The Craft Passion library has a new member, and it’s none other than Ruki the sock raccoon. Say hello to this chubby, bushy-tailed, hairy-looking guy with the trademark dark circles around its eyes. If you look closely, you would be able to see the slight stripes on the fur coat, as it darts back and forth in the grass chasing its favourite toy – glass marbles.
What’s special about Craft Passion sock raccoon Ruki is that it comes in different shades of gray or brown, so there’s plenty of room to be creative. One sock raccoon can be sewn to look totally different from another, and before you know it, you’ll have a stuffed raccoon army in your home to play with!
Sock Raccoon – Free Sewing Pattern
scroll ⬇️ to get the free pattern & tutorial
Sock raccoon Ruki is about 8” tall, made from a pair of microfiber chenille socks, some felt, a pair of button eyes, button nose and black embroidery floss. Stuff it with polyester filling material so its shape will hold. To make it easy, read the tutorial below and download the free printable pattern template from there.
The best days to find raccoons are sunny days. That’s exactly how I found sock raccoon Ruki and brother Rokko, rolling their glass marbles on the green lawn.
“Let’s play glass marbles!” said Ruki.
“I don’t know how to,” replied Rokko. “Teach me.”
“Sure, it’s easier than you think. Let me show you,” and Ruki, taking a glass marble and with a flick of the paw, sent it rolling towards two others with a clink. “The idea is to use one marble to hit two others. The further away they roll from each other, the better!”
“Let me try,” Rokko said, excitedly. After many tries, he got the hang of it, and pretty soon, both of them were competing amid much laughter.
“You’re doin’ it, bro!” exclaimed Ruki, his tail whisking left and right in happiness.
“Yes, and it’s all thanks to you,” replied Rokko. “Now I want to do this everyday with you.” His eyes glistened with glee within their dark circles.
Ruki nodded his head in agreement. “But now, we have to make it a real competition, okay? With a winner and a loser, too.”
Rokko laughed, his nose twiching in happiness.
“Bring it on,” they both said in unison.
And that’s what sock racoon Ruki and brother Rokko have been doing every day since then.
Now, I know that if I can’t find them anywhere, I just need to go down to the meadow and listen out for the clink-clink of glass marbles hitting each other. Earlier today, they were both together again, bushy-tailed and clinking away with their paws. They were so engrossed in their game that they didn’t see their friend Smie the sock sloth slinking up behind them, spying on the playing sock raccoons.
Let’s leave them alone to their game. After all, it’s the weekend and all sock animals deserve to have some fun, right?
Hope you enjoy sewing this stuffed raccoon while continue spying on Ruki and Rokko as they play with their glass marbles. Clink-clink-clink go the marbles as the sock raccoons laugh all day long.
Sock Raccoon Sewing Pattern
Say hello to Ruki, the Sock Raccoon, the chubby, bushy-tailed, hairy-looking guy with the trademark dark circles around its eyes. If you look closely, you would be able to see the slight stripes on the fur coat, as it darts back and forth in the grass chasing its favorite toy - glass marbles.
Sock raccoon Ruki is about 8” tall, made from a pair of microfiber chenille socks, some felt, a pair of button eyes, button nose, and black embroidery floss. Stuffed with polyester filling material so its shape will hold.
Enjoy sewing it and make a bunch from different socks!
Download and print the SEWING PATTERN & TEMPLATE separately.
Materials
- Microfiber chenille socks, Brown/Gray stripes, or Black/Gray stripes, 1 pair
- Button eye 9 mm, black, 2; or equivalent button (as the eyes)
- Button eye 15 mm, black, 1; or equivalent button (as the nose)
- White felt, 7″ x 4″
- Gray felt, 4″ x 2″
- Black embroidery floss
- Poly-fill stuffing material
- Sewing threads (matching colors)
- Sock Raccoon Template
Tools
- Sewing machine. You can also hand-sew it 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
- Printer and card stock for templates
Instructions
HOW TO SEW RUKI SOCK RACCOON
- PREPARATION:
Download and print out the Sock Raccoon Template on a letter-size cardstock. Cut out the paper templates from the cardstock.
Gather the materials and tools needed to sew the sock raccoon. Remove the elastic bands at the cuff edge of the socks.
Turn the sock inside out, flatten and lay the sock as shown in the picture, align the stripes pattern so that they are lined up in both top and bottom layers. Pin.
- TRACE & DRAW:
Trace the sock raccoon templates on the sock as shown in the picture with a water-soluble fabric marker, or, you may use a silver permanent marker to lightly trace the line on the darker color socks. Since not all socks are made in the same size, sometimes you might need to adjust and hand sketch the template on the sock if needed.
- SEW & CUT:
Sew along the traced lines with either using a sewing machine or hand stitch.
