Hi there! Like I said in my last post I misplaced our stockings and decided to whip up some new ones until I could uncover the missing stockings. My plan was to use some of this awesome grey fabric I thrifted from an old sheet and decorate them with doilies and pom-poms. I did not account for my allergies or the fact that the awesome grey fabric is probably hiding out with the stockings.
After undoing all the nice box piling I had done last week in the scary pink room, I was at my wit's end and ready to bag the whole idea. It's Christmas eve, I have a lot of wrapping to do still, a pound cake to bake, a gas tank to fill up not to mention the exploding ginger ale incident. I was ready to walk out and use lunch sacks like Grandma used to use but then I spied a pile of linens my dear friend Amy passed along to me and in that lovely pile was a lovely lace-trimmed pillowcase. Instantly I could see it as a stocking. How easy and pretty it would be and I believe I have another pillowcase in the linen cabinet that would work as well. The hemmed edges of the pillowcases would make a great top part of a stocking. Luckily I had my template from last year's denim stocking and so without much thought to the eggs on the counter I grabbed my scissors and some pins and hopped to it!
Turn pillowcase inside out and position stocking template on top, utilizing as much of the print as you can. My template was shorter than what would allow for the fun part of the fabric so I pinned it where I wanted it and envisioned the rest of the template to the top hemmed edge. Pin in place and cut excess pillowcase away. Note: Some people will cut out here stocking shape right then and there but I prefer to work from a rectangle, stitch, then cut. This allows for more wiggle room for less-seasoned sewers.
Bring to machine and position foot at top edged hem pointing down towards your template (unless you drew a longer stocking shape to fill up your pillowcase) and begin to sew using the needle-foot as a seam allowance guide. I eyeballed my template and attempted to stitch two-three inches away so that my stocking would be wider than what I had drawn out. Another tip is to use a darker bobbin thread so that you can easily see where to trim your fabric away. All white thread might make is more difficult for the myopically challenged like myself. Don't forget to backstitch!
Trim around stitched edges and snip a few vertical slits into each curve if your template had curves. This will keep it from puckering when turned right-side out...though mine still seems to pucker...grab up a bit of scrap fabric about six inches long. Fold it into thirds width-wise. This will be your hanger. Use a zig-zag stitch to hold all layers together, fold in half and stitch to the top of your stocking along the back seam. To do this, you will need to remove the arm cover of your machine so that you can insert your stocking over the arm to stitch the hanger on without stitching through all sides of your stocking. You can also use ribbon for this part or you can hammer in a grommet or hand-stitch your hanger on.
Turn right-side out and Ta-Da! A nifty, pretty stocking in about ten minutes! Can you guess which one is mine? Merry Christmas!
