| How to Make a Christmas Stocking out of a Sock Dec 24th 2012, 14:00 There are times in life when the Christmas stockings mysteriously fail to surface from the depths of your storage cupboard. The kids are buzzing around in excitement wanting their favorite stockings hung up, right now, and you're in a panic. Don't worry, you don't need a last minute rush to the drugstore to only find some bedraggled, picked over stockings. You can make some nifty, rustic and specialized Christmas stockings from all those socks that lost their partners during the year instead. Here's what to do. - Find suitable socks. Clearly, the larger the better, so pick Dad's if at all possible, or the ones your teen has stretched beyond all recognition. If all the socks are on the smallish side, make a series of stockings for each child to be hung along in a row, adding to the festive ambiance.
- Woolen socks or socks from natural fibers work best. But in a pinch, any sock that is clean and free of holes will do.
- Do not use ankle socks. Not unless Santa's only leaving a gift card and a stick of chewing gum.
- Plain colors are best. It's hard to make fluorescent pink socks with bright green polka dots seem festive.
- Add festive elements. The best you can do for the socks is to brighten them up and make them look like a festive object. This can be as simple or as complicated as you like but the next few steps offer a few easy ideas.
- For any sewing done, use a darning needle and strong thread for any items being stitched onto the sock. The darning needle will make your work easier.
- Add a trim to the cuff area of the sock. Use a fabric that complements the style of the sock and adds something festive, such as tartan prints, red and green prints, Christmas prints, etc. Trim can be added in any of the following ways:
- Simply sew a ribbon around the top of the cuff. Choose a ribbon of a wide size for best effect.
- For a cuff, turn down the sock a small way and blanket stitch around it in colors such as red and green.
- Add a cuff: Cut out enough fabric to form the typical cuff seen on Christmas stockings. Stitch into place. To help it stand upright and stiff, you could insert thin card and fold the cuff fabric down over this prior to stitching to the sock.
- Embroider the sock. This means quick embroidery, not the belabored sort. Be sure to secure the stitches well at both the start and end of the stitching.
- Sketch out very simple designs, such as "Mary" or "Bob" or a basic outline of a reindeer head or an angel. You can trace around cookie cutters using a fabric marker if you need a quick design to follow.
- Then simply stitch around the design you've made using large embroidery thread, such as silk ribbon, embroidery yarn in at least six strands, yarn or pearl cotton. Use thread that contrasts clearly with the sock colors, and where possible, use festive colors such as green or red. Back stitch is your best option for sewing.
- Stitching will be made a lot easier if you insert a cardboard liner into the sock to prevent catching stitches onto the other side of the sock.
- Add designs. If you don't fancy stitching, start gluing. Rummage through your craft odds and ends and find whatever will jazz up the stocking. Some possible design methods include:
- Draw Christmas designs or names using fabric markers.
- Draw patterns using fabric markers, such as skinny stripes, wide diamonds, small squares, big circles, etc.
- Glue on all manner of things, including fabric patches, beads, bells, sequins, lace, ribbons, etc. Of course, if you want to, you can sew them on too.
- Tie bows using ribbon and glue them in place.
- For a pet's stocking, glue on fake mice, biscuit bones, etc.
- Create a fun character. Use googly stick-on eyes, a pom-pom for a nose, pipe cleaners as antlers, etc. Give it a name to make your child giggle when you hand over the stocking, something like "Ollie", Santa's elf on vacation.
- Attach a loop for hanging. This can be stitched, stapled or knotted into place. A neat way to knot it onto the stocking is to cut enough ribbon for the loop, thread both ends of the ribbon through the darning needle so that a loop sits one side and the two ends the other side. Insert this needle into the sock at the middle top and pull the two ends through. Knot them into place and the loop will pull up for hanging, the knot catching on the sock.
- Stuff it full. Put all kinds of small Christmas toys and candy into your stocking, as per usual. An old English tradition is to add an orange––citrus is great in the middle of winter (or summer if you live down under).
- Hang your stocking up. Screw a hook into a mantelpiece or other suitable area. If you've opted for lots of small stockings (due to small sock size), configure them so that they hang evenly stretched across a ribbon or rope that is then attached to the hanging space at either end. Pull taut!
- Finished.
- Use a thimble to push the darning needle through thick fabric.
Edit Things You'll Need - Large socks, as many as needed
- Fabric markers
- Scrap fabric, beads, sequins, lace, ribbon
- Pipe cleaners, googly eyes, tiny pom poms
- Scissors
- Darning needle
- Thimble
- Matching or contrasting thread, yarn, ribbon, etc.
- Fabric glue
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