Today, I'm very excited to announce the launch of a new sewing pattern, the Sew DIY Stocking. The Sew DIY Stocking is a beginner-friendly holiday stocking, perfect for personalizing your holiday decor. The stocking pattern comes with four sizes—mini, small, medium and large—that can be used in a variety of ways. The stockings feature a classic design with a rounded toe and heel, a hanging loop and a fold-over cuff. The stockings are quick to sew and, if desired, the small, medium and large sizes can be sewn with a lining. Make it in velvet for a classic, luxurious feel or sew up a set in plaid cotton flannel for a cozy, homespun vibe.
Read on for more details and about the inspiration behind this pattern.
Beth, age 2, modeling stockings
Christmas stockings have always played a big part in my memories of Christmas. Each member of my family had their own stocking. My Dad's was the stocking he had as a child, a narrow, long vintage printed stocking from the 1940s. While the rest of us had classic red plush stockings with a white cuff in a variety of sizes. Our names were cut out of felt and glued on to the cuff. Mine was fairly small but my grandma had the tiniest stocking. Until one year, one of my uncles found a gigantic red stocking and we moved her name over to it because it just seemed unfair that grandma had the smallest one.
While I love the Christmas season—celebrating with friends and family, all the special cookies and of course the presents—I was always a very skeptical child and never believed in Santa Claus. My mom claims that even at one year old, I had trouble believing that some strange bearded man came and dropped off presents inside our house in the middle of the night. In her words, I was "not fun at all". Fortunately for my mom, my younger brothers were much more gullible and believed the stories. I was threatened with receiving no presents at all, if I dared to reveal the truth and break the spell for them. And I loved presents, so I begrudgingly complied. And for years, my brothers delighted in waking me up before dawn to see what Santa had brought.
2020 was the first year that I didn't spend with my family, and my first without my little red Christmas stocking. My parents live only about an hour away from me but we were too worried about the pandemic to risk getting together. I did my best to keep things cheerful and festive though. We had weekly cookie making zoom parties. I decorated the house with all the lights, trees and decor. And I made a pair of Christmas stockings for myself and my boyfriend. I drafted a pattern and sewed us each a stocking from velvet that I just happened to have in my stash. We didn't do a stocking-surprise Christmas morning but I loved the design and wanted to share it with others.
So last year, 2021, I released that pattern as a free download (still free when you sign up for the newsletter) along with a how-to video on YouTube. You can read the original blog post, watch the video and sign up for the newsletter right here. I really love this pattern, so, I thought it would be fun to make it in a variety of sizes and release it as a real pattern.
ABOUT THE SEW DIY STOCKING SEWING PATTERN
This pattern includes four sizes: Large, Medium (the original free size), Small and Mini. The large size is for the maximalists among us and is inspired by my grandma's extra-large (and well-deserved) stocking. The large is 14.3" wide by 20.5" long (36.3x50 cm). The large is big enough to fit larger gifts and would look great on larger mantels. The medium is my go-to size, coming in at 11.3" wide by 16.4" long (28.7x41.6 cm). The small can fit a handful of small gifts and measures 7.5" wide by 10.7" long (19x27.2 cm). Finally, the mini is the cutest of all, measuring 4.25" wide by 5" long (10.0x12.7 cm). (At that size, it's also the trickiest to sew. Full disclosure!)
There are lots of fun ways to use the mini size. My ideas included Christmas ornaments, gift decorations and garlands. My testers suggested using the mini as an advent calendar and a way to package gift cards for teacher gifts (such great ideas!). The mini is the perfect size for gift cards so there's a lot of fun possibilities there.
The original stocking design is for a lined stocking with a classic cuff. The construction is a little different than a lot of lined objects that are sewn right sides together and then turned right side through an opening in the lining. Instead, the stocking and lining are placed wrong sides together and the cuff is stitched to the lining. The seam allowances of the cuff, stocking and lining are finished together and hidden by the cuff when it's flipped to the right side. I like that this method is really fast to sew and the seam allowances create a little bump that pushes the cuff out and gives it a nice shape. The lining is optional and I don't recommend it for the mini size because it gets tricky to sew things that are so small.
Sewalong
There is a sewalong page set up with a few existing blog posts that may be helpful to you. (There are also links to these posts in the instruction booklet.) My current plan is to publish new sewalong blog posts in two segments. Next week, I will post about fabric and supplies and sewing the mini size. Then, at the end of November, I'm planning to do a couple of hack type posts, including how to customize the stocking with purchased trims and a patchwork stocking. You can find all the sewalong posts by clicking here.
By the way, the best way to stay up to date on all my blog posts is to sign up for my weekly newsletter.
Finally, I want to give a big "Thank you!" to Maddison Coons for photographing the stockings. With the exception of the Lou Box Top's original photos, I've shot all of my own photography for the blog and my patterns. It was a great relief to be able to hand over that responsibility to someone so talented. I love how the photos came out and it's been hard to select just a few to share. They’ve really captured the holiday mood I wanted, and I now can’t wait to start decorating for the holidays.
I hope that you love this pattern as much as I do. It’s really quick to sew, and a great way to personalize your holiday decor. To celebrate the launch, we are offering 20% off this pattern through Oct. 30, 2022. No code needed.
Click here to grab your copy of the pattern. Happy sewing!
