Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! Meet the Browie sock owl stuffed animal and family, another sock animal creation to add to the selection of sock stuffed animal patterns and tutorials in Craft Passion.
When it comes to birds, I am a big fan of the owl. There’s something about them that makes them adorable. Is it their big, big eyes? Or the way their heads can swivel around almost magically? Whatever it is, I got inspired to design this family of sock owls.
Say “Hi” To Browie & Family,
The New Owl Stuffed Animal Sewing Pattern!
The Browie stuffed owl family has a distinctive appearance – prominent eyebrows that connect to the ears, an orange beak, and a pair of very short feet that are hidden by their big tummies. Mummy Browie is grey with purple spots, while Daddy Browie, also grey, has white chickenpox-like scars all over his front. Their offspring somehow have red, white, black, and yellow stripes!
Sock Owl Stuffed Animal
scroll ⬇️ to get the free sewing pattern & tutorial
The Browie owl family came into the craft room on a cold night, with no stars that could be seen in the cloud-filled sky. Even the moon was nowhere to be found. It was still early in the night, but every house was already brightly lit. Dogs and cats curled up in their beds or cages, and baby birds snuggled up in their nests. Even the mice and crickets were quiet for once. Then, in the midst of all the silence …..
“Hoot! Hoot!”
What was that?
“Hoot! Hoot!”
This time it sounded different, slightly deeper. What could it be?
“Hoot! Hoot!”
And this time it sounded higher, like a baby version of the first two hoots.
An owl hooting! How wonderful, I thought to myself. I decided to follow the sound to see where it could possibly be coming from.
Past two houses…
Across the street…
Right up to an apple tree…
Ah, there was the nest. Were there eggs? No, the nest was empty except for some broken pieces of eggshells. That must mean the eggs have hatched and the baby owl must be somewhere along with its family nearby.
“HOOT! HOOT!” That was loud and really close! I looked up and there they were.
The Browie owl family! Daddy Browie and Mommy Browie are patiently teaching Baby Browie and his siblings how to fly. Baby Browie almost lost his balance a few times, but after a few tries, he finally took off flying and his proud parents flew after him.
On a cold quiet night, we watched Baby Browie owl take his first flight. How cool is that? Now, I am completely committed to making the Browie sock owl family so they have made a new home in my craft room.
This sock owl stuffed animal can sit (or stand) well on any flat surface, by stuffing a bean pack at the bottom of its tummy. Leave out the bean pack and string it up, and the Browie sock owl will be a hanging ornament for your craft room, bedroom, in the car, or even on your bicycle handles.
WHAT’S NEXT:
- Start sewing and share your completed handmade on Facebook and/or Instagram. Remember to tag us, @craftpassion, so that we are able to see them.
- Pin it to Pinterest for a future To-Sew List
- Share with your sewing groups for a sew-along event.
- Learn more about the basics of hand sewing and how to choose a sewing machine for beginners.
- Browse more free sewing patterns and stuffed animals to make, especially animals that are sewn from socks.
- Make other owl-like crafts with these free owl patterns & tutorials:
How To Sew Owl Stuffed Animal
Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! Meet the Browie sock owl family, another sock softie creation to add to the selection of sock stuffed animal patterns and tutorials in Craft Passion.
The Browie sock owl family has a distinctive appearance – prominent eyebrows that connect to the ears, an orange beak, and a pair of very short feet which are hidden by their big tummies. Mummy Browie is grey with purple spots, while Daddy Browie, also grey, has white chickenpox-like scars all over his front. Their offspring somehow have red, white, black, and yellow stripes!
This sock owl toy can sit (or stand) well on any flat surface, by stuffing a bean pack at the bottom of its tummy. Leave out the bean pack and string it up, and the Browie sock owl will be a hanging ornament for your craft room, bedroom, in the car or even on your bicycle handles.
Materials
- Sock (crew length), 1 pair. You can substitute 1 side with a plain white sock for bean pack; or use 1 pair of ankle-length socks. The pretty socks are available at Craft Passion Shop.
- White felt (for the white of the eye)
- Orange felt or orange sock scrap (for the beak)
- Button eye 1/2″ [13mm], black, 2; or felt
- Poly-fill stuffing material
- Stuffing beans or silica beads (for bean pack)
- Sewing threads (matching colors)
Tools
- Sewing machine. You can also hand-sew if you prefer
- Long Sewing Needle (about 2") and pins
- Erasable fabric marker
- Scissors
- Blunt point tweezers
Instructions
HOW TO SEW BROWIE SOCK OWL
- PREPARATION & CUT:
Gather the materials and tools needed to sew the sock owl.
Cut the foot part of a colored sock as shown in the picture for the owl.
Cut about 4″ from the toe on another side of the sock or use a plain white sock. This is for the silica beads bean pack (optional).
Cut 2 pieces of white felt into a 1″ circle for the white of the eye.
Cut 1 piece of orange felt or sock into an asymmetrical diamond shape for the beak, as shown in the picture.
- MAKE BEAN PACK (OPTIONAL):
1.) Sew a running stitch around the raw edge of the silica beads bean pack sock.
2.) Fill with silica beads or rice or other similar materials.
3.) Fill 2/3 and pull the thread to close the opening, knot.
4.) Make a few stitches between the centers (top and bottom) of the bean pack. Pull thread and knot. Cut thread.
This is how the flat round bean pack looks like.
- SEW & STUFF:
Body:
1.) Stuff the 1/2 of the colored sock with poly-fill, this is the head of the sock owl.
