Introduction: Easy Sock Snowmen

Maybe you live somewhere without snow, and you want to make something wintry. Maybe you need to come up with a quick holiday gift for someone. Maybe you need something to do with your old socks. Or maybe you just want a fun, easy winter craft to do. Whatever your reason, these sock snowmen are a great craft to try! They're easy and quick to make, require no sewing, look nice, and, best of all, can be personalized and decorated however you want!

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

Before you start making your snowmen, make sure you have all of your materials on hand. For each snowman, you'll need:

  • one white sock (you may need pieces of other socks for decoration). Make sure to find long socks, so you'll plenty of space for stuffing your snowman.
  • about a quarter cup of rice (optional)
  • funnel (optional)
  • polyester or cotton stuffing (you'll need more than you think, but the exact amount it depends on how tightly you pack it into the sock)
  • about a foot and a half of thin string or thread, preferably white
  • scissors
  • hot glue gun
  • black permanent marker or black paint
  • orange permanent marker
  • materials to decorate your snowman, such as buttons, fabric scraps, pipe cleaners, or colored markers

Step 2: Stuff the Sock

The first step in making your snowman is to stuff the sock, which gives the snowman its shape. Start by rolling the top of sock down as shown above, which makes it easier to stuff. Funnel or carefully pour the rice into the toe of the sock. This weighs down the bottom of the snowman, which allows it to stand up without support and makes the bottom a little sturdier. You can skip this part if you don't have rice on hand, but I recommend doing it if possible.

After you pour the rice, you can add the stuffing. Take a handful or so of stuffing and pull it apart gently to fluff it up, then stuff it into the toe of the sock. Continue with more stuffing. Make sure to push the stuffing down as you work, or your snowman will end up floppy and under-stuffed. You can stuff as much of the sock as you like as long as you leave a few inches to tie off, but I like to stuff my snowmen up to the heel of the sock, which gives them a smoother, more even shape. Once you're finished stuffing, squeeze and stretch the snowman a little bit to adjust the shape.

Step 3: Section Off the Snowman

Now that you've stuffed your sock, you can tie off the sections to make it look more like a snowman. Cut off enough string to wrap about twice around your snowman. Wrap the string once around your snowman about a third of the way up, then tie only ONE knot. Pull on the ends of the string to tighten the knot until the sock is separated into two sections. Hold the string tightly in place and tie two more knots to prevent the string from coming undone. Trim the ends of the string. Repeat about two-thirds of the way up the sock. Your stuffed sock should be divided into three roughly equal sections, and it should be shaped a lot more like a snowman.

Push the stuffing in the "head" section down one more time, then tie off the top of your snowman directly above where the stuffing stops. Wait to trim the rest of the sock off, in case you need part of it for the accessories in Step 4. Now you're ready to begin decorating your snowman!j

Step 4: Add Hats (and Other Headwear)

I like to use the extra material after the head is tied off to add some personality to the snowmen. This makes the snowmen look nice, and it hides where the fabric was tied off. Here are a few different accessories you can make:

Winter Hat: Start by trimming the sock directly above where the top is tied off. Cut a four-inch-long piece from the toe of another sock, or cut a four-inch straight, tube-shaped piece from the top of the stuffed sock, hot glue one side together, and flip it inside out to hide the glue. Either method should give you a hat-shaped piece of sock, with one side open and the other closed. Pull the "hat" onto the snowman's head, hot gluing it in place if necessary, then roll the bottom of the hat up to make a rim. Once the hat is attached to the snowman's head, you can color it with marker as shown above.

Baseball Cap: To make a baseball cap, your sock needs to be tied off a couple of inches below the heel. Trim the sock slightly above the heel. Cut a semicircle out of cardboard, making it just big enough to fit inside the heel. Place the semicircle inside the heel. This will become the bill of the baseball cap. Pull the sock down onto the snowman's head, positioning the heel so the flat part of the cardboard is touching the snowman and the curved side sticks out horizontally. Glue the bill and the rest of the sock in place. If desired, you can add a button to the top or wrap a colored pipe cleaner around the edge. If your snowman is tied off too close to or to far from the heel, you can make the bill by cutting the heel out of another sock, putting a piece of cardboard inside, and gluing it separately to the rest of the hat.

Flower: Trim the extra sock to about an inch from where the head is tied off. Cut several slits into the remaining inch of fabric, separating it into "petals," but keeping the pieces connected in the middle, where the sock is tied off. Fold or trim each piece until it's shaped more like a flower petal, and glue the petals to the snowman's head so they don't stick up. You can decorate the flower by coloring it with marker, adding a button to the center, or adding a piece of fabric or a pom-pom for a "leaf."

Braids: These work best with an accessory like a winter hat, baseball cap, or flower, since they don't obscure where the top of the snowman was tied off. Cut three strips of extra sock, and hot glue the ends together. Braid the strips together, and tie them off with a tiny strip of fabric. Glue the braid to the snowman's head. You can make these braids any size, and make as many as you like. I made mine fairly small, and glued one to either side of my snowman's head (see picture above).

Step 5: Add a Face

Next, give your snowman a face. Make eyes and a mouth by drawing dots with black marker or stamping dots by dipping the handle of a paintbrush in black paint and pressing it to the fabric. Use your orange marker to draw a carrot nose. If you want to personalize your snowman even more, you can draw a different face. You can even making your snowman into an animal by drawing a cute black nose, a beak, or even a pig's snout!

Step 6: Decorate!

This is your chance to really personalize your snowman. You can glue on buttons, draw designs with marker, add a strip of fabric for a scarf, make animal ears, or add tiny accessories. There are so many different things you can do, so just have fun decorating!

Step 7: Enjoy!

Take a moment to enjoy your work! You now have a beautiful sock snowman to display somewhere, give as a gift, or just enjoy for yourself!