Isn’t it cool to have your very own handmade stuffed sloth? Let’s get started on making your own sloth stuffed animal out of socks. Smie, the sock sloth measures 16 inches from head to toe and is made from chenille socks; it has three claws on each limb, large sleepy eyes, and a lovable grin.
We now have three sloths at home! Yes, three stuffed sloth that I’ve always wanted to make. I’ve always wanted to own a sloth, not a real one (which, by the way, is an endangered species), but a plush sloth stuffed animal that is cute and cuddly and requires less upkeep.
When I saw a baby sloth for the first time in a television documentary a few years ago, I immediately fell in love with this creature that moved very slowly and with great lethargy.
The expressions on its face, particularly its eyes and smiles, as well as the way it moved, immediately won my heart. The sloth exemplified the definition of adorable.
Because sloths move so slowly, people want to carry them so they can get them to their destination sooner rather than letting them take their sweet time on the ground.
Did you know that sloths are a helpless and vulnerable species? That is why we must save them before they become extinct!
Smie, the three toed sloth stuffed animal, is a plush toy that measures 16 inches in length and is created by sewing together a pair of striped chenille socks.
You may follow our option of using brown/khaki stripes or black/gray stripes for the stripes on Smie. Or choose your preferred colors of socks to sew them.
The sock sloth has three felt toes on each of its limbs, and the felt is a beige color.
Smie’s face is characterized by a wide grin and a pair of large, goggle-like eyes that are marked with brown.
Putting magnets on his limbs will give him more ways to pose, making him so much more fun to play with.
This cute little guy, Smie came into my life on a warm sunny day. Amidst the sounds of happy children playing and birds singing, there is another rather peculiar, dragging sound. Where could it be coming from? Wait, there’s another sound, this time of leaves rustling together as if they are chattering about how beautiful today’s weather is. The scraping and rustling sounds seem to be coming from somewhere high up in the trees, but it’s hard to tell. After all, what else is up there other than bird nests and leaves, right?
And then, from behind a curtain of leaves, Smie emerges with his family.
Sew Smie and start playing with your own stuffed sloth!
His mother never lets him or his brothers leave the tree. The reason for it as its leaves keep them away from the prying eyes of humans who live in the outside world. Mom always says that sloths can only go out as a family, so it’s safer and more fun.
As a little wild animal in the woodland, Smie has always been curious about humans, and today the sloth family left their tree home to come into mine. Now, Smie and his brothers are snuggled in their blankets where it is nice and warm.
Smie has magnets on his limbs and he is able to do all these poses. You can also stick your sock sloth to any metal surface for fun, such as a metal noticeboard, refrigerator door, or whiteboard. Smie and his family make an excellent home and craft room display.
Let’s play with Smie and family!
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.
- If you know how to crochet, check out Smie’s cousin, Sill, the crochet sloth.
Sock Sloth Stuffed Animal Sewing Pattern
Let’s get started on making your own sloth stuffed animal out of socks. Smie, the sock sloth measures 16 inches from head to toe and is made from chenille socks; it has three claws on each limb, large sleepy eyes, and a lovable grin.
Enjoy sewing them!
Download and print separately SEWING PATTERN for the eyes, ears, and pattern for drawing the sock.
Materials
- Microfiber chenille sock, brown stripes, 1 pair
- Button eye 9 mm, black, 2; or equivalent button (eyes)
- Button eye 15 mm, black, 1; or equivalent button (nose)
- White felt – 1″ x 1.5″
- Beige felt, 3″ x 24″
- Brown felt, 1.5″ x 5″
- Brown embroidery floss
- Poly-fill stuffing material
- Super strong round magnets, 0.5″ diameter, 4 pieces (optional)
- Sewing threads (matching colors)
- Sock Sloth Pattern Template
- Paper or card stock for template printing
Tools
- Sewing machine. You can also hand-sew, if you prefer
- Long Sewing Needle (about 2") and pins
- Scissors
- Water Soluble Fabric Marker
- Iron
- Printer
Instructions
How To Sew Sloth Stuffed Animal
- Preparation.
Get together all of the things on the list above. Before you sew your socks, you should always wash them first. Turn the sock inside out and iron it.
I used a strong circle magnet instead of the black hook-and-loop strips (Velcro) to the left of the circle magnet. Socks don't work well with the hooks on Velcro strips, so please don't use it for this project. - Trace, Sew & Cut.
Download and print out the Sock Sloth Pattern Template. Make templates for the face, claws and eye markings with card stock.
Flip the socks inside out and lay them flat, like the picture shows.
If you are using stripe chenille socks, line up the stripes and pin them.
Trace the pattern on the socks and felts, one at a time.
Cut out the pieces of felt for the face and eyes.
Leave the rest of the beige felt for the claws and do what the next step says.
Sew the socks together along the red dashed lines in the templates to form your sock sloth's head, arms, body, and legs.
Cut the pieces along the blue lines.
