How to: Make a Sock Squid (and Cthulu!)

I’m warning you: the sock squid is a gateway fiber project. Today you’re thinking “I’m just gonna sew this one little fella to give to my buddy, sort of almost as a gag gift,” and before you know it you’ll be lining laptop sleeves in microfiber and crocheting iPhone jackets.  It is a sickness, and it starts be snipping slits in socks and learning a couple simple hand stitches.

The sock squid was my first sock animal experiment: In the late-1990s I went through a sock animal period–much like Picasso–during which there was no gift-giving occasion that didn’t see the birth of a creepy, gangly, adorable socky simulacrum.  Prior to this, my sewing had been entirely limited to emergency mending; I had no interest in threading a sewing machine, following a pattern, or learning anything beyond the plain-vanilla whipstitch.  Today, I unwind by sewing a travel pouch for my tea infuser, then try to tell myself that this is basically what any red-blooded American man might do on a Friday night.  It starts here; download the sample (Project #3: The Sock Squid) then go spelunking in the orphaned sock box down on the laundry room. This evening, while you’re watching Demolition Man on Netflix,  you’ll sew a sock squid and if you’re game, upgrade it to a sock Cthulhu.  

The sock squid is slightly easier to make than a sock monkey (no stuffing the damn legs and tail; no tricky monkey ears), where-as the sock Cthulhu is slightly more challenging (legs, yeah, but also wings).

When you’re done, snap a pic and send me a link; I love showcasing other folks’ successes and sharing new mods; see, e.g., this fetching Argyle Sock Cthulhu by Cory Johnson.