It's National Sock Monkey Day! I'm sewing one and learning about their history!

This classic upcycle sewing project may not be as old as you think! There is no evidence to indicate the red lipped sock monkey was a 1930s invention, but it was definitely a craft staple and favorite toy of the 1950s.

It's National Sock Monkey Day on March 7th, so I'm making a monkey and digging through newspapers and US patents to find what we can actually prove about where it came from, when it started, who made them, and why. The answers might surprise you!

While this monkey's history is usually given through the lens of the history of the Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford, Illinois who manufactured the Red Heel socks it is traditionally made from, this doesn't tell us where the monkey actually came from. I went looking for clues, come see what I found.
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MAKE YOUR OWN:
Fox River's Rockford Red Heel Socks:
(This is an affiliate link and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
https://amzn.to/3uppfUN

THE KIT:
Peejay 21" Sock Monkey # 46550
Leisure Arts, 1999

MUSIC:
Theme: This Probably Isn't the Place by HOME
Luge by Geographer
Climbing Out by HOME

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
1:27 Starting my monkey
3:48 The tale of the sock monkey
12:36 How far back can we prove it?
16:57 Who was making them?
18:30 Why socks?
19:27 Final thoughts
21:09 Monkey Shenanigans

SUPPORT:
I've got a Ko-fi page now! If you'd like to support my channel, you can find it here:
https://ko-fi.com/retrocraftdreams
Thank you so much!
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SOURCES:

Midway Village Museum, Sock Monkey Resource Packet, available here: https://www.midwayvillage.com/rockfor...

Everything’s Coming Up Sock Monkeys by Bonnie Kraus Connelly, Excerpt: The Home of the Sock Monkey by Dan Bartlett, Curator of Exhibits (Midway Village Museum); 2006, In My Own Dream Publishing

Wikipedia (but not all its sources are credible): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_mo...

Helen G. Cooke sock monkey patent D170008: Doll, Filed 1952, patented 1953: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-pub...

McCalls 1443 Stuffed Sock Toys , 1948 (though I do not have a physical copy to view pattern pieces)

McCall’s 1749 Designs for Six Animal-Head Washcloth Mitts

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS:
via Google newspapers (https://news.google.com/newspapers) and Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/newspapers)

Girl Scout Troops of City Busy Themselves Making Toys for the Less Fortunate, Newburgh News, Dec 29, 1926

Crocheted Cuddly Dolls Make Fine Yule Gifts for Children, The Independent, November 11, 1943

In the Mack S. Kesler Home Monkey Business is Profitable, Deseret News, January 21, 1949 - (Lavina Kesler i.d.’d through ancestry website FamilySearch.org)

Y-Teen Camping Club Makes Sock Dolls, Meriden Record, Dec 22, 1954

‘Monkey Business’ Helps a Good Cause, The Pittsburgh Press, March 13, 1955

Final Fair Workday, Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Sept 11, 1956

Unusual Land of Toys Arranged for Bazaar, Prescott Evening Courier, Nov 28, 1956

Newcomers Club Hears Miss Hart, Washington Observer, April 26, 1958

Events of Today, Schenectady Gazette, March 18, 1959

Mrs. William Steeb Helps as Volunteer at Hospitals, Press-Courier August 18, 1959

City Park Playground Schedule, Eugene Register-Guard, July 2, 1961

Bazaar Corner, Evening star (Washington, D.C.), November 12, 1961

Army Research and Development, Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 8, 1961

Seek Members for Munson Twigs, Geauga record (Chardon, Geauga County, Ohio), February 15, 1962

Monkeying Around, Toledo Blade, November 23, 1974

Who Needs It?, Ludington Daily News, May 29, 1975

Around Town, Telegraph Herald, March 13, 1977

SOCK DOLL PATENTS:
D48,221 G.W. Cooley: Doll, Filed and patented 1915
1,292,789 M.H. Jack: Doll, Filed 1917, patented 1919
1,362,727 M.M. Meldram: Doll and Method of Making Same, Filed 1919, patented 1920
1,489,685 E. M. Anderson: Method of Making Dolls, Filed 1921, patented 1924
1,554,712 E.M. Clark: Doll and Method of Making the Same, Filed 1922, patented 1925
1,692,897 L.E. Howard et al: Nonbreakable Dressed Doll, Filed 1927, patented 1928

MONKEY DOLL PATENTS:
D51,309 S.G. Szopko: Toy Monkey, Filed and patented 1917
D59,011 W.F. Keller: Toy Monkey, Filed and patented 1921
D62,509 J.G. Stokes: Toy Monkey, Filed 1922, patented 1923

OTHER PATENTS VIEWED:
208,667, Toy, 1878
232,511, Toy Money Box, 1880
233,628, Bell Toy, 1880
236.599,Toy Cap Exploder, 1881
242,139, Toy Money Box, 1881
243,439, Climbing or Traveling Toy, 1881
D13,400 Toy Bank, 1882
485,713, Toy, 1892
503,389, Toy, 1893
787,109, Toy, 1905
923,187, Hoop, 1909
1,154,088, Gravity Traveling Toy, 1915
1,332,601, Climbing Toy, 1920
1,355,799, Toy Figure, 1920
1,417,860, Toy, 1922
2,107,672, Magnetic Hooking Game, 1938
2,572,752, Inertia-Operated Climbing Toy, 1951