Christmas Stockings

This year, Greg and I decided to do Christmas stockings for each other. Of course, instead of buying stockings, I decided to make some. Joann's, as always, was having a sale. So I bought a yard each of red plaid and green fabric and a yard of fusible fleece to make the stockings a little puffier.

Fusible fleece, just in case you're wondering, is about $8 a yard. But I had a 50 percent off coupon, because I'm awesome (I highly recommend the Joann's app if you're a big JoAnn's fan.) The ladies at my JoAnn's crack me up. At the cutting counter, I presented the fusible fleece and requested a yard and the lady looked at the fleece and leaned over the counter to whisper, "This is not on sale. You have coupon?" I told her that I did, and she smiled big and cut the fabric for me. She was genuinely worried that I might overspend on fusible fleece. Cute, right?

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the second stocking. The first one I made after work one night, meaning that I didn't finish until about 2:45 a.m. since I work until 1 a.m. Which is to say that there aren't pictures from the first stocking.

First, I made a "pattern" out of muslin. I had to make the stocking HUGE to account for all the seams and quilt. I just used a charcoal pencil to sketch a rough outline -- and then I realized how much would be taken up by seam allowance and made it about half again as large.

I cut just about everything with a rotary cutter because I'm lazy and I think the finished cut looks more neat. And I'm lazy.

Do you like my pattern weights? They're my mom's. She gave me a bunch of her old stuff. She has fancy new pattern weights. But these have character -- I remember her using them when I was a kid.   

So first I cut out two stockings and two cuffs from the red plaid. 

Then I cut two stockings and two cuffs from green. 

Then I ironed one stocking and one cuff to the fusible fleece (again with the laziness -- I could have used normal quilt batting.) I wanted the stockings to be different on each side, so I sandwiched the opposite fabric onto the other side of the fusible fleece and sewed a seam around the outside.

I did this for both sides of the stocking and then sandwiched the two sides together and sewed around the outside. Except the top, obviously -- you want your stocking to open. (Fun fact: The first stocking, I sewed the top shut by mistake. I got in a groove of sewing all the way around. Don't be like me.) 

Then I trimmed the seam allowance with pinking shears, sewed the cuffs (also sandwiched with fusible fleece) to the top and flipped the whole thing right side out. 

Finally, I sewed a little loop on the back of the cuff so that we'd be able to hang the stockings over the fire. 

Here's an inside shot. Please excuse my scrap fabric pile in the background. 

These made pretty small stockings, as you can see with my hand there. (Although, for the record, my hands are huge -- larger than most men's hands.) But they're just big enough for a good bunch of small stocking stuffers, which is exactly what I wanted. I haven't decided yet if I want to embroider the solid green cuffs with our names. So far I'm thinking no. Maybe next year. :)

Hope you all have a merry Christmas!