I Love Sock Monkeys! Sock Monkey Rice Bags

I love sock monkeys and I love to make small gifts for my family at Christmas time. This year I made sock monkey rice bags to keep them toasty warm. They weren't quite as easy as I thought they would be, even so they were fun to make! Thanks to my mom lots of the materials were free, since I dug through her button and scrap box! She also helped me fill the rice bags!
Here's my list of materials:
~white rice, about 3 cups per monkey
~ funnel
~ scrap fabric folded in half cut 18" long and 3 inches wide
~large monkey socks (I ordered mine from amazon.com. They were Fox River socks)
~ brown or gray embroidery floss and large needle.
~ 2 buttons in preferred color per monkey
~ yarn and knitting needles for the tie at the top

First I dug through the scrap fabric and found some brown and white striped fabric that matched the socks. I used these as the rice bag. I folded it in half and cut it into a piece 18" long and 3" wide. Using the sewing machine I seamed the side and the bottom. I turned it right side out and filled rice about 1/4 of the way up the rice bag. Then I put a seam across the rice bag where I had filled it, then I filled it the rest of the way with rice using the funnel. Last I sewed across the top and the rice bag was complete. Below you can see the rice bag and the seam 1/4 of the way up the bag.

18" rice bag

The seam 1/4 of the way up the rice bag

Next I started working on the monkeys. I sewed two buttons on for eyes. Using dark brown embroidery floss I sewed eyelashes and a mouth on each monkey. I also gave each monkey two nostrils. On a few I also sewed eyebrows.

Eyelashes and mouth 

I sewed across the bottom of the sock along the white to keep the rice bag near the top and the monkey fuller looking.

Stitches across the bottom of the sock 

Last I took red and blue yarn and knit two rows 55 stitches long to make the ties for the hats.

Here's the rice bag, monkey sock and yarn tie

Then I wiggled the rice bag into the monkey sock, tied the yarn at the top and there you have it: a monkey rice bag. Put it in the microwave for one minute for a nice toasty, warm monkey!

He can even sit!

Blue tie