sockmonkey5

Who doesn’t love sock monkeys? They’re soft and cuddly and oh so sweet! Available in four great colours, these monkeys have been swinging around our Embroider Buddy® showroom. These little friends are a perfect personalized gift for animal lovers young and old and so easy to make. All you need to do to personalize them is embroider their colourful scarves.

People have been making stuffed animals using socks since the 1800s, but the sock monkeys we know today found their origin in the minds of some innovative moms. During the Great Depression, parents resorted to using old Rockford red-heel socks to make cuddly friends for their children. Rockfords were the first socks to be mass produced by machine, so naturally there came to be a surplus of these well worn woolies. The iconic red monkey mouth was created by the trademark red heel marking on the Rockford socks, which is now known to be the marking of a true sock monkey.

Sock monkeys have had a sort of renaissance, becoming hugely popular in recent years. There’s even a Sock Monkey Madness Festival each year in Rockford, Illinois, home of the red-heel socks!

We decided to bring these adorable friends into the Embroider Buddy® family and want to know what you think! How would you embroider a sock monkey either for the holiday or other special occasions?