By CraftingStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by Debbie Shore.
A fully lined Christmas stocking with a contrast cuff and a ribbon loop, made from a pattern you draw yourself in about five minutes. No pattern to buy and no printing.
This follows Debbie Shore's method. The part worth paying attention to is the ankle: you cut into the pattern and tape a strip in to widen it. Skip that and you get a stocking shape that looks right and will not take anything bigger than an orange.
The whole thing is straight seams and one curve. If you have sewn a cushion cover you can sew this.
10 steps · about 19 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
On a sheet of paper, measure 7 inches across the top and draw a long rectangle down from it, about 16 inches deep.
The measurements are not sacred - it is a stocking, not a dress. What does matter is that the top two corners are true right angles, because that edge is what the cuff has to sit flat against later.
Tip
Copy paper taped together works fine. There is no need for proper pattern paper for a shape this simple.
Draw a curve across the bottom to make the foot, then cut the whole shape out.
If you want the curve even, draw around a 7 inch plate. Freehand is genuinely fine though - nobody hangs a stocking and inspects the radius of the toe.
Tip
Cut just outside your pencil line. It is far easier to shave a pattern down than to tape a slice back on.
Measure 6 inches up from the end of the curve and mark a line straight across. Cut up to that line but not all the way through, so the pattern still holds together.
Open the cut out, tape a spare strip of paper into the gap, and blend the new edge back into the curve. That widening is what turns a narrow tube into something you can actually get a present into.
Tip
It does not matter that there is now a hole in the middle of the pattern. You are only drawing round the outside of it.
Cut two pieces from your outer Christmas fabric and two from the lining.
Fold the fabric double and cut both layers at once so the pair come out identical and mirrored. Plain cotton is the sensible choice for the lining - there is no reason to spend good Christmas print on the inside of a stocking.
Tip
Right sides together or wrong sides together makes no difference at this stage. You just need two of each and they need to match.
Cut two cuff pieces from a contrast fabric, 7 inches across to match the stocking top and 9 inches deep.
The cuff gets folded in half, so the depth you cut is roughly double what will show. Cutting it deep is what gives you a proper turned-over cuff rather than a thin band.
Tip
Watch the direction of a patterned fabric here. The raw edge ends up at the top of the stocking, so the print needs to be upside down relative to how you are looking at it.
Place the two cuff pieces right sides together with the print running the same direction, and sew down both short ends to make a tube. A quarter inch seam allowance is plenty.
Whichever allowance you choose, use the same one for every seam in the project. Consistency matters more than the number.
Tip
Turn the finished tube right side out and set it aside. It does not get attached until step 9.
Put the two outer pieces right sides together and sew around the edge, leaving the top open.
Then snip into the concave curve at the ankle - up to the stitching but not through it - and trim some of the seam allowance away around the toe. Both let the fabric spread instead of bunching, so the seam sits flat once it is turned.
Tip
If you are adding applique or a name, do it before this seam goes in, while the fabric is still a flat single layer.
Sew the lining pieces the same way, but leave a gap of a few inches in the long back seam near the heel. That gap is how the whole stocking gets turned right side out at the end.
Make the lining seam allowance a fraction wider than the one you used on the outer. The lining ends up very slightly smaller, which is what makes it sit neatly inside instead of bagging.
Tip
Put the gap low on the back seam. Nobody sees the inside of a stocking, but if you are going to close it by hand you may as well hide it.
Turn the outer stocking right side out and slide the cuff tube down over the top, matching the side seams and lining up the raw top edges.
Fold a length of ribbon into a loop and pin it to the back, directly over the seam, with the loop pointing down into the stocking. Tack across the top to hold everything before the lining goes on.
Tip
Squash the seam allowances open where the layers stack up. Less bulk under the needle makes the final seam far easier to sew.
Push the whole stocking down inside the lining so all three layers meet at the top, then sew right around that edge with a half inch seam allowance.
Pull everything out through the gap you left in the lining, turn it all right side out, then stitch the gap closed. Push the lining down inside the stocking, fold the cuff over, and it is done.
Tip
When you pull through the gap, the seam allowances fold themselves inward. Press them flat with your fingers before you sew across and the closure will be almost invisible.
Keep going
How to Thread a Sewing Machine
7 steps · about 4 minutes
How to Make a Christmas Stocking
E6000
E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
The industrial-strength craft glue that bonds glass, wood, ceramic, metal, fabric, and concrete. The one adhesive most craft projects reach for.
Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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