Friday, April 16, 2010

Sock Monkey Art

My niece Althea turns two in about a week.  I hate, with all my heart, that I won't be there to celebrate on her birthday.  So instead of sulking, I dove into making her a little present.  My sister Katrina has lightly decorated the girls' toy room with Sock Monkeys.  When I say lightly, I mean perfectly light.  Sock Monkeys don't scream at you when you walk in the room, rather they pleasantly give you a smile and say hello as they sit amongst the other decor and toys in the room.  The walls of the toy room are a little bare though and so I thought this would work perfectly in the space she has created.



Can you see the jacks and ball that the monkeys are playing with.  Those are hand embroidered.  There's also a very faint, hand embroidered hopscotch path behind the sock monkeys.

Now if only I could figure out a way to shrink me and Monet so that we could ship ourselves to IL along with this package.  I imagine we would enjoy ourselves, sitting in the sun, under the trees, playing with the Sock Monkeys.  Monet might even be old enough to go down the slide.

Althea, Sylvia, I hope you know how much your Aunty Ang loves you.  I miss you both very much!

5 comments:

Run Lori Run said...

That is so cool! Please share how you made it!

Angela Flicker: The Art of Making a House a Home in Utah said...

I started with a drawing and from there I just used basic fusible applique techniques to fix the images down on the fabric. These links might help...

http://www.quiltbug.com/articles/applique-tips.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSBmS178lA
http://www.inhabitots.com/2008/12/19/diy-christmas-appliqued-shirts/

A few tricks that I recommend...

I like using invisible thread when zig zag stitching around the images. One stick inside the shape, one stick outside the shape, and continue.

When I'm done with the wall hanging, I attach some batting to the back and then use a staple gun to staple it to a wood frame

Another trick is using textured materials to make images pop a bit more.

My last trick, the Sock Monkeys, actually come from a Sock Monkey fabric. I just ironed fusible webbing on the back of the fabric, cut them out using great detail, ironed them down to the piece of landscape I'm creating, and then stitched around them.

Embroidery thread is then used to add details like the jacks and the ball.

Please email me if you have any questions. There are so many methods of applique and I just like playing with them all to see what I like. The ship wall hanging you made, was that applique? I really liked it. My favorite method is the freezer paper method, but for something as detailed as this, the fusible works a little better. Like I said, just send me an email if you have more questions. I'd be happy to help. I could even do a tutorial on the blog sometime. I currently swamped but don't mind making time in a week or two.

Thanks for your interest.

Run Lori Run said...

I am very, VERY new to applique. I have some books but haven't really used them yet. I didn't fuse the ship wall hanging, I just sewed them on free hand and I liked that for this piece but I want to expand my knowledge. :). Thanks for all the tips and YES, a tutorial down the road would be awesome!!!

Clear thread--- cool!
freezer paper method? you can tell I'm a newbie!

Katrina Knebel said...

Thank you auntie Ang. You are too sweet. The girls will love it.

One minor correction to your blog, however. You make the girl's toy room sound orderly and serene. Your words: "perfectly light." On a typical day, I would describe it more as heavy toy puke.

Thanks for the flattery though. You almost had me convinced.

Angela Flicker: The Art of Making a House a Home in Utah said...

Oh my goodness Katrina, you are so funny! Maybe a younger sister's love makes her blind to her older sister's flaws.

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails