In a race against time, I subjected myself to making four hoodies before going on vacation for two weeks! I made these hoodies for a group of sock monkeys I began stuffing back in January. I’ve been so busy with knitted jumpers but these sweatshirt hoodies finally got their time! They’re made from a Japanese piggy print fabric I got at my favorite and local fabric store, Stitches, in Seattle.
I’m really excited about lots of things right now and one of them is a new outfit I’ve designed for my custom Mars Sock Monkeys! This outfit’s for the girls. Yay! Be back in a couple of weeks. I’m heading off to London to scout some socks, yarn and so many other things. Then it’s to Texas for some home made food and craft supplies. ;)
Btw I have new clothing labels! :D
Tags: clothing, custom, fabric, hoodie, japanese, jumper, knit, labels, mars, monkey, piggy, print, seattle, sock, Stitches, sweatshirt, vacation
It’s not very often that I make sock monkeys with really long arms, legs and tail. In fact Abbie is only the second sock monkey I’ve made from a pair of knee-high socks next to Kit-Kat. What I love about these long limbed sock monkeys is that their arms go all around your neck when you hug them. There is more to hold on to!
Abbie wears a purple and pink long sleeved panda hoodie with ears. Her outfit is very similar to Yuki’s except it has really long sleeves. :)
Tags: abbie, ears, hoodie, hug, kit-kat, knee-high, limbs, long, mars, monkey, panda, sock, stripe, yuki
Radical was made from a pair of tie-dyed socks! He’s the very first Mars Sock Monkey of his kind. He’s also Frizbee’s closest relative. I think their similarities will make them great BFFs! You’ll find them solving Rubik’s Cubes and playing alongside their reptilian friends. :)
Up next is a fun rainbow sock monkey with extra long limbs. I’m also working on a new sock monkey outfit which I’m really excited about! Stay tuned for more on that.
Tags: bff, friends, frizbee, mars, monkey, radical, relative, similar, sock, tie-dyed
I’m back from a small hiatus with two sock monkeys made in the last couple of weeks. While making Blueberry I kept thinking about jeans and the countryside. She has a warm, relaxed look and I like the dark and light blue colors together. The little hatchback was also fun to make. :)
Monique was inspired by Mona, which I made in 2008. To soften Mona’s black on black/pink contrast, I included grey tones in Monique’s jumper and hat. I also gave the ribbing on the hat a different color. Something I hadn’t tried before.
I have two more custom sock monkeys in the works. Plus I’ve been getting caught up on my knitting skills and other fun “Proyectos” thanks to this year’s thing-a-day!
Blueberry Mars Sock Monkey
Monique Mars Sock Monkey
Vivi and Lily Mars were the final sock monkeys I completed before the end of 2009. This is a fun couple because in actuality they’re two living sisters! When I first met Vivi and Lily they were the coolest rocker chicks I’d ever met. I’m happy we’ve stayed good friends all these years. In the photos I tried to pose them like siblings. That’s Lily on left with a star hoodie and Vivi on the right with a kitty sweater and pom-pom hat. I’d say the resemblance is right on! ;)
Tags: 2009, chicks, couple, custom, final, friends, hat, hoodie, kitty, last, lily, mars, monkey, photo, pom pom, pose, resemblance, rocker, siblings, sisters, sock, star, sweater, vivi, year
Happy New Year! I had a great holiday relaxing at home, playing games and watching videos. Now that I’m feeling refreshed and I’m back to work I should tell you about one of the the last custom sock monkeys I made in 2009.
Sparkle Mars Sock Monkey was made for a friend to give to her daughter as a Christmas present. Her little girl liked one of my previous sock monkeys named Shayla so I created one almost exactly like her. The only difference is that Sparkle’s hoodie is blue with brown and green striped sleeves while Shayla’s is green with brown and blue striped sleeves (the reversed combination). A couple of days after Christmas I received an email from my friend’s daughter. She loved her sock monkey! :)
Amigurumi cupcake pictured below is available at Stitches fabric store in Capitol Hill in Seattle.
Tags: amigurumi, blue, break, brown, Capitol Hill, christmas, color, combination, cupcake, custom, daughter, gift, green, holiday, hoodie, last, mars, monkey, present, scheme, seattle, sock, sparkle, Stitches
I enjoy using online print services from time to time. I already get mini cards from Moo and recently I bought some postcards from Zazzle. The postcard is of Samantha Mars Sock Monkey, one of my original sock monkeys with a knitted hoodie. This image is one of my most popular Flickr photos. I love this photo too!
The print quality is nice. They also have a Mars Sock Monkey logo on the back. I liked the postcards so much I decided to include them with my sock monkeys. There are 6 postcards now, although this might turn into an ongoing thing: Free Sam Mars Sock Monkey postcard with Mars Sock Monkey purchase. :)
My newest Mars Sock Monkeys come with a bit of a Holiday flair and animal cuteness! There’s a sock monkey with a bear, bunny, piggy and a panda. I’ve done some of these cute animal designs on hoodies for my custom sock monkeys so I wanted to bring this nice detail to the sweatshirt hoodie. Included are some new colors: red and a Japanese piggy print fabric.
