Cute & Simple Stocking {Tutorial}

There's only a few days left until Christmas and I've been rushing around to finish up everything on my to-do list. I've just completed yet another semester of teaching, so my last couple of weekends have been filled with grading and all of those end of the semester chores. Last weekend, I was determined to not only close out the semester grades, but also finish a few last minute projects. On my list was this stocking for my youngest and a photo of the kids with Santa at our neighborhood holiday party. So here's how it turned out:

Not too shabby for a couple hours of work huh?

To get started, you will need:
-1/4 yard red velvet or fabric for the main part
-1/4 yard coordinating fabric for the cuff, I went with a bright green and sparkly corduroy
-1/2 yard trim (those cute puff balls)
-buttons, fabric, ric-rak, double sided fusible interfacing, embroidery floss, and anything else to add to the stocking. 

Note: I am self taught, quick, and take a very relaxed approach to sewing. Don't expect perfection here. ;)

First, begin with tracing your stocking onto your main fabric, outlining about 1/4" away from the edge. Cut, and pin right sides together. 

I drew a chalk line where I wanted my seam. Sew along your line, leaving the top open. Trim corners and any excess fabric. I also went ahead and serged the raw top edge to prevent stretching in future steps. 

Next, Take your coordinating fabric and trace the cuff about 1/4" larger than the original. Make the height as long as you want your cuff to be high (figuring in folding on the both bottom and top). Mine turned out to be about 8" wide by 9.5" tall.

Cut, pin right sides together, and serge or sew along each side. 

Flip the cuff fabric right-side-out and place around the top of the stocking that is right side out. 

This means that you will have wrong side to right side together, or right sides facing up. I only specify because I may or may not have done some seam ripping here ;). Sew or surge the top edges together and flip up so that the wrong side of the cuff is showing and the right side of the stocking is showing.

Fold over, hiding the seam, and pin trim upside-down onto the bottom of the cuff, about a 1/4 inch from the edge. 

Sew into place. Fold under and top-stitch. 

Now you're almost finished! Time to make the loop to hold the stocking. I took a 2" wide strip of fabric, folded it in half (right sides together), serged the edge, and flipped it right side out.

Tip: Don't use corduroy for the loop. It is incredibly difficult to turn right side out! I employed a chopstick and some curse words.  Next, make sure your cuff is at the right length. Place loop along the left side seam, at the top of the stocking and secure. Continue top-stitching along the whole top edge of the cuff.

At this point, you have a blank stocking. You can leave it as is, or decorate it to your heart's desire. In our family, each child has a different Christmas character on their homemade stocking. For little E, I went with a gingerbread girl appliqué because she is so sweet. 

And you can't have a sweet southern girl without a big bow! ;) I found that cute bow button at Joann's, along with the gumdrop buttons and mini ric-rac. I used double sided fusible interfacing and brown velveteen fabric to make the gingerbread girl. Embroidery floss helps to secure it in place.

Bonus: Because this project was so quick, we made it to the party and even got a decent photo with all three! 

So there you have it, a simple DIY Christmas stocking. Along with a 40% off coupon and my teacher's discount, this project cost me about $15. I felt so accomplished after this weekend and can officially say that I am ready for Christmas. Are you?

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Thirty Handmade Days