the stockings WILL be hung by the chimney with care.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...

Day 5: Today I made Christmas stockings for Paul and I :) And let me tell you, it was a really fun project!!! I thought it would only take me two hours to complete and not FIVE, but I'm beginning to learn that sewing projects always take longer than expected. I really like how they turned out!!!

Here are some quick/maybe-not-so-quick instructions

{...because it's not too late to make some Christmas stockings for yourself and your family...}

To make ONE stocking you need:

• 1/2 yard of fabric for body and lining
• 1/4 yard of matching fabric for cuff, monogrammed letter and hang tab 
• Batting
• Stocking pattern piece {found here}
• Heat N Bond LITE {I made the mistake of trying to use Heat N Bond Ultrahold. It doesn't work...just trust me on this one.}
• Sewing machine and your typical sewing things {thread, pins, fabric scissors, etc}

{Step 1}

Step 1. Use the stocking pattern piece to cut out 2 stocking fronts and 2 stocking backs. A good way to do this is to pin the pattern piece to your fabric when it is folded in half and then cut. These will be used for the body and the lining of the stocking. Also, while you have your scissors out, use the pattern piece to cut out one piece of batting for your stocking.

Step 2. Find a good font on your computer that will work for the letter on the stocking. You will want to print the letter and cut it out. {TIP: I used the font Goudy Stout in size 280} Next, attach a square piece of fabric that is bigger than your letter to the Heat N Bond LITE. There will be directions on how to attach this on the packaging of the Heat N Bond. Pin the printed cut out letter to the square piece of fabric and then cut out a new fabric letter.

{Step 3}

{Step 4}

Step 3. Next, you will need to attach your fabric letter to the front stocking piece. This is also explained on the packaging of the Heat N Bond. Basically, 

you just place the letter where you want it and iron it on. {You will need to peel the backing off first} 

Step 4. This step wasn't in the original plan, but as soon as I placed the letter on the stocking I realized that the letter kind of gets washed out from the stocking fabric print. So I used a zig-zag stitch with white thread to go around the letter to make it stand out more. This takes some time and patience. I tried to go extra slow so I could stay nice and close to the edge of the letter with the zig-zag stitch.

Step 5. The last thing to do dealing with the letter is fairly easy. Pin the batting behind the front stocking piece and then with your machine trace the letter with a straight stitch. Once again, just take this step slow so you don't make any silly mistakes. This will help the letter to 'POP'. This will also attach the batting to the fabric. 

Step 6. Now it's time to sew the body and the lining of the stocking. For the body, put the front stocking piece {with letter and batting} and back stocking piece right sides together and sew around the entire stocking body, except the top :) Once you are finished, flip the stocking right-side-out. Repeat the same thing with the lining. You will not have batting on the front piece {this makes it somewhat easier} and you need to leave a 3 inch opening on one the the sides. THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR LATER. Keep the lining right sides together.

Step 7. Once you have done all of the above, you are ready to stop reading what I have to say and go look at this MAJOR HELP of a tutorial. I found this tutorial very easy-peasy to follow. All the instructions were explained clearly and I didn't have any trouble finishing my stocking.

HAPPY SEWING :)
...this is my first time writing instructions on how to sew/make something
SO let me know if you have any questions...