Day 179: A month or so ago, I made my first sock monkey from a pair of vintage socks which were sent to me by an internet friend. I dressed him in a red stocking cap (just that, nothing more) and sat him on my dresser. I was pleased to find out that Red Heel socks were available on line and ordered several pair; however, the heels are set differently in the modern version and the resultant monkeys' smiles didn't occur quite so naturally. Like the majority of my handcrafts, they went out the door almost as soon as I put the last stitches on them. A few days ago, I received a letter from my foster sister which left me feeling quite sad and downhearted, and I thought, "I need to make Marilyn a monkey." In the back of my mind, a little voice insisted, "And you need to do it soon." Overnight, a solution came to me, and thus you see my original monkey after a sex-change, some plastic surgery and a trip to the fabric store.
This is the second monkey I've put in a dress and hat. I wasn't entirely happy with the neckline of the first dress design although I loved the polka-dot fabric I'd picked for the garment. But working a second dress on the same fabric didn't appeal, so just to change things up a little, I decided to use gingham, always a favourite for smocking. By working the bodice along a straight edge and then adding elasticized puff sleeves, I avoided the neckline issues of the first dress. As an afterthought, I added a teneriffe spiderweb as a hemline accent. I wonder if Marilyn will remember the teneriffe gingham aprons my grandma used to make?
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