last december we were living in my parents' basement, and my mom asked if i'd like to help out with christmas decorations. i said sure, and we decided it was time for our family to get a new batch of stockings. my mom was planning ahead and wanted one for each person in our family and then one for each of our spouses/future spouses...which totalled to be 12 stockings. we bought all the supplies and i got started....but never finished. we used old mismatched stockings last year.
the new year rolled around, and i was still in school, and the stockings got put on the back burner. in may, when i asked my mom what she wanted for mother's day, she said she'd love to have the stockings finished. so i did.
i don't have a full tutorial for them... but i can explain the basics.
1) draw a large stocking shape. the shape is based on preference and the size depends on what you like to put in them. our family usually puts grapefruits in the toe (i think this tradition evolved from the classic christmas orange??) so we tried to accommodate for that. this "pattern" also needs to have room for seam allowance (1/2" or so extra on all sides).
2) design your stocking. i did ours out of burlap and cotton crochet trim and/or doilies. sew on anything you want to the pieces before putting the stocking together.
3) cut out. if you want to line your stockings (like i did--notice the red striped ticking) you will need to cut TWO stocking pieces and TWO lining pieces from your fabrics. also, cut the stocking fabric about 1" taller than the lining fabric. (as you can see in the photos, the stocking fabric will fold over to the backside so the lining does not show from the front).
3). sew together. sew both stocking fabric pieces together, with right sides facing. backstitch at both ends. flip right side out. REPEAT for the lining fabrics, with right sides facing. you will have two completed stocking-shaped pieces.
4). this is the tricky part to explain. with your stocking piece RIGHT side out, and your lining piece INSIDE out, put the stocking inside the lining...this will mean that rides sides are facing. match up the side seams at the top of the stocking, and pin. sew around the top, leaving a 2-3" gap. make sure to backstitch. you can trim the seam down to 1/4" for less bulk.
5). flip the stocking through the small gap in the stitching you left. tuck the lining down inside of the stocking. iron, so the stocking fabric folds over a little bit to the facing side, like shown in the pictures. it should resemble a lined stocking now...almost finished!
6). hand stitch the gap of the stocking and lining fabrics together. you can topstitch around if you like.
7) add a fabric or ribbon loop on the side to hang the stocking.
8) do it 11 more times! ...just kidding. only if you're me.
