You can make a whole zoo full of sock animals and monsters if you have a few simple crafting materials and some odd socks. Making sock puppets is simple, and it’s a great activity for kids of all ages to do on rainy days. One of the various sock puppet-making techniques will work perfectly for you.
Making puppets is a fun activity for kids to do on a snowy or rainy afternoon, and it’s interesting to see how they’ll bring their creations to life. You can create the actors for an entire puppet theater with a few extra socks, some simple crafting materials, and a little of your time. Trending on LoveToKnow.
One of the simplest sock puppets you can make is this straightforward dog. Making this dog friend takes about 20 minutes, plus the time it takes for the glue to dry. This pattern can be changed to create any creature you desire. When working with children, use craft glue; when working alone, use hot glue. Related Articles.
This horse puppet has a little more structure thanks to a stiff mouth and a head filled with batting. Even though it’s a little more difficult to make, this is still a simple skill to master. If you are making a horse, choose a sock with a contrasting toe; otherwise, you can use this technique to create a variety of different animals.
Making a Fancy Puppet
1 Cut the toes off of a sock with fabric scissors. Find a sock long enough to cover your arm. It can be any color or pattern. A solid sock would work for just about any character, while a spotted one could make a leopard. You can even use a striped sock to make a zebra! Once you are happy with your sock, cut the toes off with fabric scissors, using the toe seam as a guide.
- For this kind of puppet, those wacky, fuzzy socks work best, but you can also use regular socks.
2 Cut a 4-inch (10.16-centimeter) oval out of thin cardboard. Get some thin cardboard. Draw an oval on it that is about 4 inches (10.16 centimeters) long. It should a little narrower than your sock. Cut the oval out with a pair of scissors.
- You can use an old cereal box for the cardboard.
3 Cut a matching oval out of felt, then set it aside. Use the cardboard oval you just cut out to trace another oval onto a sheet of felt. Cut the felt oval out, then set it aside. You will be gluing this to the inside of the mouth later.
- The best colors are pink or red, but you can also use another color.
4 Fold the cardboard oval in half to make a crease. Unfold the oval when you are done. It will be bent like a V, which is good. 5 Tuck the oval into the cut part of the sock. Keeping it bent like a V, tuck the oval into the sock. Pull the cut edges of the sock over the edges of the oval. Dont worry if things dont look perfect. You will be fixing that later.[1] 6 Glue the sock to the top and bottom of the oval. Set the sock down and open the mouth. Pull the edges of the sock over the top and bottom (narrow) ends of the oval by ½-inch (1.27-centimeter). Glue them down with hot glue. Dont worry if the sides get messed up. Youll fix that next.[2]
- If you don’t have hot glue, tacky glue or fabric glue might work instead.
7 Glue the sock to the side edges of the oval. Pull a bit of sock over the side edge of the oval by ½-inch (1.27-centimeter) and glue it down. Work your way from the top edge of the oval to the bottom. When you are done, do the other side of the oval too.[3] 8 Glue the felt oval into the mouth. Draw a line of glue around the inside of the puppets mouth. Press the felt oval into the glue. Make sure that the edges match up. This will give the inside of the mouth some color and cover up the cut part of the sock.[4]
- Work slowly when using hot glue to prevent it from drying out too quickly.
9 Decorate the puppet. You can have the heel part be on the top or bottom of the puppet. Glue some googly eyes or buttons for the eyes. Add a smaller pompom or button for the nose. If you want to give your puppet a tongue, cut a long tongue shape out of red or pink felt, then glue it inside the mouth.
- Dont glue the tongue all the way down. This way it can flap around!.
- For more decorating ideas, click here.
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