All designs in this book may be used to make sock toys for gifts or for sale by individuals or organizations. It is not necessary to secure permission from the publisher.
However, no part of the text or any design illustrations may be reproduced by any printing process without the permission of the publisher, with the exception of brief quotations used for reviews in other publications.
Copyright 1958
Pack-O-Fun
741 Devon Avenue
Park Ridge, Illinois
uncaptioned
To a Monkey....
Whereby This Tale Is Hung
This book is dedicated to a monkey, a whimsical little fellow whose body is a sock and whose heart is hidden somewhere in cotton stuffing. During the summer and early fall of 1955 several of our friends and readers of Pack-O-Fun magazine wrote to us about him. We learned that instructions on how to make him could be had from the Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford, Illinois. We received permission to reprint the instructions and thus our new friend, the Red Heel Sock Monkey, made his appearance in the November 1955 issue of Pack-O-Fun.
We expected a mild response and were quite unprepared for the deluge of mail that poured into our office and the Nelson Knitting Company. We had no idea that so many people were interested in making a toy monkey out of a few socks. The requests kept coming in long after our supply of this issue was exhausted and we had to reprint the instructions as a separate folder to keep from disappointing readers all over the country.
We began to think in terms of other sock toys but there were so many other things to do that the idea was shelved for just a “little while.” Like so many other “little whiles” this one stretched into weeks and then months. Our little friend, the Red Heel Sock Monkey, sat in lonely splendor.
Several months ago Michelle Graff joined our staff as an artist. Much to our delight we learned that she was quite adept at creating and making all kinds of stuffed toys. Within a short time the Red Heel Sock Monkey was no longer lonely. He had several friends to play with after we had turned off the lights and left the office.
One of his most constant playmates was a roguish Sock Elephant. We decided to use this packed pachyderm in some of our ads in other magazines and once again the response was greater than we had dared expect. That settled it. We decided to change a “little while” into “now” and publish this book.
We have used the Nelson Red Heel socks for most of the animals, dolls, puppets and novelties in this book for many reasons. One very good reason is that the red heel lends itself to the creation of lovable toys. The brown body gives the feeling of warmth that a stuffed toy must have and the white ribbing and toes provide material for faces, feet, hands, etc.
Another good reason is that the Nelson Red Heel socks are quite inexpensive, selling for about 30c a pair and even less in lots of one dozen or more. These prices vary somewhat throughout the country. That brings us to our third good reason. They are nationally sold and can be found in many variety, dry goods and chain stores. They can also be ordered through many mail order houses.
All you need are some socks, scrap materials for stuffing and clothing plus a steady eye to thread a needle. The instructions have been written as simply and made as complete as possible. Pick out your toys, thread your needle and start. And, to make it even more fun, vary the features, the trimmings and clothes to bring out your own creative abilities and personal touches.
Edna N. Clapper
Edna N. Clapper
