Courtney Creating heirloom holiday crafts is one of the joys of making things for the people you love. When my daughter was born, the first thing I made her was a Christmas stocking. Using a handful of techniques I gathered from various Creativebug classes, I designed and made my own. It’s always such a pleasure to hang it up and remember all those nights by the Christmas tree stitching it in anticipation of her arrival.
I started my stocking by sketching the stocking shape on a large piece of drawing paper. Then, I filled it in with various motifs like birds and flowers. I knew I wanted to add my daughter’s name (undecided at the time) and left a place for that. I also wanted to make the whole thing out of felt so I wouldn’t have to worry about seam allowances or finishing edges. All my drawings were also same-size templates I could use to cut my wool felt pieces. My hand-stitching isn’t the tidiest, but the small scale of the elements and the addition of meaningful motifs and a few vintage sequins made this project so pleasurable.
Tips for Hand-Stitching Your Heirloom Stocking
Here are a few things I learned from our Creativebug artists that helped me tremendously in making an heirlmoon stocking:
To finish off my stocking, I used the blanket stitch which made for a very tidy and lovely edging. Kata Golda includes this in the “Finishing” chapter of her Fox Stocking class which was one of the inspirations I pulled from.
I love the couching stitch for any lettering or bold lines. Rebecca Ringquist taught me this technique in her Embroidery Sampler class. It’s an excellent stitch to have in your pocket for all kinds of crafts. You can see an updated how-to in her more recent Pincushion and Needle Book class (which also makes a lovely holiday project for gifting). I am thrilled to say that Rebecca also teaches an excellent 12 Days of Christmas stocking class using felt motifs. This class didn’t exist yet when I was making my stocking, but I’m so glad we made it happen so you can enjoy it.
For any hand-stitching, knowing How to Tie a Quilter’s Knot as Heidi Parkes shows is invaluable!
All Of Our Handmade Stocking Classes
If sewing by hand isn’t your thing, we also have classes on how to knit, crochet , patchwork or machine-sew a beautiful heirloom stocking. I’ve rounded up all our stocking classes here so you can take your pick! I think for my next stocking I might attempt Blair Stocker’s Stash-Busting Stocking. Who can resist all those tiny scraps of Liberty fabric? Not me!