Molly's Sketchbook: Simple Embroidered Stockings

These stockings are designed to be a quick project. You can make one for each member of your family and still have time to be together and enjoy the holiday!  They are made with the rich, gloriously colored solids from Kaufman, Essex and Kona Cotton as the base, and the simply beautiful natural Essex as the lining. There is something so sweet about seeing everyone's stocking hung on the mantle in anticipation of the goodies that will soon fill them!

Materials

To make six stockings. If you'd like to make more or less just buy a 1/2 yard of a colored solid and a 1/2 yard of the natural Essex for each stocking.

• Six 1/2 yards of solid fabrics in a pretty holiday range. I used, Red Essex, Hot Pink Essex, Brown Essex, Lime Essex, Orange Essex, and Tangerine Kona Cotton. If you are using bright reds or pinks we highly recommend laundering your fabric before you use it so it doesn't bleed.
• 1 3/4 yards Natural Essex
• 25mm bias tape maker
• Six colors of embroidery thread in the same range as the solid fabrics. I used: Rich Rose, Luminous Lime, Orange, Christmas Red, Red Brown, and Love of Life
• A water soluble fabric marker
• An Iron on Transfer Pencil
• Tracing Paper
• A Reverse Alphabet, available for free download here, printed out
• A Simple Embroidered Stocking Template, available for free download here, printed, cut out, and taped together.

Cutting and Preparation

Iron one of the colored solid fabrics selvage to selvage and trace the stocking template onto it.

Cut out the stocking shape, cutting through both layers of the fabric at the same time. You will have two colored stocking shaped pieces.

Repeat this with the natural colored Essex.

Cut two 2-inch strips from the 44-inch width of the natural fabric. Press these strips into binding tape as per the instructions on the 25mm bias tape maker.

Sew the binding tape shut with a 1/8-inch seam allowance.

Cut six 8-inch strips from these sewn pieces of binding tape. Sew their ends together 1/4-inch from their raw edges so that they each form a loop. These are now called the Loop Pieces.

Sewing the Stockings

Pin the colored stocking pieces together leaving the top open. Fold the raw edge of each top piece down a 1/2-inch towards the outside of the pinned pieces.

Repeat this for the natural colored stocking pieces.

Sew the colored stocking pieces together with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Start and stop your sewing at top folds but do not sew the folds down.

Sew the natural stocking pieces together with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Start and stop your sewing at top folds but do not sew the folds down.

Turn the colored stocking piece right sides out, tucking the top folds inside. Press the colored stocking like this.

Slide the natural stocking piece inside the colored piece. Push it all the way into the colored piece so it fits snuggly inside and tuck the top folds of the natural piece neatly in between the colored and the natural pieces. Press the pieces together this way.

Pin the tops of the pieces together making sure that the side seams meet and the folds are neatly encased inside.

Sew the tops together with a slip stitch.

Adding the Loop

Turn the stocking inside out and pin the bottom of one of the loop pieces to the outer side seam (the seam along the heel side) 4 1/2-inches from the top.

Attach the loop on to stocking by sewing across the bottom of the loop a few times, perpendicular to the side seam. Make sure the lining and outside of the stocking are flat as you do this so they don't get folded on themseleves  as you are sewing.

Turn the stocking right side out and fold the top down 4-inches. Press this fold down.

Embroidering the Names

Using a piece of tracing paper draw a horizontal line using a pencil. Then trace the name you're using along this line using the Reverse Alphabet and the Iron on Transfer Pencil.

Meanwhile orient your stocking as shown above, with the toe facing to the right. Using the water soluable fabric pen, make a horizontal mark 1/2-inch from the bottom of the stockings fold. Make a vertical mark 3/4-inch to the left of the right edge of the fold.

Place your traced name along the marked horizontal line so that the last letter of the name meets the vertical marking. Make sure you have flipped the tracing paper around so the letters are going the correct direction and the iron on pencil marks are meeting the fabric.

Using a very hot iron press the traced name onto the fabric in this orientation. Be very careful not to move the name while you're ironing. If you need more help with this step please click here and scroll down to "transfer pencils".

Pick one color of the embroidery thread. Using a small backstitch embroider around the edge of the first letter.

Then, using the same color embroidery thread, fill in the inside of the letter using a satin stitch.

If you need help with backstitch or satin stitch please check out our embroidery tutorial here.

Embroider each letter of the name in the same manner, using a different color of embroidery thread for each letter.

The stocking is all done and ready to be hung by the fire!