Halloween Costume Ideas: Sweet DIY Sock Monkey

This post was most recently updated on September 23rd, 2019

Every year, my daughter starts thinking about Halloween costume ideas during the summer! Last year, she decided that she and her younger twin brothers should be sock monkeys. All three of our kids are obsessed with collecting sock monkeys, so I wasn’t surprised that this topped her short-list of potential Halloween costume ideas. And, I mean, really…what could be cuter?

I was a little apprehensive at first, as my sewing machine skills are elementary at best. But then I realized that a sock monkey is actually one of the easiest Halloween costume ideas around! I mean, isn’t the whole point of a sock monkey to look a bit raggedy? I also took the easy way out and I hot-glued almost everything on these costumes (except one or two small things which only required darning / hand-sewing)! But you definitely could sew them on a machine, if you are so inclined.

DIY Sock Monkey Costume Supplies

Here’s what you’ll need for each sock monkey costume:

5-6 pairs of gray wool socks (‘workman socks’) – you can find them at most department stores. (I purchased a package at Walmart for about $10.)
1 pair of white athletic socks (‘tube socks’) – look in your hubby’s sock drawer, or at Walmart, Target or any typical clothing retailer.
1 (cheap) grey ‘heathered’ jogging suit – hoodie and pants. If your child already has a suit they’ve outgrown, bingo. If not, you can find these at most discount and department stores for cheap. I found mine at Walmart for about $15 for the full suit.
Red and cream felt – enough to make the ‘belly’ and the ‘bum’ pieces which you’ll see in the photos below. The amount you’ll need will vary based on the size of the child/costume.
Hot glue / glue gun.
A few tea bags – you’ll need these to ‘tea die’ the white athletic socks.
Pillow stuffing – enough to stuff the tail, and the ears (if not using a purchased sock monkey hat).
Wire or ‘gardeners’ twist tie’ – enough to insert into the tail. (See Step 4 below.)
Optional: Sock monkey hat (purchased at costume or kids store).

Halloween Costume Ideas: How to Make a DIY Sock Monkey Costume

Step 1: The belly.

Cut an oval from the cream felt, and then cut it in half vertically.
Hot glue (or sew) it onto each side of the the belly of the hoodie.
Take a look at the photo below to see how this should look.

Step 2: The bum.

This is seriously the cutest part!
Cut a piece from the cream felt like the shape pictured below. It doesn’t have to be precise.
Next cut the same shape, but slightly smaller, from the red felt, and overlay it over the cream piece.
Hot glue (or sew) the felt pieces together, and onto the gray jogging pants.

Step 3: The arms.

The arms will be made out the white athletic / tube socks, and a piece of the workman socks. The part of the sock where your toes would normally be will be the spot for your child’s fingers. Picture how you’d wear a sock puppet.
First, you’ll need to ‘tea die’ the white athletic socks. This just makes them a little more beige, which will match the cream felt on the belly. To do this, simply throw a few tea bags in the sink with some warm water, and soak the socks until the are died to your liking. Then toss them in the dryer.
Second, cut the cream and red striped part off the top of two gray workman socks. Slide this cuff up to the opening of the tube sock, as pictured below.
Third, cut a little hole for your child’s thumb to stick out at the rounded part of sock toe. This will make it easier to carry their trick or treat bag. You’ll notice my boys ultimately decided they wanted to have their entire hand free. So the thumb hole ended up being a hand hole at the last minute.

Step 4: The tail.

To make the tail, take one gray workman sock, and tuck the heel in to make a long cylindrical shape. Secure it with a little hot glue. See photos 1 and 2 below.
Second, cut a piece of thick wire or ‘gardeners’ twist tie’ the length of the tail. Insert it into the tail, and hot glue it on each end so that it stays in place. See photos 3 and 4 below.
Once the glue hardens, stuff the tail with pillow stuffing. Hot glue or sew the opening of the sock together. See photo 6 below.
Attach the tail to the bum of the jogging pants. This is the only part that requires any sewing at all.

Step 5: The legs.

To make the legs, snip the toe off of two gray workman socks, to make ‘legwarmers’. See photo below.
Place the sock toes you cut off aside, as these make great monkey ears for the hoodie, if you haven’t purchased or couldn’t find a sock monkey hat like my kids are wearing. (See Step 6.)

Step 6 (Optional): The ears.

I actually attached ears to the hoodies before finding the sock monkey hats that my kids are wearing. You can see them in the photo below.

If you’d rather not go through the expense of buying a sock monkey hat, or if you can’t find one, you can make ears like I did. Use the two sock toes you cut off when making the leg warmers in Step 5. Use a little pillow stuffing to stuff the ears, and then hot glue (or sew) the opening. Attach the ears to the hood by darning /hand-sewing (or machine-sewing).

That’s it! So simple right?

If you’re looking for Halloween costume ideas that are easy to make, and oh-so-adorable, a sock monkey is perfect. And, what’s more, my kids were so comfortable on Halloween night. It felt just like wearing a comfy jogging suit. No scratchy fabrics or awkward embellishments.

So, what kind of fun Halloween costume ideas are you considering? Do tell!

Until next time,

Pssst! You might also enjoy these Halloween-related posts:

Halloween Costume Ideas: Sweet DIY Sock Monkey

DIY Sock Monkey Costume Supplies