Wow, I just realized that I haven’t done any sock doll crafts for more than a year now! A while ago, I received a message from a reader who was searching for a new sock elephant pattern, and I felt so bad that I had to say, “Sorry, I don’t have any at the moment.” Now, I am super happy to be able to say, “YES, YES, YES, here is a Sock Elephant sewing pattern and tutorial for you!” I am always excited when I share a new pattern and tutorial because I know that there is someone out there looking for something new to sew.
❤️ Please Welcome Ella,
The Sock Elephant Stuffed Animal ❤️
Just like any sock doll design, this sock elephant pattern didn’t come easily and without challenges. I made 3 (very!) funny-looking elephants before I finally had one that I was happy with. What have I learned? That the ears of the elephant must be big enough to bring out the features of the elephant. How did I find this out? Well, I had this great idea not to waste whatever sock material on hand and I was using almost all of it to sew the body of the sock elephant. In the end, I had very little left for the elephant ears, which ended up being a huge, huge mistake! My sock elephant animal looked more like a snake with a long nose. Oh no!
I cracked my head for ideas to fix it and found that I can use other fabrics to make the big ears. Ta-daaa, that’s the sewing pattern I went with! So here it is – I present to you, Ella the Sock Elephant.
This pattern comes in 2 versions, I have the short-legged sock elephant and the long-legged sock elephant. Here are their differences: the short-legged elephant is sewn from a pair of ankle socks while the long-legged elephant is sewn from a pair of crew socks. The ears of the short-legged elephant are totally made from fabric while only half of the long-legged elephant’s are made from a mix of fabric and sock material. And their toe sizes are also different – the short-legged elephant’s toes are smaller and made out of white felt. Get all the details in the instructions section.
Sock Elephant -Free Sewing Pattern
scroll ⬇️ to get the free pattern & tutorial
The sock elephant is about 10″ tall if it is made from an adult sock. Remember, some socks yield a bigger doll and some will give you a smaller one. The size also depends on the amount of stuffing you put in. Plus, you can also use toddler or baby socks. See the pictures below for sock elephants sewn from toddler and baby socks respectively. If you are using plain socks to sew the sock elephant, you can add a patterned sock to be the shirt of the sock elephant before sewing up the arms (just like the grey sock elephant below).
Colored socks bring personality to the sock elephants. At times, you will be surprised and amused at how your sock elephant turns out. That’s what happens to me all the time! Once, my sock elephant ended up looking like it had a chickenpox infection. That was the result of me using a red polka-dot on a cream base sock to sew it, so choose your sock carefully! I especially love the sock elephant below which is black/blue with white stripes. This color combination always gives me a calming feeling and the little feet are so cute.
Story of Ella…
Ella the sock elephant sits on the park bench in the neighborhood park which she used to visit regularly in the evening. She hasn’t been here in a while because the park has been closed for renovations. In those few short weeks, much has changed, and not just in the park. Ella looked over at the new playground, now clean and shiny compared to the old worn-down one, and memories flooded her mind. She used to play at the old playground with her friends when they were little, until one day, they stopped. As the years went by, they grew older and slowly drifted apart until… they just weren’t friends anymore.
Ella switched her gaze over to the fish pond. A few months ago she saw a cat waiting by the edge, swatting the water with its paw hoping to catch some dinner. Alas, the fish was too quick for the old cat, so Ella brought him some cat food instead which he devoured eagerly. Soon, this became a routine.
However, in the weeks the park was being renovated, Ella couldn’t visit her furry friend, and thought about him a lot. Today she checked his usual spot by the fish pond, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he had moved somewhere else, or maybe his time was up. Either way, she knows she will miss him dearly.
Ella looked down at the very bench she was sitting on. It was bright blue and sturdy, compared to the old wobbly brown one. She thought of the times when she and her sister would buy ice creams from the grocery store and sit on the old bench to eat them. It was a tradition that they had ever since they were little, and it carried on until Ella’s sister moved away a week ago. The good old days of enjoying ice cream on a hot day together were gone.
As Ella looked around the newly renovated park, she realized she didn’t need to be sad with all the changes that had happened. Seeing the young ones enjoying themselves at the playground reminded her that there is always a new beginning waiting to happen. She could make new memories with new people at this new park. Change is inevitable, and she didn’t need to hold on to the past. Satisfied with what she had learned today, Ella got up from the bench to go for a walk.
The End!
Hope you enjoy this short story specially created for Ella, the sock elephant.
Happy Sewing!
Ping us (via the contact form) or tag @craftpassion in social media with your photos of the sock elephant after you have done it.
