How to Make a Pony Sock Puppet

Orphaned socks are a phenomenon common to most every home. With a few simple materials, the sock that has lost its mate can find new life as a pony puppet.

Things You'll Need

• Lightweight cardboard for template Pen Scissors Clean sock (white or brown) Brown and black felt 2 safety pins Needle and thread (optional) Brown, tan or black yarn 2 medium googly eyes (about 1/2- to 1-inch diameter) Craft glue Scissors Ruler

Instructions

Making the Horse Ears

1. Draw a triangular-shaped horse ear (about 2½ inches long) and a smaller inner ear of the same shape (about 1½ inches long) on lightweight cardboard to make a template. Cut out.

2. Using these templates, trace two outer ears onto brown felt and two inner ears onto black felt. Cut out.

3. Glue the black inner ear felt pieces onto the brown outer ear felt pieces.

4. To attach the ears to the sock, first slide your hand into the sock with your fingers in the toe and your thumb in the heel. With the pen, mark where you will place the ears, roughly at your wrist.

5. Remove the sock from your hand and attach the ears at the marked positions with safety pins. You may choose to sew on the ears.

Making the Horse Nose

1. Draw a teardrop-shaped nostril (about 1 inch long) onto cardboard. Cut out.

2. Using the template, trace the nostril twice onto black felt. Cut out.

3. Glue the nostrils onto the top of the sock, near the toe. Slide the sock onto your hand again to judge the best placement.

Making the Horse Eyes

1. Draw two circles slightly larger than the googly eyes onto black felt. Cut out.

2. With the sock on your hand, determine the best placement of the horse's eyes and mark with a pen. Glue the black circles onto the sock where marked.

3. Glue the googly eyes onto the black felt circles.

Making the Mane and Forelock

1. Cut yarn into about 36 6-inch segments.

2. Tie one length of yarn around the center of a bundle of about eight pieces. Repeat to make a total of four yarn bundles. For a lusher mane, make more bundles.

3. Glue or sew on yarn bundles to sock to make the puppet's mane. One piece should be between the pony's ears to be the puppet's forelock; the rest should be behind the ears in a row down the length of the sock. The bundles can be spaced about an inch apart, or closer depending on the number of bundles you have, and the length of the sock.