Customer Reviews

Stray Sock Sewing: Making One of a Kind Creatures from Socks

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Stop! If you are thinking about buying this book solely because of the picture of the sock cat on the cover (the reason why I bought it), then you should reconsider your purchase. "Stray Sock Sewing" is yet another one of those highly irritating craft books that include photos of dozens of items that you would just love to make, but only give instructions for one or two of them (and never the one that you've fallen in love with). Yes, that's right; the instructions for the cat doll are NOT included in this book. Admittedly, an experienced sewer should be able to make their own cat doll from the photographs given, but that's not the same as working from instructions and it doesn't help beginners.

What is included in this book is a very cute and very well presented 62 page gallery of 22 of the author's sock creations, all photographed in full colour and in adorable poses. This is followed by a general section on the sewing stitches and techniques necessary to make sock dolls (making this book appropriate for beginners) and then instructions on how to make 8 different sock creatures, most of which were not included in the gallery at the front of the book.

The instructions given in this book are actually very good. They are clear and each step is accompanied by a colour photograph that shows exactly what is required there. If such instructions were given for each toy presented in this book, then I would probably have given this book either 4 or 5 stars. The only misgiving I have about these instructions are that they frequently depend on the use of a particular style of sock which I suspect might either be difficult to obtain, or expensive if you can find it. Nevertheless, because instructions are not given for all of the toys, I couldn't help but feeling ripped off by this book and as a result, my rating of this book went down accordingly.

It's kind of amazing how many books there are about making toys out of socks. This one is distinctive because of the author's ability to make sock animals that are---dare I say it--art. They are expressive, playful and fun. The cute/winsome factor of the photographs is off the charts. Can an ordinary crafter achieve comparable results? Maybe, maybe not. But the book is inspiring nonetheless. If you enjoy this sort of thing (and someone in my household really does enjoy this sort of thing), the book is worth having just as a gallery of inspiration and possibility. As a free-form crafter myself, I liked that he didn't use plain socks, which would be easier to find; instead he often worked with the kind of weird, embellished socks that seem to always end up without a mate.

My 13 year old daughters just loved this book! The gallery of photos are amazing and such an inspiration for the very creative. I purchased Stray Sock Sewing by Daniel from a craft club's website. The cover is different than the one Amazon shows. I can't confirm that the contents of the books are identical; i.e., photos, instructions, etc. or that they are the same editions. I did find that the instructions lacked enough detail for the beginner. However, with a little imagination and intermediate sewing skills the sock critters are easy to re-create . The book is worth the purchase. A great gift for mother and daughter projects.

I wish I had read the reviews before purchasing this book.
I, too fell in love with the purple cat on the cover. But the instructions for him (and many others) are not in the book. I suggest you purchase a used book. There are some great things to make, complete with instructions, but more than half of the items pictured have no instructions! Hey Daniel! What are you doing to us? I wanted to make an elephant he shows....but no instructions! Very frustrating.

After twenty years working in the advertising agency, author Daniel wanted to do something different with his creative energy. He began creating stuffed creatures with stray socks. Years of crafting these creatures for his personal pleasure and his experience with teaching others to do so in workshops led him to produce this book for home crafters to use to teach themselves STRAY SOCK SEWING.

Part One has 75 pages of photos of Daniel's sock dolls in humorous poses indoors and outdoors. I'd describe these dolls as happy, cheerful, bright and sweet. They look new, bright, clean, and tight (versus grungy, scrappy, messy or slouchy). Nearly all are creative interpretations of real animals that exist in real life, some are hybrid combinations of two animals, and a small number are figments of his imagination . Only one is a silly monster (reminding me of the STUPID SOCK CREATURES book and creations of John Murphy). Daniel uses colorful socks including socks with patterns or socks with printed graphics on them such as socks for girls with butterflies or flowers on them. Daniel also uses striped socks and incorporates brand names or numbers on the creatures. When the socks are plain, Daniel adds texture and visuals with hand embroidery. Interesting buttons are used for eyes and other body parts or accents.

Part Two has 15 pages of how to directions with many photographs showing each step in the process. The writing is well done, the photos are useful and there are many tips that Daniel has learned through trial and error and finding what works best.

Part Three is 60 pages of step by step instructions in text and photographs for eight projects.

This is an example of green crafting, taking something that would normally be thrown away, a stray sock, adding some thread and embroidery floss, some old buttons and some new stuffing and making something new and original from it. Although after seeing the interesting socks that the author has used you may wind up shopping for new, colorful socks in order to make some sock dolls!

It seems that "stuffies" or "plushies" or "softies" (or whatever else they are being called), whether from new materials or from reused materials destined for the trash is a fad at the moment, with a number of books on the market giving ideas and tutorials on how to make them. Each book has the individual style of the author and this book is no exception, therefore if the creatures in this book appeal to you will qualify as a "must own" or at least a "must read". It was STUPID SOCK CREATURES that introduced me to the idea of using stray or hole-y socks to make imaginative sock monsters with more of an edgy look. The dolls in STRAY SOCK SEWING are almost opposite looking sweet and cute and mostly fun interpretations of wild animals and pets.

The photos are inspirational and the tutorials are well done. As with all crafting books the projects may be done step by step to learn the technique or the crafter may just glean the information from the tutorials then go off to create their own unique stuffed dolls from stray socks, it's up to the crafter how they want to use this workshop-in-a-book!

I was a little taken back by the reviews that said they were hoping to have more instruction on the dolls, although it is true that the instructions for sewing come at the back of the book and they are not instructions for all of the animals shown. I think that with the instructions given, a person could design his or her own one-of-a-kind creations. If you are in a hurry to have one of the examples shown in the book, probably I would select one of the ones with full instructions from the back of the book. The others can be done, but might take a bit of practice and trial-and-error. The Lace Rabbit is one with full instructions that would be a good gift. Of the ones that instructions aren't actually given, I like the duck (p. 16 and 17), although it would take a little figuring to make it come out right, and there aren't instructions for the arm-less dolls, like the pigeon, seal and duck. All in all, I like this book and it has a lot of ideas for making sock creatures.

I love making sock animals so I thought this book would be perfect to help me along. Unfortunately I was wrong. I gave it two stars because pictures were amazing of the cute sock animals. But as for the patterns (the whole reason I bought the book) it left a lot to be desired. There's only a few patterns and not many are featured in the pictures in the beginning. If I buy a book that tells you how to make something I expect all the things shown to have patterns in the book. Not a gallery of someone elses work. So back it went to the store.

I bought this book a while ago but didn't pull it out until last week. . .and now I can't stop making sock dolls! The goal of this book isn't to tell you how to make the same dolls Daniel makes. . .it's to show you how to make YOUR dolls! The instructions, which are excellent and extremely well illustrated, cover basic doll making and several different types of dolls, but don't replicate the dolls in his fantastic photo gallery. It's easy enough to do that, if you want, once you've made one or two, but what's the fun in replicating what someone else has already done?

Use this book as a springboard and see how high YOU can fly!

fantastic book. walks u thru how to create snuggly treasures. easy to follow pictures and directions. will give you a great start to doll making and its techniques.

This is a great and easy craft book for anyone with basic sewing skills. Many people are saying they're upset because there's no pattern for the cat on the cover, but it is fairly easy to figure out once you've made the patterns provided (I think, anyway). There are a few creatures pictured with no instructions, but they are likewise simple to devise patterns for with trial and error, if nothing else.
SO, get this book for the great patterns it DOES have, and then try to figure out other ones..or better yet, make up your own as the book is about fostering creativity.
Get it!