SOCK ELEPHANT SEWING PATTERN
Sew a sock elephant using this ultimate sewing pattern and tutorial. This elephant stuffed animal is easy to sew with help from the pictures and instructions provided. It is a great option as a gift.
Ella the sock elephant has an easy-going personality. She is calm and almost never makes a big deal out of anything. Ella loves to tuck her hand into her pocket while strolling in the park where little ones play and enjoy the peace all around them.
Enjoy sewing them!
Download and print separately SEWING PATTERN for the eyes, ears, and a pattern for drawing the sock separately.
Materials
Short-Legged Elephant
- Sock, Ankle Length, 1 pair
- Button eye 8mm dome-shaped, black, 2; or equivalent button
- White felt – 1.5" x 1.5"
- Fabrics, 5" x 4" – 4 pcs
- Poly-fill stuffing material
- Sewing threads (matching colors)
- Sock Elephant Pattern Template
Long-Legged Elephant
- Sock, Crew Length, 1 pair
- Button eye 8mm dome-shaped, black, 2; or equivalent button
- White felt – 2.5" x 2.5"
- Fabrics, 5" x 4" – 2 pcs
- Poly-fill stuffing material
- Sewing threads (matching colors)
- Sock Elephant Pattern Template
Tools
- Sewing machine. You can also hand-sew if you prefer.
- Long sewing needle (about 2"), tapestry needle and pins
- Water Soluble Fabric Marker
- Scissors
- Blunt point tweezers
- Spray bottle filled with water
Instructions
- Prepare all materials above. Always pre-washed your socks before sewing them. Turn sock right side in and iron.
- Print out the pattern, cut out the templates and trace them on the materials. Draw pattern on the sock. Sew then cut. Turn sock pieces right side out.
- Stuff parts with poly-fill stuffing materials and sew as instructed below.
- Sew to close the opening. Massage the parts to even out the lumps of the stuffing.
- Sew eyes and ears to the head. Sew tail and toe to the body. Lastly form arms from part of the body to complete the sock elephant.
Seam Allowance: give yourself approximately 1/8” or 1/4” (you need bigger seam allowance for loose-knit and thinner sock materials because they can be ripped off easily)
MORE DETAILS ON HOW TO SEW
ELLA SOCK ELEPHANT
Tip: How To Secure the knot
Secure the knot by inserting the needle between the 2 threads.
The knot is locked with the sock and it won’t slip away through the knits when you pull the thread during sewing.
PREPARATION
Ankle Socks
Crew Socks
Gather the materials and tools needed to sew the sock elephant. You can use socks of ankle-length or crew length to sew.
Crew length is longer so you can sew the sock elephant with longer legs. Beside longer legs, the crew length sock will have enough materials to sew one facing of the ears with sock material.
Whilst, ankle-length will yield a cute little foot and full fabric of ears for the sock elephant.
DRAW, SEW & CUT
Ankle Socks
Crew Socks
Both pictures above show how to trace your sock elephant pattern on the ankle and crew socks respectively. The Sock Elephant Pattern Template has the ankle-length template but it includes the templates for the toe (big and small) as well. You can easily adapt the pattern for the crew length. Not all socks are made with the same width and length, you will need to adjust and hand sketches the template on the sock with a water-soluble fabric marker. Red dashed line is the sewing line, while the blue line is the cutting line.
Ankle Socks
Crew Socks
Sew the socks before cutting with a seam allowance of 1/8" – 1/4". Those marked with “X” are to be trashed away or keep as a stash for your next sock doll sewing project.
Nose
Flatten the tip of the nose and sew a straight line with curved ends.
Ears
[Top] Place the ears pieces together with right side facing each other, sew around and leave 1 inch opening at the bottom.
[Bottom] Turn right side out from the 1" opening. Sew to close the opening.
[Top] Fold the ear into halve to get the centerline, then fold 1/3 mark to the center to form the pleat (as shown in the picture).
[Bottom] Sew the bottom to secure the pleat that formed the shape of the ear.
Tail
Cut the tailpiece to 5.5" long.
Fold up the long sides and sew the tail into a long round strip.
STUFF & ASSEMBLY
All pieces of sock elephant are ready for stuffing and sewn up.
Stuff Head & Body
Stuff the nose first followed by the head. Also, stuff the feet then the body.
[update:] In order for the elephant to sit on its own, do not stuff the groin line (between the legs and the body), massage to separate the stuffing material at that area. Once the legs are able to bend, the elephant will sit on its own.
Make sure the stuffing is firm and shapeable.
