Sockodile Hand Puppet

PDF Click the icon for cutting guide illustration.

Project designed by Anne Jacobs Mooney.

Materials:

one pair of red-heeled socks (size XL)
polyester fiberfill stuffing

Note: Please read all directions before beginning to make the Sockodile.

Steps:

Jaws

1. Cut the body, head and jaw sections from sock 1. See the pattern. The body and head parts will be a brown tube, while the white jaw section will be two open flaps, open back to where the white hits the brown.
2. Cut the white top off of sock 2.
3. Fit the two white pieces of this "jaw liner" section over the first white jaw pieces; place right sides together. Stitch so that the jaws are somewhat rounded in the front. Stitch all the way back to the sides of the mouth.
4. Turn the pieces right side out to reveal smoothly seamed upper and lower jaws. The back of the mouth (the throat) will be open.

Tongue

1. Cut the tongue from the heel of Sock 1. Sew this onto the bottom jaw so that the pointed end is directed toward the front of the mouth. Fold the white edges of the tongue under so that just the red shows.
2. Push the other end of the tongue so that it disappears back into the throat. Stitch the top of the throat and the bottom of the throat closed. This is the puppet part that will fit in the palm of the hand. Whipstitch this closed, or stitch on machine by turning the Sockodile inside out.

Eyes

1. Remove red heel section from Sock 2, leaving 1/2-inch of brown attached to the white.
2. Cut the red heel section in half. Put a running stitch through the outside edges of one half of the red heel section.
3. Place stuffing in the center of the half section from step 2. Pull stuffing into a ball and sew firmly into a ball shape. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other half; these will be the eyeballs.
4. Place the eyeballs into a slit cut along the white/brown edge at the back of the jaws. Turn the eyeball so that the point of the red triangles is at the top of the eye. Make the eyeballs protrude and look very round; sew firmly into place.

Front Half of Body

1. Cut the liner for the front half of the body from sock 2. Put this into the body of the Sockodile so that the two wrong sides are together.
2. Tack down the front inside section of the liner piece so that a hand can fit in smoothly under the eye section.
3. There are now four pieces of brown material that make up the body section. Take the bottom two pieces, fold the cut ends in together and seam just this bottom piece. This will create the bottom of the puppet mitt for a child's hand; the top two pieces remain open to attach to the rest of the body.

Back Half of Body

1. Cut the back half of the body out of sock
2. Turn it inside out and stitch along the sides to the back point. Turn right side out and stuff. Also stuff the front half of the body, up to the eyes; the jaws do not have stuffing in them. All stuffing should be quite loose even up by the head. The Sockodile head has a wider, flatter look than most sock animal heads.
3. Attach the front and back halves of the body by folding in cut edges and whipstitching the material together, all the way around. There should be a flap underneath the body that allows a hand to go forward into the jaws.

Legs

1. Cut the legs from the foot of Sock.
2. Note that the back legs are wider than the front legs.
3. For each leg, turn it inside out and sew the sides of it according to the "leg design" on the illustration sheet. Cut the top open. Turn the correct side out and stuff firmly. Sew up top.

Feet

1. To make the bottoms of the legs (the feet) stick out a bit, position the bottom, rounded foot section up toward the leg and stitch it firmly to the leg.
2. Attach wider legs onto the back of the Sockodile; front legs go onto the sides of the hand flap about 1-inch back from edge of flap. Make certain not to sew the flap shut.

Trim

1. Make four ridges in the brown body. Start them about 3-inches back from the eyes, with the middle two ridges a bit longer than the side ridges. Pinch the material to create about 1/4-inch of a ridge, and pin the ridge all the way back to the tail. Sew (machine is best) so that the ridge sticks up just 1/4-inch.
2. Make the ridges about 1-inch apart from each other at the front, moving them closer as you get to the tail section. If you want your Sockodile to have nostrils, embroider them on near the end of the top jaw. If this puppet is for older children, use buttons for nostrils if desired. Smaller children can pull buttons and put them in their mouths, so always embroider trim for very young children. Work the jaws of Sockodile by placing a hand into the mitt.

Resources
red-heeled socks - Jamondas
Jamondas Press
Website: www.sockmonkeysupplies.com

red-heeled socks - Rockford
Jamondas Press
Website: www.sockmonkeysupplies.com

Sock Monkey's Family Reunion, Tiger's New Friends, Tiger's Vacation, red-heeled socks
by Ann Jacobs Mooney (ISBN: 0963103555; 0963103504; 0963103520)
Click here to order Sock Monkey's Family Reunion.
Click here to order Tiger's New Friends.
Click here to order Tiger's Vacation.
Click here to order Tiger's Vacation/Book, Socks and Directions gift set.
Click here to order Tiger's New Friends/Book, Socks and Directions gift set.

Jamondas Press
Website: www.sockmonkeysupplies.com
Guests
Ann Jacobs Mooney
Author and owner of Jamondas Press
Website: www.sockmonkeysupplies.com Also in this Episode

Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-601
•	Sockodile Hand Puppet
•	Rubber Stamp Products
•	Rubber Stamp Holder