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the history of the sock monkey

Everyone knows what a sock monkey is. You probably played with one yourself as a child. But did you know that a sock monkey actually made an appearance at the Academy Awards? And that one of them even starred in Batman Returns?

Stuffed toys are a rather recent invention. The first manufacturer to concentrate on soft toys was the German company Steiff, which was founded in 1880 and invented the teddy bear in 1902.
When the European trend reached the United States in the 1920’s, mothers started making their own stuffed toys from socks. Nowadays, when people think of sock monkeys, they automatically think of so-called Original Rockford Red Heel® socks — gray work socks with a distinguished red and white heel.

These socks were originally made by the Nelson Knitting Mills in Rockford, Illinois (hence the name) since 1890, and patented in 1915. When the company decided to include sock monkey instructions with every pair of the Red Heel® socks in the 1950’s, the true marketing magic began.

The pattern was published in a craft magazine in 1955, and in 1958, the first book dedicated to sock monkeys was published. By then, elephant instructions were published as well, and sock monkeys became an important part of every American childhood.

Were you wondering about the Academy Awards and Batman Returns? David Letterman featured a sock monkey during his Academy Awards appearance, promoting the movie Cabin Boy — where he was playing a street vendor selling — you guessed it — sock monkeys. In Batman Returns, Catwoman gives into evil by throwing hers away.

Reprinted from http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2007/sock-monkeys-their-history-and-their-revival
 

our history with the sock monkey

Melinda's adventure started with a friend who just wanted to make one (probably stemming from the KIA commercials) She brought in a kit that she had and am currently at # 715 but the number is going up. You may say it has snow-balled! (Her friend has made about 20). They mostly sell out of my store but travel to craft shows.

Currently Melinda's Sock Monkeys reside in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Texas, California, Maine, New York, South Carolina and the furthest is China.