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.

blanket stitch

The blanket stitch is a popular decorative stitch for edges. It provides a nice edging for blankets, table cloths, bibs, appliqued items and other soft finishing. However, it can also be used as surface stitch for embroidery. You can vary the stitch depth and length according to your taste, making it very versatile and unique for your projects.

How I do the blanket stitch

Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end. Insert the needle through at A from the underside of the fabric.

Then, insert the needle at B, put the thread under the point of the needle and pull the thread through. This get the first stitch anchored.

To do the next stitch. Insert the needle at C and put the thread under the point of the needle as the previous step. Then pull the thread through. Repeat this step and continue to the end of the seam. Keeping the spaces and stitches even is very important, try to make them as even as possible.

When coming to the end, insert the needle at D to bring the thread back to the underside of the fabric and knot.

This is the pattern of the blanket stitch.

whip stitch

The whip stitch is used for seaming fabric either right or wrong sides together. Normally, I use it to join two finished edges or folded edges, attach crocheted pieces, sew up a stuffing opening and also use it as a decorative touch.

The whip stitch is  a visible stitch. It can be sewn with a contrasting thread instead of a matching thread. By this way, it would make more decorative for certain projects. It is ideal when joining together two layers of felt, as it not only holds the layers together, it also creates a decorative embroidery effect around the edges.

How I do the whip stitch

 

Before starting, make sure the pieces even. You can either to tack or pin them first.Tie a knot in the end of the thread, then insert the needle up through the bottom layer of fabric at a depth of 1/8" (about 3mm) from between the two layers. The knot should be sandwiched between the two pieces of fabric and will be invisible. Then pull the thread through. 

Next, insert the needle through both layers of fabric from the top layer by holding the needle a slight diagonal angle a little way along the first insertion point (the knot). You can draw a mark for the first insertion point to the top layer by referring to the knot inside the layers.

The first diagonal stitch is formed. Now, the thread should be wrapped around the edges.

Once again, insert the needle through the both layers of fabric from the top layer by holding the needle at a slight diagonal angle a little way along from the first stitch.

The second stitch is formed. Repeat this step and continue to the end of the seam. The stitches should be parallel. Try to keep the stitches and spaces as even as possible.

When you reach to the end of the seam and you wish to make your last stitch, put the needle through the top layer at a slight diagonal angle a little way along from the previous stitch as shown in the photo. Pull the thread through. Now, the thread is between the two layers.

On the inside of the two layers of fabric, put your needle under the last stitch.

Wrap the thread around the tip of your needle two or three times.

Pull the needle through to create a knot on the last stitch inside of the two layers.

A knot has created.

This is the pattern of whip stitch.

You can now pull the pieces apart to flatten the stitches. 

If you are not good enough in controlling the tightness of the thread as you go, you cann't flatten the pieces easily or get a good pattern. I suggest you try to flatten your pieces before you create the knot, and then adjust the stitches which are sewn too tightly. After doing that, then you can create a knot and cut off the thread.

NOT all the projects have to flatten the stitches, only do that when necessary. For example, sewing the opening of a pillow need not to flatten the stitches. Anyway, if you think it is really necessary to flatten it, of course you can do that.

There are two methods to make a knot at the end of the seam. For the project which you need to flatten the stitches, just follow the above mentioned steps. For the closed shape projects or any projects that need not flatten the stitches, you can put your needle under the last outside stitch and wrap the thread around the tip of the needle two or three times and then pull the thread through to create a knot. After you make your knot, insert the needle in through the seam and pull it out somewhere else on the piece. Tug on the thread a little to pull the knot through the seam to hide it.

backstitch (partial backstitch and full backstitch)

The backstitch is one of the basic stitches used in many of our projects. It is a very tight and secure hand stitch that produce a relatively strong seam. It is also one of the most commonly used stitch across all needle crafts. I always use it to sew fabric pieces together, to secure the thread at the beginning and the end of the stitching instead of a knot, to do decoration, and sometimes I use it for hemming.

This method can be worked in two ways, either a partial backstitch or a full backstitch. The partial backstitch looks like the simplest running stitch on the right side and the full backstitch looks like machine stitching.

