portion of the sock ( part A&B). Trace a copy of the back legs patterns on a piece of paper, then cut it out and pin the patterns on the first portion. Sew the legs follow the patterns  (green dotted line). Then, cut the pieces out, eyeballing as approximate 2 mm seam allowance around each piece.Repeat the same to the last portion of the sock (part D&E). In this part, you can make the patterns of the front legs a bit longer than the patterns of the back legs. Keep the remains for next step.





Turn the legs pieces to the right-side. Stuff up the legs, then slip stitch the opening. After that, attach the legs on the seam line at the body, try to attach them at the appropriate position.










Now, you can start to make the head.Take the remains of the last portion (part D&E). Cut it into two pieces, keep the small portion for tail. Take the toe part and cut it into halves, then take piece 'b', fold it in half and sew a curved line as indicated in the picture. Trim it after sewing. You can keep the portion 'a' if you wish to use it to make some finishing touch for your turtle later.


Before stuffing the head, one more step you have to do. Shape it into a cone by putting your index finger into the corner. Squeeze the corner together with the seam at the middle and make sure both sides of the seam are aligned. Then sew a straight line across the seam (follow the green dotted line, the distance is about 2mm from the corner).
     
        Now you can turn it to the right-side.Stuff the head and run stitches near the raw edge. Tighten up the opening. Don't cut the thread first. You should attach the head to the body with the same thread. Put the head in place with the seamless part facing up. Slip stitch the head on the body all the way around.





Take the cuff part (part A). Tie the cuff on the body. Fold in the bottom edge and sew it with slip stitch around. Take the small portion that we kept for the tail just now. Open it to a long layer, twist it and then fold it in half. Then slip stitch the tail at the right position as shown in the picture.Last, sew the turtle's eyes and mouth with the embroidery floss. You can also decorate your sock turtle with felt cloth, buttons, flower or anything you like.






This is my little sock turtle. I used it as a pincushion. Anyway it can be an ornament or a toy.









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