Wonderful Sock Monkey

Free crochet pattern for a Wonderful Sock Monkey. Why is America in love with so many different Wonderful Sock Monkey items? They are just so adorable. These two Wonderful Sock Monkey Beanies can be made for the newborn and even for an older brother or sister to match.

Wonderful Sock Monkey

Wonderful Sock Monkey

There is a defiant history to follow these toys. A little research and this is what I found.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Origins

“The sock monkey’s most direct predecessors originated in the Victorian era, when the craze for imitation stuffed animals swept from Europe into North America and met the burgeoning Arts and Crafts Movement. Craft makers began sewing stuffed animals as toys to comfort children, and, as tales of the Scramble for Africa increased the public’s familiarity with exotic species, monkey toys soon became a fixture of American nurseries. However, these early stuffed monkeys were not necessarily made from socks, and also lacked the characteristic red lips of the sock monkeys popular today.

Sock Monkeys Today

Sock monkeys remain a popular toy to this day. Most vintage red-heel sock monkeys found today are no older than the late 1950s, and many date from the 1970s. A number of methods for dating sock monkeys have been debated by collectors, including the shape of the red heel, the tightness of the weave, sock seams, the style of clothing worn, and other features. The term “vintage” red-heel sock monkeys is typically relegated to sock monkeys made from red-heel socks knitted by the Nelson Knitting Company and from similar socks knitted with red-heels by other companies in the same time period. The term “modern” red-heel sock monkeys is normally relegated to sock monkey dolls created after Fox River Mills, Inc.(Osage, IA) acquired Nelson Knitting Company in 1992. Home made red-heel sock monkey dolls usually have unique faces and body characteristics and are considered one-of-a-kind. Sock monkey dolls are also mass-manufactured in the marketplace. Sock monkey dolls mass-manufactured by a company normally all have the same face and body characteristics. Not all sock monkey dolls are created from red-heel socks. A new trend is growing to create sock monkey dolls from colorful striped or polka dot socks—even mismatched socks. The love of sock monkeys has led to other sock creatures being designed and made. These include the ‘Sockodile’, ‘Sockosaurus’ and ‘Sock Bear’ to name a few.”

Check out this great video for a free pattern to make your own Wonderful Sock Monkey.

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