Keep the remaining sock fabrics to wrap the magnets if you choose to use them. - Make Claws
To make sewing up the 12 claws easier, I traced only 12 claws (rather than the 24 stated in the template) and laid the balance of the felt under it, sewing around the traced line of the claws except the opening.
Cut out the claws with a 1/16′′ seam allowance.
Turn the claws with blunt-point tweezers or leave them as-is if you find it difficult.
Stuff them tightly with Poly-fill stuffing. Fill the tip of the claw before stuffing it completely.
Pin the claws together as shown in the picture, and hand-stitch along the red zig-zag lines.
Keep in mind that the sock sloth's claws are arched. Make sure the claws are arched the right way before you put them in the opening of the legs and sew them (next step). With the body and legs piece still wrong-side out and the back facing up, place the arched claws on the leg with the claw-tip arched up.
Put the claws through the opening in the leg, line them up, and sew them to the leg. Repeat these 2 steps for the other leg.
Sew the claws to the arms too.
When you look at the sock sloth from the front, the claw should be curved down after you turn the body right side out. - Stuffing
Now, turn the head, arms, and body pieces right-side-out and stuff them with poly-fill until the lower arms, lower body, and legs are firm and dense. Lightly firm in the upper arms and upper body.
Stuff and round out the head.
Close the openings with stitches.
Massage and roll the parts with both hands to smooth out the lumps in the poly-fill stuffing material and give the parts a nice shape. - Sew Face Features
Place the face felt piece on the head, slightly lower than the center of the head. Hand-stitch it on.
Place the white eye felt pieces on the template's markings, pin or sew a small stitch around the top edge.
Sew the black eye button to the white half of the eye at the top.
Repeat the same steps to attach the other eye.
Place the brown part of the eye on the face, so that the cut slit shows the bottom half of the white and button eye. Use pins and brown thread or embroidery floss to sew around the edges.
Stitch a line along the top to give the sock sloth a double eyelid and a "chill out and take it easy" look.
After that, sew the nose button on and embroider the smiling mouth to complete the sock sloth's head. - Sew Head To Body
Before you sew the head to the body, draw two circles of the same size at the bottom of the head and the top of the body.
You will then make slip stitches along these lines to connect the head to the body.
Keep the circle small so the head can move around it easily. - Sew Arms To Body
To finish the sock sloth, sew the arms to the body, which is the last part of sewing.
Spray water on the finished sock sloth to get rid of the marker marks. - Add Magnet (Optional)
Cut a circle out of the sock fabric (must be larger than the magnet).
Wrap the sock around the magnet, then sew it together. Cut away any extra sock to make it look better.
Sew the magnet with the cover onto Smie.
Repeat for the other 3 magnets.
Tip: Pay attention to how the magnets are oriented and put them together so that the palms and feet attract each other.
Notes
Seam Allowance: Allow yourself about 1/8" or 1/4" (you need bigger seam allowance for loose-knit and thinner sock materials because they can be ripped off easily)
Socks will be stretched after being stuffed, so thick, close-knit socks make a better sloth stuffed animal.
Always massage the stuffing to break up lumps. Long tubular parts should be rolled with both hands to smooth out any lumps and make the parts longer and firmer.
Get the full articles at https://www.craftpassion.com/how-to-sew-sock-sloth/
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T.C.527
Friday 2nd of June 2023
When printing the template, how exactly do you enlarge to 167%? When I do that, it doesnt print the entire template. Is the 2" scale on the 2nd page for both pages or just page 2? Newbie here, sorry for all the questions.
Craft Passion
Thursday 8th of June 2023
You only need to enlarge the first page with 167%. You can do it via photocopier machine, some printers do offer printing the enlarged page by section. However, it is not compulsory to print the first page as it is just a guide. For page 2, it is already in 100% size. After printing out with 100% size, check the 2" scale marking. If the measurement is not 2", then you are not printing it in correct scale. Hope this explained, otherwise, please let me know. Happy sewing.
Susan Gorman
Sunday 14th of March 2021
I would love to make the Smie sloth but I can’t use my printer right now is there anyway that I could by the pattern and have it sent to me ? SusanGorman
Darlene
Friday 18th of September 2020
My heavens your patterns are all sweet. It is very kind of you to allow folks to make and sell this sweet Sloth, "giving you credit of course" is the nice thing to do. I love it so much. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS
Darlene Nova Scotia
Sloth Amigurumi - Free Crochet Pattern | Craft Passion
Sunday 23rd of August 2020
[…] all started with me wanting to have my own sloth plushie toy to cuddle. So, I sewed a sock sloth named Smie a few months ago. I had so much fun with that one, I went on to crochet a sloth amigurumi and […]
Johanna
Saturday 18th of January 2020
So sew the lines first then cut? I think that’s how I’m reading it
Craft Passion
Wednesday 22nd of January 2020
Yes, sew then cut, easier this way.