The first documented socks were manufactured in 1890 by a Swedish immigrant named John Nelson. He was the owner of The Nelson Knitting Mills in Rockford, Illinois and his sturdy and comfortable work-socks were sought far and wide mainly by farmers and factory workers who wear on their feet all day. In 1932, The Nelson Knitting Company added the soon to be trademarked red heel to their original sock design. This red heel would later become the distinctive mouth of the iconic sock monkey.
It was around this time, that desperate yet creative mothers, feeling the effects of America’s Great Depression, started crafting their husbands red heeled work socks into cute and entertaining toys in the form of sock monkeys and other animals for their children. By the early 1950’s, the knitting company discovered that their socks were being used to make these popular monkey dolls, so they started putting patterns for the home made toy into each package of socks they sold.
How strange this sock monkey phenomenon. Who would have thought that such a manly piece of clothing apparel would become the craze for little snot nosed children far and wide when the Sock Monkey was born. To this day, Nelson’s original red heel sock and the homemade sock monkeys remain in demand. In fact, the Sock Monkey is seeing a renaissance of sorts across the U.S. and in little children’s shops in big cities and small towns everywhere. From the mass produced yet largely unfavored modern sock monkeys, to the hand crafted, custom made ones, sock monkeys are all the rave.
The continued popularity of the sock monkey even encouraged the city of Rockford, Illinois embrace the doll as a part of its history. In 2005, Midway Village and Museum Center in Rockford held it’s first “Sock Monkey Madness Festival”, while simultaneously opening an exhibit highlighting the industrial, legal, and creative history of the Nelson red heel sock and the sock monkey. The festival has since become an annual event.
Check out J&O Fabric’s store sock monkey fabric here!
Check out our selection of novelty fabric here!
Posts by J&O Fabrics Store
