Yesterday – my last day off before Christmas – I had fully intended to get into the festive spirit by (finally) 
putting up our tree, and wrapping presents. I failed. Why did I fail? Because instead I was inspired by a project I saw recently by friend & blanket stitcher extraordinaire, Britta Jarvis: mini stockings (shown right). Suddenly I decided that that was what I really needed to do, in order to start feeling Christmassy. (I think it was the thought of the stocking fillers I have for my parents & sister, combined with the realisation that stocking fillers without a stocking aren’t even really fillers…!)
Britta’s stockings were made of felt & – as implied earlier – beautifully blanket stitched around the edges. But as this was a completely off-the-cuff decision on my part (definitely no time for shopping!), of necessity my stockings were made from whatever materials I already had to hand. Luckily, although under normal circumstances I will tell anyone who will listen that I cannot sew & have a hate-hate relationship with my sewing machine, I am powerless to resist pretty fabrics & hoard them, anyway.. Thus, no festive colours whatsoever, but I think I like them all the more for that! And although I did begin by attempting a blanket stitch edging on Stocking #1, I very quickly unpicked after realising my non-proficiency in terms of seamstressing meant that I would do far better to work concealed seams, instead…
Stocking #1 has both sides cut from a tea towel, with no attempt made on my part to align the pattern in any way – as clearly seen! I drew a rough stocking shape freehand onto the reverse of the fabric, then flipped it over & drew around it for a matching reverse side. I might have done better to do a quick google search for a stocking pattern to trace (the ‘neck’ of this first one came out a little narrow), but I just wanted to get on with the project, so I decided not to worry about it. The open end of the stocking, I hemmed the edges using a very primitive running stitch – yes, it could have been neater, but it was good enough for me. 😉
Stocking #2 is made from a thinner fabric, so to avoid flimsiness, I opted for a sturdy craft felt for the reverse side. Brown would probably have been better, but orange was the best match available from my stash. I tried to make the neck slightly wider this time, and the body slightly fuller (must remember actual gifts need to fit inside!) .
I think Stocking #3 shows positive results from my little learning curve, with proportions far more convincingly stocking-y. The body is less rounded, yet has far smoother curves at toe and heel – guess that’s what happens with practise! 😉 Each of the stockings is approx. 7″ tall, but the widest point of Stocking #1 is 5″ across, compared with 6″ across Stocking #3 – it’s amazing how much difference such a small measurement can make to the overall look. I must confess, I’m kind of in love with Stocking #3, which is why I was motivated to actually take pictures before we parted company…
As a finishing touch, I used an off-cut from each piece of fabric used to make a matching badge, which I then pinned to the heel of Stockings #2 & #3 (& the toe of Stocking #1) to brighten up the plain reverse side. The badges are removable, but I think they look kinda cool. 🙂
Given that every year I fully intend to make my own Christmas cards but never actually manage it, I’m very proud of myself for actually managing to do something handmade this year! It only took a couple of hours to complete all 3 stockings, and that was including any minor mishaps needing to be recovered along the way. I’m sure anyone more proficient with a needle (or sewing machine) could whip these up far more quickly than I, but the experience has nonetheless left me feeling quite positive (& indeed slightly inspired) about future handmade projects. Felt plus fabric is definitely a successful combination.
Hmm, suddenly I am feeling the need to collect felt in a wide array of colours…
No hang on, I do still need to put up that tree & wrap presents…!
With reference to this recent post, I have just added A Handy Pouch – Simple Sewing Tutorial to the TangleClub Archive. The file sizes were quite large so I have split the PDF down into 3 smaller chunks, for ease of download. Have fun – would love to see results if any of you try it out!
Oh. My. God. I can’t believe it, but it’s even cuter! Misshape #2 has long rabbit ears, and is stuffed with lavender rather than moong beans (I thought lavender suited the colours of this one; but I have to say, it’s much easier to stuff with beans!). He was made in exactly the same way as 
After the ‘success’ of my Mis-shape, I was still itching to stitch. I dug out an embroidered pocket that I saved from a pair of jeans that I threw out years ago. All I did was running stitch across the top, closing the pocket, except for the last couple of centimetres. This time I was better prepared, rolled some card into a funnel, and made less of a mess filling the inside with moong beans. Finished stitching across the top. I could have left it there, but my streak of pink stitching looked a bit wishy-washy, so I whip-stitched back across it with a 6-ply hand-dyed cotton, so it looked as though it wasn’t pretnding not to be there. It makes a great pincushion (actually, it makes a pretty good paperweight) and I’m really pleased that after about 5 years I have finally done something with that rescued pocket. I knew it was worth saving!
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