I used a technique called needle felting to add the small detail like the eyes and nose to the animal faces. I then embroidered their little mouths and attached the final pieces to the hoodies. I also tried something different by switching the heel part of the sock on some of the sock monkeys, which gave them different colored mouths.
This group of sock monkeys was fun to make. There were so many ideas that didn’t make it, but I’m sure I can incorporate them into next year’s sock monkeys! This Winter 09 batch of Mars Sock Monkeys are for sale on Etsy. As always, each of my Mars Sock Monkeys are one of a kind and handmade. Have a look. :)
Tags: 2009, animal, bear, bunny, colors, cute, embroidery, etsy, fabric, felt, felting, handmade, holiday, hoodie, inspired, japanese, kawaii, mars, monkey, mouth, needle, panda, piggy, print, release, sale, seasonal, shop, shopping, sock, sweatshirt, unique, winter
Lately I’ve been taking my knitting from my desk to the couch where it’s warmer. Doing this made me think of all the different tools I take with me so I thought it’d be fun to do a post on them. When I knit a Mar Sock Monkey Hoodie these are the five essential tools I need (left to right): Knitting needles, crochet hook, tapestry needle, stitch holder and thread cutters.
Knitting needles: One of my favorite tools are my Addi Turbo circular needles. I love them. I use size US 3 and 4, which allow me to do some of the color work on the front of the sweaters. I also like that they’re circular because they don’t fall and there’s no hassle switching between them. My needles were bent, but they still get the job done! :)
Crochet hook: I saw a lot of these while growing up since my Mom is an avid crocheter. She uses some pretty small sizes for her work! As for me, I use a Clover aluminum crochet hook size C. It’s perfect for picking up stitches, adding finishing to the edge of knitted fabric and tidying those loose yarn ends. Also nice for making winter hats. The crochet hook has become such a useful tool for me.
Tapestry needle: Once all my pieces are complete I use a tapestry needle to sew the seams together. It has a curved tip which is nice for sewing knit fabric; the tip peaks out from the puffy stitches. The large eyelet works great on double knit (DK) worsted yarns. I own a set of Clover Chibi jumbo darning needles. They’re nice and big and come in a little capsule so I don’t loose them easily. ;)
Stitch holder: I used to use stitch holders to put my projects on hold, but these days I get some proper use out of them. They work like extra needles which secure knit stitches in place. I use one to hold stitches at the top the hood. While one half of the stitches are on hold I knit the other half of the hood using my circular needles. After both ends are done I connect them at the top using the kitchener stitch. I have a set of 6″ and 7″ extra large Clover aluminum stitch holders.
Thread cutters: I fell in love with these cutters as soon as I got them. They’re cute and they’re the tool I use the most besides my knitting needles. They work great on thread and even thick yarns. I use them when I sew on the sewing machine because they’re not bulky like big scissors and they’re quick to grab. I bought these from an old Edmund Scientifics catalog but I recently ordered one and they’re nowhere to be found. :( I’d like another cute pair like these…I also have a pair of these. :)
Yarn: I wasn’t going to forget about yarn itself. It keeps my sock monkeys nice and warm. I’m still learning about weights and types because there’s lots to know about yarn. I use double knits. They’re somewhere in between baby yarns and yarns for adult clothing. I also like to use cotton mixes and I prefer strong bright colors! I keep my yarns in a large clear plastic bag so I can see them when choosing color.
I hope you enjoyed my knitting tools write up! If you’re a beginner or advanced knitter, I’d highly recommend the tools above. Knitting is like many trades when it comes to using the right high quality tools. I’ve bought some cheap stuff and it doesn’t work as well as the higher-end stuff. :)
Thanks to Toby for taking some of these photos!
Tags: brand, clover, craft, crochet, cutters, darning, diy, essential, holder, hood, hoodie, hook, jumper, knitted, knitting, maribel made, mars, monkey, needles, product, shopping, sock, stitch, supplies, sweater, sweatshirt, tapestry, thread, Tools, trade, yarn
Here’s one last post for the last day of the month. Lately it’s been hard taking photos because it gets dark at about 4pm. By the time I’m ready to take photos there’s no light outside so this time I decided to use flash. I think it worked out well for this occasion. Gracie looks so cute on top of our “bear” blanket, which is so soft!
Gracie’s hoodie comes with a ladybug or ladybird as it’s known in Europe. This is Gracie hanging out in bed. See how the blankie is making her sleepy, very sleepy…
Tags: bear, bed, blanket, dark, flash, gracie, hoodie, ladybird, ladybug, Lauren, mars, monkey, photos, rainbow, sleepy, sock, time, winter, yellow
