There was an accidental sock-dying incident recently: Dimples ended up with one white sock and one peachy-pink one. No longer a pair, she refuses to wear them, and so I came to find myself learning how to make a sock bunny. More specifically, how to make one each.
They are fairly straight forward and all you need is:
a sock
stuffing: I conveniently had a dog-savaged cushion.
a needle and thread
sharp scissors.
Although this is not a no-sew craft, you really do not need seamstress-level skills with a needle to achieve this. The basic running stitch, a bit of back-and-forth and you can whip up a rabbit in three shakes of a rabbit tail. An hour in ordinary time.
The key things is being able to visualise the rabbit- the face is formed from the heel section, the ears from the top end and the rump from the toe end. you form the body parts as you go so the trickiest bit- the ears- comes last.
Stuff bit by bit, forming as you go, so that you are happy with the shape of the body part before you sew it in place.
First, stuff the toe end, firmly (you will form the tail with running stitch when you have filled the body) until you are satisfied with the shape. Using a running stitch, stitch a large circle across the end of your bunny (the toe of the sock)- the seam for which should run across the middle of the circle. Pull shut, stuffing the reducing bulge with more stuffing from inside with your free hand, if you need too. Sew back and forth to shape and secure the tail “bulge” then secure your thread so it doesn’t unravel.
Next you need to sew up the neck of the body- think of the invisible line that runs from the corner, where the leg of the sock joins the top foot edge of the sock, straight down to the edge of the heel just before it starts bending up to the leg- and secure. I used a running stitch (double thread) around three times then I sewed over the same spot to secure the loose thread.
Next, stuff the head until you are happy with the shape.
The ears are trickier as there is more fabric that needs sewing tightly. I found that the best way to do this was to gather the fabric, then fold inwards- creating a W shape- precisely where the meeting point of the two ears would go on the head. This created a crease across the top of the head that I sewed together with running stitch. I repeated this on the rear/body side of the ears. Then I ran a running stitch all around the head opening and secured to seal the stuffing in place- double thread and oversewed as before to hold tightly.
I then sewed the head to the body at the back, so that it was less wobbly.
Finally, I removed the lace edge (which could be used as neck trim, but Dimples declined) then cut a deep “v” into the remaining open fabric edge, to create a pair of ears. I sewed along the open edge to seal the cut edges. Lastly- at Dimples’ behest- I added a pink bow around the base of the ears. You can sew one, or both, of the ears down onto the body to create that floppy-eared look.
For more great Bunny Craft Ideas, check out our latest Crafty Hangout
with ideas from:
Red Ted Art: tiny knitted bunny, bunnies from eggs, paper mache bunny basket, toilet roll bunny, carrot cake
Kids Chaos: Carrot Soup, Bunny Biscuits, Pom Pom Bunnies, Up-cycled Rabbit phone holders,
Zing Zing Tree: Wooden Peg Bunny, Flannel bunny bathroom gifts, Felted Bunnies, Paper Bunny crafts
Domestic Goddesque: Pipecleaner bunnies, Up-cycled Bunny Ears, Bunny Bottom Printed Card, Sock Bunny
Me and My Shadow: bunny stenciled card, Bunny Eared Gift Jar, bunny buns and Bento,
Or try some Bunny cookies or cork bunnies!
Such a clever idea! We must have hundreds of odd white socks!
What a lovely idea. My little lady would love one of those.