How I sew a partial backstitch 

The amount of space between the partial backstitches on the right side may be vary, depending on the length of the stitch that brought backwards. Some might like to make a quarter-backstitch and some might like to make a half-backstitch. To me, I like to make a three-quarter-backstitch in order to get long stitches with a small space in between.

 Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end. Bring the needle up from the underside of the fabric. Pull the thread through.

After bringing the thread through at A, insert the needle at B and come out at C.

This is the first stitch.

 Reinsert the needle back just in front of the first stitch (or any point in the space) and run the needle through as the previous step. Try to keep the distance same as the length of the previous stitch as possible as you can.

 Pull the thread through, and now you can see the two stitches standing very near.

Repeat these steps, continue to the end of the seam. Then you can see the outcome as the picture shown above.

How I sew a full backstitch 

The steps of making the full backstitch almost the same as you make the partial backstitch. The only difference is there is no space between stitches in a full backstitched line, so you have to send the needle back down through the fabric exactly at the end of the previous stitch when you make a full backstitch. Then, send the needle up through the fabric a stitch away from the previous stitch.

Send the needle back down through the fabric exactly at the end of the previous stitch. Then, bring the needle up at left of central point (where the yellow thread came out). The distance on the right and left of the central point should be equal. Repeat the steps and keeping stitch length constant.

A line of full backstitches will looks like this.

running stitch

A running stitch is one of the most simple and easy hand stitch. The stitch is worked by passing the tip of the needle in and out of the fabric to form many small and even stitches on the needle before pulling the thread through. It is good for gathering fabric, tucking hems or sewing seams which require little strength.

How I do the running stitch

Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end. Insert the needle from the underside of the fabric and pull the thread through.

Now, start passing the tip of the needle in and out of the fabric by leaving a space from the starting point. Keeping the stitches and spaces as even as possible.

Pull the needle through, then you can see the outcome as the picture shown above. Repeat this step till the end of the seam. See, how easy this stitch is!

slip stitch / blind stitch

A slip stitch / blind stitch is a common and excellent hem stitch. It is used when you don't want visible stitches. We use slip stitch / blind stitch for fastening two pieces of fabric together from the right side without the thread showing. Usually, I use it for closing an opening of a pillow, attaching the body and the parts of a sock doll, sewing a seam from the outside of a garment, and other soft finishing.

How I do the slip stitch / blind stitch

Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end. Insert your needle from the fold.

Pull the thread through so the knot is hidden in the fold.

Insert the needle into the opposite layer directly across from where the needle just came out. Insert the needle and run the needle through about 1/4" from the insertion point.

Pull the thread through to bring the fold and the layer closer together.

Reinsert the needle directly across from where the needle just came up out of the fabric. Run the needle through the fold again another 1/4" or so and come up.

Pull the thread through to bring the fold and the layer closer together.

Repeat these steps, you will see the outcome as shown in the picture.

About Me

Hi, I am Rainbow, a typical mum. I especially enjoy sewing sock crafts, decorating and making unique hair accessories. Although I am a full time mother  but I will try my best to reserve time for my favorite craft projects. Prior to creating this blog, I had never thought to post and shared my ideas online. One day of last month, I was seized by a whim to create a blog to store my creative ideas, crafty projects and drabs of my life. Of course, I would like to share all my projects and my drabs of my life with you!

I am not an expert on sewing, knitting or crafting but I have some knowledge of  sewing and knitting and I have my own methods to do my projects. Perhaps some of my tutorials here would give you some ideas to create your own unique projects. I also welcome your comments because I would like to learn from you.　

Crafting is my lifelong hobby. I would never shout "Empty is my life!" because I like crafting and it make my life colorful. Every work done made me smile and satisfied. Don't you? I am sure you are also a craft-lover when you stay and visit my blog. You are welcome to download the photos and tutorials here as a reference for doing your own projects but please do not put it in your blogs/websites.

If you have any inquiry, please feel free to contact me. Email: rainbowscrafts.n.creations@gmail.com.