How to Make Sock Puppets

I am sure, you must be having a pile of socks at home. Why not make something out of it. Yes, I am talking about sock puppets. How to make puppets out of socks might be a question in your mind. But before we start making different sock puppet patterns, let us learn the basics. For this you need sock, googly eyes, semi-rigid board, scissors, glue and fabric (color of your choice).

Essential Steps

• Put your hand inside the sock so that the fingers and thumb are in toe's position and rest of the hand is in heel's position.
• Split the fingers and thumb to make space for the mouth of the puppet.
• Cut two oval shapes that are five inches long and three inches across out of semi-hard board and fabric, half for the hard palate and other half for the lower portion of the mouth.
• Paste fabric i.e. oval shaped on the semi-rigid board, cut of the same size.
• Fold the oval from the center and sew it in the place of mouth.

Hey! Your puppet is ready to talk. Now give it a look of your choice, a rabbit, a dog, a giraffe or anything you like. Now starts the fun with puppets. Apply these steps for making sock puppets of your choice. Before starting, let us see the common patterns that will give us a wide range of choice to start with. Some patterns are round head puppet pattern, mouth puppet pattern, glove puppet pattern, finger puppet pattern, monster puppet pattern and animal puppet pattern. Now, I am ready with some ideas for sock puppets for you. The idea of puppet making for children is amazing, especially, in the summer vacations.

Various Ideas

Rabbit Puppet
Put a ball into the white sock with a dowel at a slight angle, cut two pair of ears, one of white felt and the other of pink felt. Stick them on a stick with white felt at back and pink in front. Stick two googly eyes on the sock and a pom-pom nose of a cotton ball. Cut two slits for ear on the socks (on the head) and insert the ears into it. Stuff batting into the neck. The rabbit puppet is ready.

Dragon Puppet
Pull a green sock over a ball, leave four inches near the toe. Make flames out a red felt and stick them around a stick in a group. Make a hole in the sock (in toe portion) and push the stick into the ball. Now cut two small triangles from the green felt for jagged spines and stick them on the back of the dragon. Stick the eyes and a horn in the shape of a cone in place of the nose. Stick two nostrils made of red felt on both the sides of the horn. Stuff batting in the neck. Your dragon is ready.

Elephant Puppet
Stuff a ball made of cotton wools or fibers into a blue sock and pull it over the stick and leave 5 inches for its trunk. Cut 5 three inches of yarn and tie them around the trunk made of pipe cleaner. Make holes on each side of the tusk. Stick the eyes. Cut ears out of the blue felt and stick them on the head of the elephant that is, the ball of cotton wool. Fill the neck with batting and your elephant is ready.

You can make many animals or any other creature out of socks. Making puppets is a great fun loving activity for most kids, especially in their summer holidays. You can make sock puppets for kids and also teach them this art of sock puppets. How to make puppets out of socks must now be very easy for you. You can also come up with your own creative ideas. It is also the best way of utilizing the spare socks spoiled by the sock eaters. So, enjoy making wonderful sock puppets.