2.) Cover the bean pack with some poly-fill and stuff, this is the body of the sock owl. Make sure the bean pack is at the center bottom of the base so that the sock owl can sit properly.
3.) Sew running stitches around the raw edge.
4.) Pull thread to close the opening. Push the raw edges into the sock and pull to tighten up the opening. Knot. If you can still see a small hole, sew a round of running stitch again near to the hole, pull and knot to close the gap.
The basic shape of the sock owl. You will notice 2 distinct bumps on top and bottom respectively. Use your hand to shape poly-fill so that the shape is symmetrical and smooth.
Wings: 1.) Turn the lower leg part of the sock to the wrong side. Pin. Draw 2 semi-circles on the sock with a pen.
2.) Either hand-sew or machine-sew the curve side of the semi-circles. Cut them out and slit an opening on the folded edge of the sock.
3.) Turn right side out and stuff with poly-fill. Turn the raw edges in and slip stitch to close the opening.
4.) Ignore this picture, it will be explained in Step 4.
- ASSEMBLY:
Make Eyebrows:
Draw out the eyebrows and ears stitching lines on the sock as shown in the picture. The lines are symmetrical on both front and back, left and right.
This pattern will give thicker and fuller eyebrows and ears. If you want a thinner shape, reduce the distance between the top and bottom line by bringing the bottom line closer to the upper line.
1.) The top view of the stitching line drawing.
2.) Sew ladder stitches between these 2 lines. Tip: When you make the second stitch up to the upper line, remember to always pass your needle through the thread near the knot, this is to catch the knot so that it won’t accidentally pull out from the sock. Always do this when you sew.
3.) Pull the thread to bring the knot into the sock and continue sewing. Don’t pull the thread until you have finished sewing all the ladder stitches on one of the brows.
4.) Now, pull the thread in stages starting at a few stitches from the beginning point, pull to make the eyebrows to bump up and ears to form. Pull gently but firmly till the end, don’t break the thread. Knot, cut the thread, and hide the knot into the sock.
This is how the eyebrows connecting to the ears of the sock owl looks.
Sew Eyes & Beaks:
1.) Position the white felt on the owl’s face. Pin and sew around.
2.) Position and orange beak between the white felt, pin.
3.) Sew the orange beak with slip stitches while turning the raw edges into the beak. If you find this a little too challenging, you can try felt but felt won’t give great bump shape for the beak.
4.) Stuff some poly-fill into the beak, use a pair of blunt tweezers to push the poly-fill in. Continue to sew to close the gap.
This is how the face of the owl looks like with the eye and the beak being sewed.
Position the black button within the white felt eye and sew it with a few secured stitches. In order to make the eyes “sink” into the white of the eye, bring the needle to the back of the owl.
Insert the needle back to the same place where it came out and bring the needle out to the button eye again. Pull to tighten the eye button and sink into the sock. Knot.
Repeat the same to the next eye and make sure they are sinking at the same level.
This is how the eyes look like. Different positions of the eyes will give different character looks of the owl, for example – crossed-eye look.
Sew Wings:
(Ignore picture 1 to 3 which already explained in Step 3)
4.) Position the wings with the wing slant down towards the back of the body. Pin and slip stitch around to sew them onto the owl’s body. - COMPLETE:
The completed sock owl. Did you notice that the eye positions have changed slightly? The owl’s expression has changed from a crooked-eye look to a more serious look and its eyes are straighter.
Do you love Browie, the sock owl?
Say "Hi" to Baby Bowie as well.
Use baby socks to make the sock owl chick with the same method. Resize the white felt and orange sock for the eyes and beak so they’re proportionate to the size of the chick. You may also use smaller buttons for the black of the eyes too.
Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! Happy “owling”!
Notes
BEAN PACK: The bean pack is for the sitting/standing sock owl. Omit the bean pack if yours is a hanging ornament.
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.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO HAND DRAWN PATTERN? Not all socks are the same size, so I can’t provide a standard printable template for this sock animal. The best way to proceed is to sketch out the sewing line by referring to the pictures.
DOLL SIZES: For different sizes of sock animal, use different sizes of socks.
SOCK CHOICE: Socks will be stretched after they are stuffed so thick socks that are close-knit make better quality sock sheep toys.
SEAM ALLOWANCE: 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
STUFFING: 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.
Get the full article at https://www.craftpassion.com/how-to-sew-sock-owl/
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Purchase the exact same material and tool used in this pattern from Craft Passion Shop.
Nytowl223
Friday 12th of November 2021
I wonder... has anyone tried to adapt this to use rice, so one could use it as a rice heating pad? I think I'd Iike to try it. I'd use the biggest sock I could find, or maybe use a sleeve from a t-shirt or sweater. I'm all the time wanting a rice heat pad, but never got to doing one, because they just looked like ugly... lumps. If I can try to adapt this pattern to make an owl be one... well, whooo knows? It might just work!
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Saturday 1st of August 2020
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josiane
Sunday 2nd of December 2018
Bonjour , je suis en admiration de toutes ses belles choses que je vois par ici , j'aimerais en faire certains j'espère pouvoir faire traduire en français car je ne parle pas anglais , merci merci c'est tellement beau .Bon dimanche
Translation (by Google): Hello, I'm in awe of all his beautiful things that I see here, I would like to do some I hope I can translate into French because I do not speak English, thank you thank you it's so beautiful. Good Sunday
Lauran Coton
Wednesday 28th of November 2018
I love your awesome website design and your content. I am a baker and enjoy making muffins on weekends when time allows me to cook.
Ivory Tenorio
Thursday 15th of November 2018
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