Stockings for the Kiddos

I realize I could just run to the store and purchase a ready made stocking but what's the fun in that? My explanations are long-winded but these took me about 45 minutes to make, each.

Here goes...

What You'll Need: 

1 pattern for stocking {optional. I used a pattern from dear ol' Martha }

1/2 yard of fabric for body of stocking {I like the thickness of fleece}

1/4 yard of fabric for cuff

1/4 yard of fleece for the underside of cuff {again, to add thickness}

2 feet of trim for embellishing cuff

3" x 6" piece of fabric for loop to hang

What To Do: {click on any photos to enlarge}

I did this project two different ways. 

Miss Mak's way:

Fold your outter fabric so that the right sides are together and, using several pins, secure your two layers of fabric together. 

For the body of your stocking, freehand, or trace your pattern, onto your outter fabric. As I said, I used a Martha Stewart pattern, specifically, her Birds Stocking Template.
Sew 1/4" seam around the body of the stocking remembering to keep the top open.
For the cuff, place your outter, "pretty" fabric facing right-side-up on your work surface and lay your fleece right-side-down on top of it.
Pin together.
Trace and cut out two cuff pattern pieces.

If adding trim, unpin your outter fabric and fleece on both cuff pieces and lay out your trim on the bottom of your cuff. Sew into place.

{You may have noticed that I didn't pin the trim into place and that's because it was too thin. If you have wide enough trim, I recommend pinning it for sewing.}

Lay your fleece piece on top and pin into place so that, once again, right sides are together. Sew into place.

{This can be a little tricky since you're working so close to the edge. If you have a zipper foot, like the one I used above, I'd use that.}

You'll end up with this... 

Place one body piece right-side-down on your work surface. Place one cuff piece right-side down.  {Yes, it sounds backwards, but just trust me.}Stitch the cuff into place. Repeat this for the other body and cuff pieces.

Lay your two pieces together so that the body pieces are facing right-sides-together and stitch around the body of the stocking ONLY. Do not stitch the cuff. 

Once stitched, turn the stocking body right-side-out.

For the loop, use your 3" x 6" piece of fabric and fold it in half so that it's now 1.5" x 6". 

Open it up and bring the two edges in to the center line, like shown below. 

Press these two edges.

Keeping the two edges you just pressed folded, refold in half so you end up with a piece that is .75" x 6".

Sew down the 6" length.

Fold your loop fabric in half, to create the loop, and pin into place on the cuff. Make sure the actual loop is facing IN when you pin it into place. {That's hard to explain so just take a good look at the picture below. The open end of the loop piece is in and tilted down. Once you turn the cuff, the loop point upward.}

 

Stitch up the sides of the cuff. 

I recommend back-stitching over the loop a few times for extra stability.

Fold the cuff down and you're done!

The Mr. CeeJ way:

Cut your two body pieces out of the outter fabric {in this case, red plaid} and two out of a thick fabric {in this case, off-white fleece}. 

Layer the body pieces on your work surface as follows: first, fleece right-side-down. second, outter {plaid} fabric right-side-up. third, outter fabric right-side-down. fourth, fleece, right-side-up. 

Pin and stitch a 1/4" seam around the outside, leaving the top open.

Cut two pieces for the cuff from a piece of fleece and cut two pieces from a lining fabric, in this case plain black, at least an inch larger than the pattern piece on all sides. 

Lay  the bottom edge of your cuff {the edge you would put embellishment on} flush with one end of your lining fabric.

Turn so the seam is in. 

Pull the fleece up to reveal a small portion of your lining fabric to create a border on the bottom edge of the cuff. 

Cut off the excess lining fabric around the fleece. 

Create your loop, as described above in Miss Mak's way.

Place your two cuff pieces fleece-sides-together. Place your loop piece into place as shown.

Sew up two short sides. I recommend back-stitching over the loop for added strength.

Leaving the stocking body inside-out, line the cuff with the open end of the stocking and pin into place. 

Sew around the opening and be careful to keep the loop out of the way of your stitching.

Turn your stocking body right-side-out, fold the cuff down and you're done!

{If any of this still confusing, message me and I'll figure out a better way to explain or show how this all comes together. It truly is simple, just hard to explain.}