MONKEY!!
This is a knitted stuffed monkey that I made for my partner Chris for his birthday.
Click here for .
I used this pattern – although, I diverged from it a LOT. The yarn for the body is an all-silk chenille, and the face and hands are made from a silk chainette. I used a part-silk stuffing material, and stitched the mouth and nose with my hand-reeled silk. A very, very silky monkey!
I’m pretty pleased with the way the face came out; I wasn’t sure, as I was working on it. It seems like the head should be bigger; it’s a time and a quarter as many stitches around as the belly, but the belly is quite a bit wider. It seems like the face would have fitted easier if the head was a little wider.
Profile shot,
And for your edification, Monkey demonstrates the Four Poses of Monkey Morality:
See No Evil
Hear No Evil
Speak No Evil
and… Git Yer Hands Off That
Here’s Chris with his monkey.
That turned out fantastic Michael!! Yay for the monkey!
very very cute
the monkey turned out great!!……..you know, if you ever decided to make them and sell them for a nice profit, i would definitely be interested in purchasing one……..
Thanks!
I’d definitely have to find something cheaper to make them out of – it’s about forty bucks worth of silk, before I even got started! I didn’t count the hours on it, because it was little bits here and there.
That’s great! Really well done.
i’m sure the labor involved would be worth a pretty penny……..but i personally would pay $100 or so for something like that – especially made out of something silky
I could probably actually do it for a hundred. I have a lot of folks who look at something like this, and get angry when I tell them I can’t make them one for $25. I might be able to get some more of the chenille – it came from an Ebayer in Canada.
just keep me in mind if you ever decide to do it……i think you do great work!
I want one! 🙂
Oh it’s adorable! It turned out great! 😀
I’m not planning to go into production on anything like this, but I’d be willing to entertain a commission.
i think you should set up a sweat shop in a little shed behind your house……..silk worms under the whip being forced to squeeze out yards of silk or else its the fishing hook………. 🙂
and by the way, how long does it take you to do something like this?
The silkworms would probably jump at the hook, if they knew what was in store for them… they get put in the oven to stop them from hatching as moths. I don’t tell them this, though.
It took me a week and a half of little-bit-at-a-time time – I did an arm here, a hand there. I spent most of one day working on it… it’s probably a dozen man-hours or so, maybe a little more, but I’d probably go through a second one faster, because I know where it’s going.
See No Evil…
I really dig the monkey! Cynthia just came into the living room after you replied to her about the Victorian gown and told me I had to check it out. Very, very cool 🙂
btw…is it cool if I add you as an LJ friend?
those poor little worms!……i had no idea silk required such brutality!…….. 🙂
that little monkey would make a great Christmas present…..from me to myself………
Re: See No Evil…
Thanks!
And sure, add away!
Yup. I’m always amazed that the PETA people haven’t started a hate email campaign. I have run into a handful (three or four) vegetarians who have asked me detailed questions about silk processing – but they’ve all been respectful and we agreed to disagree.
its my belief that anything beautiful requires some sacrifice on someone……be it the creator or whomever the creation is intended for………so what’s a little silkworm pain in the grand scheme of things when something so nice is possible as a result…….i say roast those little suckers all you want!
you are a great partner!
and you and Chris are beautiful.
how did you pose him like that???
and… Git Yer Hands Off That
LOL! Loved that.
The monkey is gorgeous, what a lovely gift!
Happy birthday to your partner, too 😀
I carefully slipped a double-pointed steel needle through the parts that are together – like through one arm, his head, the other arm. I had thought about making him a wired armature, but that seemed like a PITA, and he’s supposed to be cuddly and plush, not bendy and stiff.
Oh, how cute! That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever, ever seen!
I’ve always heard of it as “Do no evil!”
LOL…
I recognize that living room.
P.S. Want to come see the bf do Death of a Salesman in the next two weeks?
Hi! I was browsing and found your friendly face. I have added you if that is okay. I find your journal very interesting, and hope you’ll add me back!
p.s. LOVE the monkey!!!
I want my partner to make me a silk monkey!
