No Sew Sock Puppets

A sock puppet isn’t just a craft—it’s a doorway to creativity, storytelling, and hours of imaginative play! With just a few household items, kids can design their own puppet characters and bring them to life. Whether it’s a silly monster, a friendly animal, or a royal prince, each puppet has a personality just waiting to be discovered.

Sock puppets are the perfect indoor play activity. An old sock, scrap yarn, bits of fabric, some buttons and a little imagination and there is no limit to the fun. We turned these out in just a few minutes and they were so cute, I just had to share them with you! Gather your supplies and get ready for hours of fun!

Turn an Old Sock into a Fun Sock Puppet

What You’ll Need

• A clean sock (any color or size) – you know, the ones left behind when their mate made a break for it!
• Felt or fabric scraps
• Googly eyes or buttons
• Yarn (I love varigated yarn because from one ball of yarn there are so many color options!), feathers, bows, etc for hair
• Hot glue (with adult supervision)
• Scissors
• Marker
• Fabric or acrylic paint
• Empty communion cups, essential oil lids or whatever you have around to “lift” the eyes or form a funny nose (totally optional)

How to Make a Sock Puppet

1. Pick Your Sock – Look for a sock that fits comfortably over your hand. Dig through the odd sock pile—this is the perfect way to use up those lonely socks missing their match!
2. Make a Face – Your knuckles will fit into the heel of the sock and the toe will be tucked back into the sock (kind of in your palm) Use the marker or pencil to mark where the eyes will go and remove the sock. Hot glue on googly eyes or buttons, or get creative by cutting eyes or eyelashes out of felt. One kiddo insisted their puppet needed three eyes—because, of course, it was an alien!
   • Quick note: If you have wee ones in the house, you may want to sew the buttons on to keep them out of little mouths!
3. Add a Nose – Cut out felt shapes or a button (or that spare communion cup you might have in your purse *wink wink*) for a nose, or use markers or paint to draw them. One fun variation is making a puppet with a wide-open mouth with maybe a couple of front teeth, perfect for pretend puppet shows with lots of “talking.”
4. What about Ears? – Felt or fabric scraps are wonderful for forming ears. We’ve tried long floppy dog ears and folded triangle standing ears. Both were super cute!
5. Create Hair (Optional) – Yarn makes great hair! Let kids decide whether their puppet needs a wild, spiky look, long braids, or even a mohawk. One child gave their puppet a full head of purple yarn curls and declared it a “rock star.” Feathers are also an amazing option for hair. One year we used the remains of an old feather boa for hair. It had great movement! But even something silly like one of those plastic dish scrubbers or pipe cleaners twisted into coils would be fun.
6. Remember Accessories! – Maybe your puppet will need glasses (pipe cleaners to the rescue!) or jewelry or a crown or … well the list is practically endless! This is another place to let your kiddo’s imagination go wild! And nothing is permanent so if they decide tomorrow to change it, that is completely acceptable.

Time to Play!

Once the puppet is ready, it’s showtime! Kids can put on a puppet show behind a couch, invent funny voices, or even use their puppets to “interview” family members. One rainy afternoon, the kids put on a puppet news broadcast complete with weather updates and a breaking news story about missing cookies!

The best part? Sock puppets never get old—just switch up their accessories, and they’re ready for a new adventure!

Looking for other indoor activities for kids?

• Minute to Win It Games
• Bake a Scripture Cake
• 150 Things for Kids to Do
• Musical Hearts Game

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