Mitten monster crafts (aka: ugly doll sewing project) are easy crafts for preschoolers all year or fun Halloween kid crafts ideas or winter kids activities for all ages! These also make cute friendly monsters to go with friendly monsters books or cool mitten monsters / homemade ugly dolls for a monster making activity or monster party activity!
Easy Mitten Monster Craft For Kids
I love this glove monster craft because the monsters are not scary (they’re cute monster crafts!) and you can give them lots of personal personality with fun accessories. Also, it’s an upcycled glove project and a great way to use all those random kids’ gloves and children’s mittens when you can’t find the mate — you know, all those single gloves floating around! So save them after the winter season and the cold weather ends!
No-Sew DIY Monster Crafts for Kids
How do you make mitten crafts?
- Mittens (and toe socks!)
- Buttons
- Felt pieces (you can even use scrap felt!)
- Ribbon
- Stuffing / Craft Foam
- Magic Adhesive (see below)
KEEP SCROLLING FOR THE FULL CRAFT INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR LITTLE MONSTERS! It’s a fun craft for kids of all ages! Glove monsters are super cute kids project for any time of year! (It’s a fun winter craft / winter mittens craft and fun fall craft, too!) Great for last minute craft activities!
Fun Ideas For Kids Activities!
These monster DIY crafts are great for all ages (from young children to adults love them!) and make easy no-sew projects — great mitten craft ideas for little ones or preschool crafts or toddler Halloween crafts. (They’re great to practice fine motor skills for younger children!)
This project is also fun to do with a large or small group (even for homeschool co-op, Girl Scout group / Boy Scouts, or Halloween crafts school classroom!) and can work with a wide range of themes like Halloween crafts for kid and even a monster birthday theme!
And, these are good for recycled glove crafts or old sock crafts for those gloves and socks that have lost their mates! So, instead of throwing them away, save them for your no sew monster dolls and make recycled mitten crafts!
OUR FRIENDLY MONSTER ACTIVITY KIT IS PERFECT TO PAIR WITH OUR MONSTER CRAFT!
20 pages of printables for kids to make your own monster activity book or to make a monster activity center!
Kid Printables Coloring Pages & MORE with these monster activity sheets!
ALSO CHECK OUT HALLOWEEN FUN:
17 Fun Halloween Activities for Kids At Home
Best Preschool Halloween Books and Theme Food Crafts Ideas To Go With Them
Now, let’s get to the DIY monster crafts! Mitten monsters are prefect for Halloween crafts at home or school or even a cute Sunday school activity for October!
How To Make A Monster Craft With Gloves And A Sock Craft Monster
Monster Crafts & Activities Ideas: How To Make Monster Mittens
Of all the DIY craft ideas, I love monster crafts from this the most (especially if you’re looking for a non scary preschool monster craft!).
When you create monsters and watch their unique personalities evolve is really fun for these monster preschool crafts! (We’ve made this craft for older kids projects and even adult crafts monster art projects and everyone always loves them!)
This monsters craft is one of my absolute favorites that we’ve done because not only are the monsters soooo cute, but it’s easy enough for all ages and stages for monster crafts for toddlers or monster crafts preschool and up!
(And, even if you can’t sew you can still make these!)
You can make your monsters / ugly dolls look just like the ones in the movie, but we decided to create own very own versions of monsters.
We used old toe socks and our own mittens that we had around the house to make these as recycled crafts, but you can easily make a visit to the thrift store and find both of these for cheap (or just pick up a pack of them).
If you’re wondering, “What can I do with holey socks?” use them for these Halloween crafts with kids or monster party ideas!
PRO CRAFT TIP: Use the longer toe socks (long socks and not the ankle ones). The top (long) part of the sock will be the doll’s body. (So ankle socks won’t work that well for this sock craft.)
Although I love how our black ugly doll monster turned out (he’s my fav), I really loved using socks and gloves with designs to make these cute crafts for kids.
I think those gave personality to each one!
So, don’t be afraid to use socks or gloves with crazy designs, too! (They make such cute sock animals!)
Also, don’t underestimate these as Halloween crafts for teens or Halloween crafts ideas for adults. We said that these are good monster craft ideas for preschoolers, but I had just as much fun making these as my daughter!
PRO CRAFT TIP: If you’re doing these with a large group or need Halloween kid crafts for a party, make a monster craft kit where you put everything needed for one monster into sealable plastic bags (like cut out mouths, cut out eyes, ribbon, stuffing, mitten, etc.). Then, pass out the bags and each child will have all the craft supplies they need in one place! They’ll make Halloween quick crafts that way!
How To Make DIY No-Sew Mitten Monsters For Kids (Silly, Not-So-Scary Monsters!)
This Monsters Craft really is such an easy no-sew DIY project option for all ages! DEFINITELY add it to your arts and crafts for kids Halloween or monster theme party ideas or any time of year when you need a monster craft activity!
