Thursday, December 15, 2016

Hung by the Chimney (With Care)

At some point while visiting with family for Thanksgiving, I came up with the brilliant idea of "doing stockings" this year. I've wanted stockings for a while now, but the idea of spending money on trinkets to fill them with when there were already perfectly good gifts under the tree... Then my sister mentioned a list she'd come across of inexpensive, semi-useful stocking stuffer ideas. With my one reservation assuaged, I was ready to roll.

We toyed with the idea of matching (or at least very coordinated) stockings, but when I saw a Nutcracker ballet slipper stocking I had to make it for Rosa -- she absolutely loves the Nutcracker ballet! But what about the boys -- should each child have an individualized stocking? What about future children? Should choosing stockings really be this difficult? Definitely "no" to that last one! I finally found this Knight Stocking, the only one of its kind I've been able to locate on the interwebs. Perfect for Little Man -- and by changing a few details, I could make one for Laddie, too. If more girls or boys come our way, I'll reuse the slipper and knight patterns and change the details to personalize them. Different shoe colors for girls, different shield colors for boys. Still matchy, but unique.

Design was not too difficult -- I didn't even bother printing off the ballet slipper pattern, because I knew I didn't want the toe that "pointy," and as soon as I see the words "enlarge the pattern" my eyes glaze over. The knight stocking didn't have a pattern at all, since it's a ready-made stocking, so I was on my own for that. I made the patterns roughly the same size and shape, added seam allowance, and went fabric shopping. Which was a bit of a kafuffle, because JoAnn didn't have the fabrics or trim I'd hoped for, and I had to wing it. As it was, I still wasn't sure exactly how the knight stockings would materialize! The ballet slipper was more straightforward, and I even managed to snag some beaded trim that was sure to delight Rosa.


I added two little beaded dangles to the bow after I took this photo, for a bit of added "glam"





Construction was pretty straightforward. Cut out the pieces, bond the exterior pieces to heavyweight fusible interfacing, decorate, and then sew together. I came across a picture from this Easy DIY stocking tutorial as I was looking for design inspiration, and liked the construction method (though I didn't end up turning the edge over to make a cuff). I slowed up a bit with the boys', because I still didn't have a concrete idea of the design. But it came together, little by little! I'd purchased about four yards of tiny silver cord trim that was on clearance for 25 cents per yard, because I was so desperate to find something -- it turned out to be exactly what I needed for the bottom of each "boot." I used a narrow zig-zag to stitch it down in a diamond pattern, and I love the result. And only 16" to spare. Phew!






As the construction process began, Rosa became interested in what I was doing, and I eventually gave up and told her that they were stockings. I was planning to hang them up as soon as they were done, anyway. She seemed quite impressed that I knew how to make stockings, and asked me if my mother had taught me how! Later on, she began giving me recommendations for what I should put in her stocking (chocolate), and a timeline for when I should shop for things to go in the stockings (the next day, or maybe the day after). Oh, the easy confidence of the four-year-old!











My efforts were rewarded by their excitement over the finished stockings, though! Now, just to fill them...

10 comments:

  1. I love these; how detailed. I will have to file this idea away for the future.

    My mom made the first two of us stockings, and then the rest got ready made ones. This year she picked up new ones for everyone, but of course my sister and I will keep ours (mine has a Christmas scene of cross-stitched bears on it; I love it) for later.

    We've always had stockings, and we usually get a piece of fruit (its especially nice when we get a pomegranate all to ourselves) and chocolate, maybe gum or mints plus small gifts like jewelry, socks, and gloves. The Modern Mrs. Darcy blog has several posts on non-wasteful stocking stuffer ideas for all ages.

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    1. Thank you, Livia! I really enjoyed figuring out the details -- though the stocking I used for inspiration definitely gave me a head-start. My oldest liked the ribbon at the top of his, which "looks like an upside-down castle!" ;-)

      And that list by the Modern Mrs. Darcy is the exact one my sister showed me, which convinced me that we could actually do stockings. It's a good one! :-)

      Thank you for stopping by, and for your kind words!

      Cheers,
      Shannon

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  2. These are really lovely!

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    1. Thank you Jill! They were rather fun :-)

      Cheers,
      Shannon

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  3. All so creative and pretty Shannon. 'Love the girl's ballet slipper idea- my granddaughter would love that. Great idea for the boys' stockings also. Happy holidays to you :)

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    1. Thanks, Danice! As soon as I saw the ballet slipper stocking, I knew I had to make one! :-)

      Cheers,
      Shannon

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  4. They came out so nicely!! We typically do toothbrushes, fruit, hair ties for Rosie, and stuff like that. This year I'm putting in water bottles that I've been wanting to get for the kids! My parents used to put school supplies in ours too, although my kids are still a bit young :)

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    1. Thank you, Hannah! I've already got a few goodies in there (including toothbrushes -- I love that my kids are at an age where that's a treat for them :-). So far, so good! I've been looking for some good pencils but haven't had any luck so far.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Cheers,
      Shannon

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  5. My siblings and I were into Playmobil; so there would be a small set (one new Playmobil person) and/or small plastic animals to expand our farms and ranches.
    We siblings would have Mom add small gifts we handmade. And there was usually a special pencil (sparkly or our favorite color) and a little notebook (for church - we were allowed to doodle as we learned to take notes.)
    We always had a mandarin in the toe. And candy would be from our adopted grandma.
    As we didn't do Santa, we actually had a stocking hunt Christmas morning. =) Extra fun with flashlights! (When we were little the search was limited to the living room, and hiding spots were age "appropriate".
    Favorite memories!!

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    1. That's so funny, each of our kids has a little pack of Playmobil animals in their stockings, too! :-) I love the idea of handmade sibling gifts. I should remember to add a mandarin orange, as well; we eat them frequently, but they would probably still be a treat!

      Love the ideas -- thanks for sharing your memories with us! :-)

      Cheers (and Merry Christmas!),
      Shannon

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