Sew to gather the opening of the body in the round. Pull the thread tight to close the opening, knot the thread. Set the body aside while waiting for the head to get ready.
Bring the raw edges of the head opening together and sew to close it.
The seam line after the opening of the head is closed. It is ok if it is not perfectly sewn, this part is hidden after sewing up with the body.
Stitch Ears
Mark the position of the ear placement on both side; start at the seam line of the toe part of the sock towards the bottom of the head.
Sew to attach the ear. Sew both front and back of the ear to the head.
Bend the bottom edge of the ear down and place it at an angle of 45° backward. Sew 1" from the ear.
Repeat the ear sewing process to the other side of the ear.
Mark the eye positions of the sock elephant. Pinch your elephant with 2 fingers to find the eye positions you prefer.
Add Button Eyes
Sew a button eye on the marking, knot and insert your needle onto the head and come out from another eye. You will need a long needle to do this.
Pull the needle from another eye marking to sink the button eye deep into the head, deeper than what you prefer. Knot the thread on the marking before sewing the second button eye. The second eye will sink into the head as well due to the tension of the thread. Sew the thread back to the first eye and knot, this is to further secure the indentation of the eye.
Sew To Attach Head To The Body
Trace and cut out the toes of the sock elephant if you haven’t done it yet.
Now, all parts are ready to be put together.
Mark the sewing lines on the head and body respectively. I want the head to slightly looking down so I shift the sewing lines toward the front of the body.
Pin the head to the body and sew around.
I usually sew 2 rounds to make them hold extremely well.
How To Form Arms From The Body
Mark 2 lines at the side of the body, 2" to 2.5" apart, this is the sewing lines to make the “arm” of the sock elephant.
Sew ladder stitches between these 2 lines, don’t pull the thread yet. Besides making loose sewing, leave a long thread in between stitches along the loop.
Pull the thread gently but firmly from the long thread loop, the sock will bump up and the “arm” of the sock elephant will form.
Knot the thread.
You may sew back to further secure the stitching.
Attach Tail
Fold 1/2" at one of the ends of the tail, sew to attach it to the back of the sock elephant.
Knot the other end as shown in the picture.
Stitch On Toes
Stitch the felt toes to the feet of the sock elephant.
Spray water to the sock elephant to erase all the marking made by Water Soluble Fabric Marker. Leave to dry.
~~Done~~
Hello, I am Ella the sock elephant. How are you doing today?
Notes
Socks will be stretched after they are stuffed so thick socks that are close-knit make better quality sock elephant toys.
https://www.store.craftpassion.com/stripes-ankle-socks-denim-blue
Tip: always massage the stuffing to loosen out lumps. Long tubular parts should be rolled with both hands so any lumps will be smooth, and help to make the parts longer and firmer.
Recommended Products
Purchase the exact same material and tool used in this pattern from Craft Passion Shop.
Hi, I am having difficulty with the “arms” for the sock elephant. Does the “seam” need to be one continuous seam without any breaks? That would require a very long threaded needle and how long should the stitches be? Also what is the distance between the rows?
Thanks for your help in advance
I made about 10 stitches to the arm (referring to the above picture) and my double-strand thread was about 1 meter long. If your thread is slightly insufficient at the end of the stitches, you may pull the stitches tighter (the lump at the arm will bump up a little) but don’t pull it all the way until the marking is sunk into the crease of the arm. Waxing your thread will help to prevent thread tangling related issues.
I’ve never used button eyes before. I will be making these as Xmas gifts this year for the kids in the family. The youngest will be just under a month then. Will I have to worry about the button eyes coming off during small child use? Should I just make fabric eyes from felt and sew those on? Thank you.
Please replace the buttons with either safety eyes or with fabric eyes for baby to ake it safe for them to play with.
Making one of these at the moment for my little friend who turns 2 tomorrow. At every stage, I keep stopping to enjoy the CUTENESS!!! Super super cute! So much satisfaction making this! Thank you!!
These elephants are so cute, my grandson would love them. I think they might look even cuter to sew on pockets for their invisible hands.
That’s true, Patricia, thanks for the recommendation.
These elephants are BEYOND ADORABLE!! I just love how each one comes out with its own little personality based on the pattern on the socks.
Look cute. your hand so amazing
How are the ears supposed to attach?
Do you fold the bottom and sew it to the head? Hello please!!!
Quero agradecer-lhe sua generosidade. Muito obrigada. Que você tenha sempre iluminação para novas inspirações. Um abraço carinhoso. Obrigada, do Brasil.
