Gorgeous Stocking Tutorial (and Giveaway!)

****Comments are closed! Sherri from Design2Shine is the winner and has been emailed! Thanks, everyone!****

If you're here from The Girl Creative's Creating Christmas Party, welcome!

If you're not, you really should go check it out!

Todays link party is all about creative wrapping, and I posted my pretty patchwork stockings.

I promised a tutorial on them, so here it is!

First, my customary sewing disclaimer...
I am not good at sewing. I don't do anything the right way - only the way that works for me.  If you read this and you think to yourself "how did this airhead ever sew anything?!" The answer is...idunno!

Step one is to make yourself a template/pattern.  Make sure to add extra room for seam allowances!
I drew out my stocking (on a brown paper grocery bag from Target!)
Once it was all adjusted to my liking I cut it out.

Use your pattern to cut out all of your fabric pieces.

 

The foot is the hardest part.  So that's where we'll start.
I'm going to show you the jester style foot, because it's the more difficult of the two.

Once your foot is cut out, sew it, making sure the right sides of the fabric are together(!)

Now turn it right side out.  I use a chopstick to get the tiny ends turned out.

The inside of the foot needs to be stuffed with batting for it to stand up and look right.  I use my chopstick again, and just push and push until it's all filled up to my liking.  The boot style foot is done the same way - it's just a bit easier without that awful curl at the end!
The foot is done, for now, so we'll move on to the leg.

 

Sew your leg fabrics together (right sides facing in) and then press your seams so they will lay flat.
You should have a rectangle of fabric now.

Then you take the right side of your bottom fabric and line it up with the outside of your boot (leave some room to sew the leg up later) and sew them together.
This can be tricky.
I take the removable portion of my sewing machine off for this part, so I don't have to work around it.

At this point you have an open leg sort of draped over the foot.

 

You COULD stuff the foot here, instead of before all this. I never do, though - I prefer to work with the foot first so I can see it better.

Now you sew the leg up. The foot will be inside, be careful not to catch it in the needle, otherwise you'll have to un-pick and you'll be cursing me.

Now...turn it right side out, and you're basically done!

All that's left is to add the internal sock and the embellishments.

To sew the inside sock use whatever scrap fabric you have laying around.
Take the pattern off the completed stocking and then sew it up.

 

Leave it inside out and place it inside the stocking, then sew the two pieces together.
I just let the seam show here, then press it under with an iron and sew an embellishment over the top.

 

Once that's done I add ruffles, trims and bells - usually where the fabrics meet, over the seams, because I like how it looks best there - by hand.

And that's it!

Now...if you got this far...

You can enter to win the boot stocking we just made!

Just leave a comment.
Followers get an extra entry!
You can post through Tuesday, and I'll drop it in the mail 1 week from today.  That will be Thursday, December 17.  I'm not positive that it will get to you by Christmas, but we'll try!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

PS...I'll be linking up everywhere! Go check out these parties!

     

Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage
Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special
The DIY Showoff
It's So Very Cheri's Monday party
Newly Woodwards Dare to DIY party
DIY Day at ASPTL