Seriously, that’s fantastic.
A wired armature is a PITA and doesn’t do much for the monkey’s posture.
Love your monkey, he looks so soft and squishy.
Ahh, that is so cute.
Did you know El Centro now has a real art gallery with a curator and everything? The curator was telling us about an exhibit that is coming this fall, it’s fiber art. He was impressed that the artists had grown their own cotton to make art. HAH! I said, that’s nothing. I have a friend who raises his own silk worms. He was impressed.
OH MAN!!! Too cute dude. I love it!!
i want a monkey!!
Man of so many talents! He’s gorgeous! Oooo and so silky too!
Cool monkey! 🙂
I am in awe. *Stunning*.
Cool! Let me know when the show goes up; it sounds like something I ought to check out.
Sure! We still haven’t checked out the new theater…
HOLY SHEET that’s ebautiful! I should ahve known it would be jsut purrrfect if YOU did it though. 😉 I’ve never knitted a stuffed animal. Now I kinda wanna make a Cthulu…
How adorable!
I’m always in awe of people who can knit. Knitting, crocheting and naalbinding mostly elude me.
That’s great!!!
i’m always challanged by heads too when i’m creating little creatures, they also seem to small or too big for the body. but yours looks just fine.
i think you have the be your harshest critic when it comes to your own work though.
My problem isn’t so much head-to-body proportion; it’s the way the “snout” portion fits to the “head” portion. I think if the head portion was much bigger, it would look top-heavy – but it might fit the snout better. I had to take a couple of chunky big pleats in the snout to keep it from hanging halfway down to the chin.
And yeah – I’m sure that I see things, that an outside observer wouldn’t even notice. Like you say, you have to.
I’ve enjoyed them – I did teddy bears for my brother’s kids, and they love them. It’s nice because although it’s somewhat complicated and challenging, it’s not a large project.
What a cutie pie! That’s one adorable silky monkey.
I’m not a fan of real life monkey’s but that stuffed one is cute. Nice job!
Sweeeeeeet!
I love the last of the money moralities. What? No spanking the money?! Okay…that was crude (maybe a bit rude) but it sure was funny! Next you’ll have to come up with a silken “Damned-It!” doll. LMAO!
What size needles did you use for that?
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Very cute–does he have a thing for monkeys? I think the proportions of the head look perfect.
A stuffed silk monkey–what a great gift!
Ames
Re: Monkey See, Monkey Do
He does indeed have a thing for monkeys.
Last Christmas, I got him a couple of small stuffed monkeys, some silk underwear, and various presents with puzzle themes – like a puzzle box, a puzzle ring… I called it the Monkey Puzzle Panty Party Christmas.
I don’t remember if the needles were 2 or 3. But something like that. I just used bamboo sock needles because I had them handy.
Your monkey is adorable.
And….silk chenile?! I’m trying to imagine what silk chenile would be like and drooling a lot. It’s sounds very prettyful, I’ll have to get my hands on some.
Wow! I’m just trying to make this wretched thing, looks no where near this good yet though…
http://earwormblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/peanut-with-arms.html
Really don’t like the club shaped legs, I think I’ll just make them the same as the arms. And I’m not bothering with all those fingers either (I’m making it for ababy).
So I feel like the face is way too big for the head, is that what you found? Did you just stick it on anyway and made it fit? Argh!
I did find the face quite a bit too big. Of course, I was nowhere near the original guage, either – so I wasn’t entirely surprised. I took additional tucks around the snout/cheeks to make it fit. Also, it changes shape a LOT when you get the snout stuffed – so take that into account.
The club-shaped legs give it “hips” – but it doesn’t really need them unless you’re going to have it sitting up a lot.
That fourth pic should be “spank the money” yeah crude & rude but hey, a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste LOL
See now there are there gorgeous things in the house (in no order) you, chris & the monkey (not counting the moths)
talking of moths – I’d love to raise some but there is no way I could kill them – I know you can do it without killing them – I believe you just end up with less silk
But the bigger problem is I live in the UK and cannot find mulberry bushes anywhere 🙁
Gaz(UK)