I have a few ideas this year for cards, wrapping, decorations etc. which I cannot wait to share with you all! However, I thought I would sart this Christmas off by showing you how to create your own personalised Christmas Stockings. Enjoy :)
What you will need:
- Red, Green & White Felt
- Festive Ribbon - Green & Red
- Tartan Ribbon (or any other pattern of your choice)
- Red & Green Buttons
- Cross-Stitching Aida
- Black, Green & Red Embroidery Thread
- Red, Green & White Cotton Thread
- Dressmaker's Chalk
- Stocking Template
- Sewing Machine (if you have one)
Start by taking your template and drawing round it onto both your festive fabric and red and/or green felt with the dressmakers chalk. The festive fabric you choose is for the back of your stocking. The felt is for the front.
It is important to remember that you will be losing around 1cm during the making of this stocking, so choose a template a little larger than how you want your finished stocking to look. I just chose a simple stocking outline off the internet and printed it off.
I wanted to add a white cuff to the front of the stocking. For this I created my own paper template - effectively just a simple rectangle!
Then use this to cut out the cuff from your white felt.
To personalise the stockings, I used cross-stitch. Now if you've read any of my previous posts, you will know that I have some knowledge in this area! I love cross-stitch because it looks handmade, it looks personal, and this is the finish I wanted. These stockings were actually Christmas gifts filled with goodies for the girls at work, so each one had their name embroidered onto the front of it. Around this time of year, all craft magazines have festive patterns and ideas in them. I chose a simple holly design from one of them, along with a letter pattern for embroidering the names.
Once stitched, you need to trim down the aida around your design ready to sew into the front of your stocking.
Before sewing the front of your stocking to the back of it, you need to add all of your decoration to it. On these particular ones I added a white felt cuff with tartan ribbon trim, the personalised cross-stitched square, and red & green buttons.
To do this, take your tartan ribbon, and cut it to size. Lay it across your stocking somewhere towards the top, but far enough down so that when your white cuff is put on over the top, you can still see some of the ribbon - giving you your trim. Sew this ribbon into place and then do the same with the white felt cuff.
You then need to prep your stocking for the cross-stitched design. Cut a square into the centre of the stocking that is smaller than the square of aida. Then turn the front of your stocking over, place your cross-stitched design face-down over this square and secure into place with a blanket or applique stitch. This can be done by hand or machine.
Once you have finished embellishing the front, it is time to sew it to the back. Make sure you sew it so that the 'right' side of the festive fabric and the embellished side of your stocking front are on the inside.
Once all in place, sew the front and back together. Although its quicker (and sometimes neater) to use a sewing machine, hand stitching these little cuties will also work fine!
Voila!
So have a go at making your own Christmas Stockings. They don't take long and you can experiment with a world of different fabrics, patterns and embellishments to make yours unique. They also make a lovely, personal gift!
Shopping List
White, red & green felt - www.amazon.co.uk
Festive fabric - www.myfabrichouse.co.uk
Festive ribbon - www.amazon.co.uk
Buttons (1 mixed pack) - www.amazon.co.uk
Tartan ribbon - ASDA Supermarket
Aida & embroidery thread - Hobbycraft
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and that I have inspired you to have a go. Get a wriggle on though, it'll be here before you know it!
Stay Merry and Bright!
Zo..x
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