It’s the biggest universal mystery on the planet: Where do all the socks disappear to once you’ve thrown them in the laundry? And why do the pretty ones always get torn first? Luckily it’s almost Easter so you can transform them into soft and cuddly bunnies. This sockbunny (Hubby claims it’s a hare) is easy to make within the hour, with stuff you already have lying around in the house.

What you’ll need

• Two socks
• Filling
• Needle and thread or sewing machine
• Embroidery yarn
• Pompom

Step 1: Head and ears

Turn one sock inside out and put it flat on the table with the heel up (this will be the face later on). Draw the head (red) and the ears (white) on the sock. Stitch over the lines and cut off excess fabric. Want a bunny with hanging ears? Stitch the entire red-marked bow and stitch the ears separately. For a bunny with stuffed ears you stitch from one side of the head all the way to the other side.

Step 2: Legs

Draw two legs on the other end of the sock. Stitch them separately and leave a 2 cm/1 inch hole open in the crotch so you can turn the sock right side out through there.

Step 3: Arms

Cut off the top part of your second sock and turn inside out. Draw two separate arms on each side and stitch them, leaving the bottom part open. Turn around right side out. I used two of the same socks (I always buy multiple pairs of the same sock because they always get lost in the laundry) but you can use any combination you like.

Step 4: Stuff your rabbit and sew shut.

Fill your bunny with fiberfill, filling cotton or any other washable material you have. I found an old pillow in the attic that had sheets of fiberfill in it and reused it to stuff my bunny. Start with the ears and legs and push the filling in the right spot with a pencil. Stuff the head and body and sew the hole in the crotch shut. Fill the arms and stitch them to the body by hand. Can’t sew? Don’t worry: no one will notice how crooked your stitches are once you’re finished because they’ll be too amazed you actually made this from two socks.

Step 5: Put on a happy face

Use a basting stitch to sew around the neckline (left picture) and pull the thread. Wrap the thread around the neckline a few times and sew acros the wrapped thread with vertical stitches. Embroider a cute face using the picture as an example or use buttons, beads or felt.

Step 6: The finishing touch

“Without a tail it’s not a bunny!” said the 3 year old future owner (Hubby: It’s a HARE!”). So I stitched on a pompom on the bunny’s butt to finish it off, but it’s easy to make a pompom yourself with some yarn and two cardboard circles. Wrap a ribbon around the bunny’s neck for extra cuteness and to hide any stitching you’re not too happy about.  Mine decided to go for the tough & bare look and waited patiently for his new owner, dreaming of adventures in Paris, France.

I’m curious: How do you recycle all those single and useless socks?

comments feed