Sew a mismatched sock snake for your little one

Do you find your drawers overrun with socks with missing pairs?  Here’s a fun way for you to clean out the old socks from your clothes drawers while creating a new stuffed animal for your little one to play with: sew a mismatched sock snake!

A fun activity for you and your child

Let your child join the fun as you create a new toy out of old socks.  Having your child help out will help to stimulate his creativity while also leading him to treasure his new toy more. Keep in mind that, whether boy or girl, your child will enjoy this activity and will proudly exhibit the fruit of his labors to his friends.

For this project, you will need:

At least ten clean socks

Sewing machine

Thread

Scissors

Buttons

5 inches of red ribbon

Pillow stuffing

Sewing needle

First, choose the socks you want to work with.  While part of the resulting toy’s appeal will come from the mismatched patterns, you might want to choose socks with similar colors or textures.  You can make the snake toy any length you wish but working with ten socks is recommended.  Try to choose socks of the same width; if this is not possible, arrange them in such a way that the smallest pieces are at the ends and the largest pieces are at the middle.

Next, cut off the socks’ toe and the ankle sections so that you have three- to four-inch tubes.  Cut the tubes along the side, ending up with rectangular strips. 

Sew the strips together, front sides facing in and one on top of the other, along the edges to create a long tube.  This will form the body of the snake toy.

To create the snake’s head, indicate where the snake’s tongue should be by folding one end of the tube in half lengthwise two times, then marking the crease with a pen.  Cut an inverted “V” at one end of a red ribbon and sew its other end to the front of the tube (the side without seams) a ¼ inch to the left of the mark you made.  Sew two buttons aligned horizontally just below the ribbon to serve as the snake’s eyes.  Fold the tube lengthwise again, with ribbon inside, and sew the seam with a ¼ inch allowance.

Turn the snake right side out.  Its eyes and tongue should be visible on one end.  Fill the snake with pillow stuffing from the other end until full.  Use a long stick to push the stuffing down the snake’s body if necessary.

Once the snake is completely stuffed, sew the remaining seam at the end shut.

Now you can watch your little one play with a new cute and slithery stuffed friend!