Cut out the sock pieces with approx. 1/8″ – 1/4″ seam allowance. Felt pieces do not need any seam allowance, just cut them out following the traced lines.
Turn all pieces right side out and stuff them with adequate poly-fill stuffing material, massage, and shape it nicely. A pair of blunt point tweezers will be of good help to insert the stuffing material into smaller parts like the tail and the arms.
- STUFF & SHAPE:
Body:
Stuff both legs densely to make them round and firm.
Then stuff the lower body densely, slowly reduce the density as you fill. Shape the body into a pear shape.
If you want to make the sock raccoon that can sit on its own, do not fill the upper legs that link to the body. By doing this, the legs are able to bend better. Also, shaping the bottom of the body flat with a bigger base will help the sock raccoon to sit properly on its own.
Sew to gather the raw edge and close the top opening once you have done the stuffing and shaping.
Head:
Stuff the head densely with the stuffing material. Sew to gather the raw edge and to close the opening.
Shape the head to a round shape. The head should be slightly bigger than the bottom of the body for cuteness proportion.
Arms:
Stuff the arms densely at the front tip, slowly reduce the density towards the opening. Sew to gather the raw edge and to close the opening.
Shape the arm by rolling it with both palms to make it round at the tip and slender towards the opening.
The left arm in the picture is before shaping, the right arm in the picture is shaped.
Tail:
Stuff the tail lightly just to create a puffy tail.
Fold in the raw edges, slip stitch them to close the opening.
Ears:
Do not stuff the ears. Just fold-in the raw edges, slip stitch them to close the opening.
- SEW FACE FEATURES:
Cut out felt pieces to make the eye markings of the sock raccoon.
Place the gray piece of the white eye marking piece, align them, pin. Sew around with matching color thread.
Place the muzzle on the eye marking piece, align, and pin. Sew with matching color at those places that are in contact with the eye marking piece.
Place the eye marking and muzzle piece to the head of the sock raccoon, slightly lower than the center of the head. Pin.
Starting from the bottom, sew around the eye marking piece until you are at the bottom of the muzzle, leaving about 1/2″ opening. Stuff the muzzle with stuffing material densely through the opening until the muzzle is raised.
Continue to sew to close the opening.
Add a philtrum line at the center of the muzzle with black embroidery floss then sew on the 15mm button nose.
Begin and end all the sewing knots at the bottom center of the head which will be hidden when the head is joined to the body.
Sew on the 9mm button eyes, you may add some white of eye underneath the button by gluing a tiny piece of white felt in the shape of a crescent, this is optional.
- ASSEMBLY:
All parts are ready for assembly.
Ears:
Pin the ears to the head, arced the base of the ears a little to make them look natural. Check the position of the ears before sewing to make sure that they are at the same height and same depth. Sew the ears to the head by stitching around the base where it touches the head.
This is the top view of the head and the position of the ears looking down from the top.
Sew Head To The Body:
Pin and sew the head to the body. Keep a small contact point at the join of 1″ – 1.5″ diameter, this is to reserve some space for the arms to fit into the area.
Sew Arms To The Body:
Pin the arms to the space between the head and the body. Sew the arms at those places that in contact with the head and body.
Sew Tail To The Body:
Lastly, sew the tail to the back of the sock raccoon.
Spray the sock raccoon with water to erase all the visible blue marking if needed, leave it to dry.
By now, you may have many sock animals in your collection. Sew this sock raccoon Ruki and friends, to add to your craft family. The free sewing pattern for the raccoon toy is right here, all you need to do is download and print it out. If you have never sewed a sock animal toy yet, make Ruki the sock raccoon your 1st! And very soon, you will be busy sewing all the rest too.
Try sewing the sock raccoon’s friends like Smie the sock sloth or try a crochet version of the stuffed raccoon here.
Meantime, let’s continue spying on Ruki and Rokko as they play with their glass marbles. Clink-clink-clink goes the marbles as the sock raccoons laugh all day long.
Notes
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 animals, 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.
Recommended Products
Purchase the exact same material and tool used in this pattern from Craft Passion Shop.
Could you do a video to help and explain so it’s easy to do cause I’m way confused.
I cannot get the directions fir tge Raccoon to print. I got the template but not the directions. Can you help me? Thank you
I have a question. I don’t see a body pattern for the raccoon. Do I use a body pattern from another animal?
There isn’t any body template given because the body is the whole width of the socks, the length of the body depends on how much you have after taken up by other templates.
I love making sock toys! Thank you so much for sharing your creative patterns and easy to follow directions.
Happy sewing, Judy!!!
Thank you so much for sharing these patterns. They are adorable!!!
C’est adorable !
Merci beaucoup pour ces explications.
So cute. Thanks so much
love these guys! Thanks for the tutorial!
This is so adorable !