PREP TIME:5 minutes
ACTIVE TIME:30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
DIFFICULTY: Easy
CRAFT MATERIALS
- Fuzzy gloves (use mitten gloves with fingers for your craft mittens) or fleece mittens and/or fuzzy toe socks (colors of choice)–we used both
- Brightly colored buttons of different sizes and colors
- Felt (colors of choice)
- Ribbons, twine, or other items to decorate your dolls
- Craft Stuffing Filling
- Hot glue or Fabric Adhesive
1. Stuff the sock/glove. (Build a Monster!)
Open the glove or toe sock and stuff with the craft filling.
Be sure to push the filling all the way into each finger or toe area so that it’s full.
Continue filling the glove or sock until it’s full.
You want each glove or sock to be completely full of filling–basically as much as you can fit in them. (The filling will break down as they are played with.)
2. “Sew” the opening.
Fold the opening of the glove (the edge) or sock inward a little and, using fabric glue, glue the opening shut.
IMPORTANT CRAFT NOTE: If you use a hot glue gun, it may make the edge of the fabric hard. I really recommend using some kind of fabric adhesive. Then, you don’t have to worry about younger kids safety and burning themselves! Be sure to use adult supervision if you’re hot gluing! I wouldn’t use hot glue if you’re doing monster crafts for preschool or toddlers.
You fold it inward first so that you don’t have a huge “edge” sticking up for the head or bottom — especially if you’re using socks for sock monsters.
3. Add eyes.
First, before you glue the eyes you need to flip your gloves or socks the right way — meaning, you want to have your monster’s head at the top!
For gloves, the fingers will be pointing down (because they are the monster doll’s arms and legs).
For the toe socks, I recommend pointing the toes up because they make really fun ears or pigtails.
(However, your toe sock ugly doll can have the toes at the bottom for feet and the straight part at the top. It’s up to you!)
Choose which buttons to add for eyes. If you are using two eyes, I suggest choosing buttons of different sizes. It really gives them a fun ugly doll or funny monster look.
Glue the eyes into place wherever you want them on your doll!
Just remember to leave room for a mouth if you want your doll to have one.
4. Make the mouth.
Cut a mouth out of the felt pieces for felt monsters mouths.
We made some of our mouths into smile shapes and then turned them upside down for a more monster face (like crazy monster teeth) for the others.
We just free-handed our mouths by cutting them into different shapes. We made friendly monster mittens with smiles and then left some as straight mouths (and they looked cute, too!).
If you’re working with younger kids (this makes a great toddler craft, with assistance!), you may want to cut out a bunch of mouths ahead of time and let them choose.
5. Add decorative items (optional).
Finish out your monster ugly dolls by adding bows, bowties, felt to look like stitches or scars, or anything else you think is fun.
We added bows to some of the sock “toes” and it made it look like our ugly dolls had cute pigtails! This mitten monster hair ended up being on of my favorite features of these little creatures!
You can even make them theme crafts. For example, if you’re making a winter mitten craft, maybe you make snow people mittens?
Have fun playing with your mitten monsters! (I like to call them Mitten Monstas!)
Kids’ Craft Pairing Ideas For Fun Kids Activities
Make Ugly Dolls To Go With The Ugly Dolls Movie!
CRAFT TIP: This Is A Fun Easy Crafts For Kids And Ugly Dolls Craft To Go With The Ugly Dolls Movie!
These monster arts and crafts ideas are fun to go with the Ugly Dolls movie. (This is such an easy craft project that you don’t even need a DIY ugly doll pattern!)
They’re also fun for anytime you’re doing a monster theme, reading about monsters, you need Halloween crafts simple ideas, or even if you want to make your own worry monster crafts, too!
Here’s a little more about the monster movie to go with this easy kids’ craft, in case you’re not familiar…
In case you haven’t heard of it, UglyDolls is an animated movie about — wait for it — UGLY DOLLS and it’s perfect to pair with our monsters craft!
The dolls live in Uglyville, where being strange, weird, and different is celebrated.
(How awesome, right?!)
From the movie synopsis:
After traveling to the other side of a mountain, Moxy and her UglyDoll friends discover Perfection — a town where more conventional dolls receive training before entering the real world to find the love of a child.
Soon, the UglyDolls learn what it means to be different — ultimately realizing that they don’t have to be perfect to be amazing.
This craft pairing is great for a watch and create activity for kids and fun monster craft preschool ideas!
Monster Stories for Kids
If you don’t want to pair this kids’ craft with the UglyDolls movie or for monster Halloween crafts / Monster Mash crafts, you might have fun first reading children’s books with monsters while learning how to make a monster arts and crafts!
Cute Monster Children’s Books Recommendations:
- Monster Trouble Children’s Book
- The Lonely Little Monster Children’s Book
- Today I’m A Monster Children’s Book
- Don’t Touch This Book!
- Never Touch A Monster Children’s Book
ALSO CHECK OUT PRESCHOOL HALLOWEEN IDEAS: FUN Preschool Halloween Activities and Free Halloween Cutting Skills Printable Pack
Don’t forget to grab the monster activity pack!