Translation (by Google):
I want to thank you for your generosity. Thank you. May you always have enlightenment for new inspirations. A loving hug. Thank you, from Brazil.
You are most welcome, happy to be able to inspire you 🙂
These are adorable! Would you by chance have the tutorial for the sock bunny that is made like the elephant? I see them online but they are all in another language..
You can use the same pattern but just omit the elephant trunk, i.e., make a round head instead. Also, change the shape of the ears to a thin one.
Hello!
I have been looking for cute sock-animals for such a long time wishing to make one. Your great instruction with all the details and great tipps and tricks finaly made my dream come true! Thank you so much for all the effort you put in it!
Please feel free to use the pattern and tutorial to make as many aminals as you like.
Hello !
I would love to make the same elephant but as a sock puppet, would you have any advice to be able to make it ? (Its for a school project)
Thank you !
Hi, I’m making the elephant for a school project and I can’t get the elephant to sit down! How do you make the bottom flat? Thank you 🙂
Hi Ava, glad to know that you are sewing sock elephant for the school project. In order for the elephant to sit on its own, do not stuff the groin line (between the legs and the body), massage to separate the stuffing material at that area. Once the legs are able to bend, the elephant will sit on its own.
Hope this helps.
So cute. I know a little girl who loves elephants. I am planning on making a few for her. Thank you for you time and effort.
Dear Joanne,
you’ve put so many nice & beautiful patterns on your site, but those big, long-legged elephants are one of my favs.
But got a question though.
What kind of sock material would you recommend? I thought, cotton would be the best, but after I planned to sew an elephant this weekend & therefore went through 5 or 6 stores I literally wasn’t able to find socks without stretch.
(Okay, I could have get some, if I’d payed around 10€ & more, which is too pricey for me & a first try)
I decided to ask you first, because I haven’t any child around who could wear them if they wouldn’t be suitable.
So please tell me, Joanne & you other girls, what do you use? Are socks with some spandex okay or are they to stretchy when it comes to fill the toy?
Many thanks,
Nele
You can get the socks I sewed to make the sock elephant from Craft Passion Shop 🙂 I think I did put the link on the material list.
oh wow, may thanks for your quick reply !
I didn’t note that before, had a look for those ( & other socks you listed) & yep, they’ve got spandex in.
So I know what to buy tomorrow morning after my night shift, to be prepared for my next night off.
So many thanks again 🙂
I’m looking forward for the next cute idea you’ll present.
I need to say, that I really enjoy the easy follow instructions you make. I can imagine how many work it is to figure a project out & then writing down the thing understandable for others.
Now I’m off to try out your delicious looking Japanese cheese cake.
I’ve never baked one with cream cheese. It’s uncommon over here & I’m noisy how it’ll taste.
Enjoy our weekend Joanne, you’re a darling
♥
Nele
You are most welcome 🙂
I have a question regarding the elephant sock plush, I made one and I’m looking to make another but I really struggled with making the tail. I just can’t get how you did it! I tried sewing it then turning it inside out so the stitches didn’t show but because its so thing, it just frayed. I resorted to using a wider bit of fabric but it didn’t look the same or as good, any tips?
thin*
It is not easy to turn right-side out, but with a little patience and a pair of blunt tweezer or turning tool, you should be able to get it done. Make sure the seam allowance is not too small so that the raw edges won’t appear within the stitches. Another option is to handstitch the seam with hidden stitch, or ladder stitch or slip stitch.
Hi, I’ve had a go at making some elephants and was wondering how you get their trunk to curl under…mine hang straight down.
Hi Diana, I find that stuffing the nose densely helps in making the trunk curl under. The logic behind is that the sock material stretched out with the heavy stuffing while the stitches on the seam restrain the seamline to expend thus it will curl under.
I would like your input and help with a sock puppet. The school I work for would like to teach the kids how to make one for the school. Hopefully using our mascot. Please email me directly so we may speak if you have time. I love your designs.
thank you
I made one sox elephant that that my grandson will love. Thank you for the instructions.
I have tried several times and can not get the pattern. Is there another way to access it.
Hi Marilyn, I have fixed the link to the pattern page, please click again to go there. If you are still unable to get it, please clear your browsing cache or click this link directly. Sorry for the inconvenient caused.
Thank you! Love elephants and these are adorable!!!!
so creative, cute, and original !! *:P tongue
dodie
Your elephants are amazing! Pattern is well written and great photos. I definitely have to give this a try.
So cute! They brought a big smile to me ! Thanks for the pattern, will try it soon. Regards from South Africa.