In this 'ible, I'll show you how to recycle old, outgrown socks into adorable hamster bean bags! These hamsters require no food or water, are highly portable, and can be thrown around and played with for hours. (Mine currently reside on my desk.) Plus, it's a perfect hand sewing project for beginning and younger sewers. For the more experienced, this is a quick 15-minute project with utterly adorable results.

To begin crafting hamsters you will need:

1. A sock, preferably a girl's ankle sock (though I suppose to make a more robust hamster you could use an
athletic tube sock; the "tube" is the really important part.)

2. various needles and thread

3. scissors

4. rice or other materials to stuff your bean bag, i.e. sand and/or beans

5. cloth scraps for eyes/face

Step 1: Beginnings of a Hacky Sack

Start by separating the ankle "tube" of the sock from the from the rest of the sock.

Once you've got the two pieces cut, set aside the tube for later and fill up the body (where your toes would go) with the rice until the tip of the sock forms a golf-ball-sized lump.

Hopefully, you've got a couple inches of lose sock left. Proceed to tie off the toe of the ball with some string or thread, and fold the the left-over sock over the rice-filled toe of the sock.

Step 2: Beginnings of a Hamster

Now you can set aside the hacky sack, and turn your attention to the tube. We're going to turn it into a fuzzy little hamster. I told you the tube is important.

To form the hamster, cut into the tube to begin to round it out, and continue to cut out two round ears.

Once you've finished cutting the tube into your desired hamster shape, flip it inside out and stitch together the two sides of the ears/head. I used a simple back stitch that went all the way from each edge. After that, flip the tube right-side out again so your seam is hidden.

Here comes the creative licensing! Using the scraps of materials I told you to gather earlier, put together a little hamster face and stitch it on. Make it look original, as each little guy is uniquely your creation. I cut simple circles from left-over felt to make eyes and a tummy, and I stitched on a nose and mouth with some black thread.

Step 3: Putting It All Together

You're nearly finished, I promise. All you have to do now is take the tube piece, and slip it over the bean bag like a cover. Stitch the bottom of the tube to the bottom of the bean bag, tucking the extra layer we added in Step 1 inside of the tube. I used a hidden seam stitch (similar to a running and ladder stitch, I think) to bind the two pieces.