How to Make a Christmas Stocking

A Christmas stocking. What could be a nicer item to make for a family member, a friend, a pet, or to sell? This project will cover from start to finish how to make a strip pieced/string quilted stocking. Some people use strip piecing and string quilting interchangeably. We'll use the term strip primarily to explain the method. Get your holiday fabrics, a bit of batting (we used a recycled mattress pad), and trims together. You may want a rotary cutter, mat, and ruler, or you can use scissors, a ruler, marker, or whatever tools you have at your disposal. The goal is to have fun and make something that looks a lot more intricate and difficult than it really is. This is a project I originally designed for SewingWeb.com in November 2002, while providing content for their site. As with all of the projects on FrugalSewing.com, this is a jumping off place. Use your imagination and natural creativity, along with materials and fabrics you have on hand, and go nuts!

Cut a lining for your stocking using a stocking shape of your choice. You can use a traditional sock shape or use a fancy boot shape. It's up to you.	You also need to cut a back fabric. We're going to strip piece the front onto the lining you cut in the previous step.
Using your stocking pattern or the back piece cut previously (or both), cut a piece of lining. We used a recycle mattress pad. You can use batting, a light towel, a receiving blanket, or other material of your choice.	Choose three or four fabrics to cut into strips.
Using your rotary cutter and ruler, cut 2" strips of each fabric. You can also use scissors. An alternative is to cut irregular width strips.	Choose a fabric for the top trim of your stocking. We chose the same fabric as the back of the stocking.
Cut a 2" strip long enough to go across the width of the stocking. Set aside.	Layer your fabric so that you have your lining on the bottom, the filler second, and place your first strip right side up on the batting for the top. The direction you want would like the strips to run (diagonally, horizontally, etc.) is determined by the direction of this first strip.
Add the next strip of fabric face down (right sides together) on the first strip.	Stitch through the two strips, the batting, and the lining in a 1/4" seam fron one side of the stocking to the other.
Turn the top strip (the one that was right side down) over, showing the two strips right side up, and finger press.	Place another strip of fabric face down (right sides together) on the strip prior sewn. Sew your seam and then turn the strip up, finger pressing once more.
Pin the top trim fabric right side up on your stocking. Do not sew it down.	Continue sewing strips until you reach the trim piece on the top of the stocking.
Turn the top strip (the one that was right side down) over, showing the two strips right side up, and finger press.	Place another strip of fabric face down (right sides together) on the strip prior sewn. Sew your seam and then turn the strip up, finger pressing once more.
Move the trim piece out of the way as you sew strips closer to the top.	You will sew this piece down later. Right now, it's serving mainly as a guide.
Return to the bottom half of the stocking and sew strips in the same order as you have been using until you reach the toe. Make sure your strips are long enough by trying them right side up in the position they will held after being sewn, then put them right sides together with the prior strip to which you are sewing it.	The strips will probably extend beyond the edges of the stocking. That's okay. We're going to trim them up in the next few steps.
Temporarily remove the top trim piece that you had pinned in place.	Trim the top strips which extend what will be under the top strip.
Turn the stocking over and using the lining fabric as your guide, stitch about a 1/8" seam around the strip pieced stocking top.	Trim the excess fabric from around the edges of the stocking top.
If you would like to add bits of lace or other trims to your stocking, this is the time to do it, before we put the stocking together.	We used lace, rick rack, and ribbon, stitching in the ditch of each seam.
Place the top trim piece right sides together on the stocking front.	Stitch the top trim piece with a 1/4" seam, turn it so it faces right side up, and finger press. If you would like to add trim to the top piece, you can do that now. We used silver rick rack to match trim on the stocking.
Place the stocking front and stocking back right sides together.	Stitch around the stocking (do notsew the top closed) in a 1/4" seam.
Serge the seam allowance if you can. If not, trim it with pinking shears or regular scissors.	You can use any bias tape that you like; we chose a store-bought piece. Place it around the top edge of the whole stocking.
Stitch the bias tape in place with complementary thread.	Cut a small piece of trim to make your hanger with. We used a bit of silver rick rack.
Stitch the hanger onto the stocking in an appropriate location.	Voila! A Christmas stocking.

Below are a few other stockings I've made over the years. They're shown as examples. You can let your imagination be your guide and use any fabric, any trim, any shape, any design. There are no rules. Have fun and make someone happy with their own one of a kind Christmas stocking!

A denim quilt that you can make.

DENIM STRIP QUILT USING AN OLD LAP BLANKET FOR BACKING
Easy Project for Beginners

If you can sew a straight seam, you can make this lap quilt. It is truly a recycled work of art. No two squares are alike unless you want them to be. You can use your imagination and big or small pieces of denim. The color of thread doesn't matter when you're making the squares, so you can use up all those old spools that you have in your bobbin and top threads. The fabric you use for the base of the squares doesn't matter either! Use up whatever you have, as long as it's not a knit.

Start with an old lap blanket or a piece of fleece or whatever you want to use as the backing. We're not going to use traditional top, batting, and backing for this quilt. You can if you want to, but the denim is heavy enough that you don't need it. In my case, I used an old "Mexican" blanket that was purchased for $5 many, many years ago. It was already lap sized, so I used it as a guide and decided on 7 x 9 squares for the top.

Gather up your junk jeans and cut with scissors or rotary cutter into 2" strips, long and short. You'll need quite a bit. Make a few squares and see how much you use, and then estimate how much you'll need for the whole project. Vary your blues - light, dark, medium.	Cut 6 or 8 inch squares of a woven fabric. As mentioned above, I decided on 7 x 9, so I needed 63. The color of the fabric and design do not matter. This fabric will not show on the finished project. You can use any color thread because, again, it will not show.
For this square, I decided on a modified log cabin. I started with a small piece in the corner.	The second piece was placed face to face with the first, a seam of 1/4-inch taken, and then it was turned right side up. The third piece (the darker blue) was placed face down on the two pieces already stitched, a 1-4-inch seam was taken, and then that was turned right side up. Use your hands to "press" as you go. Don't worry about a perfect length - each strip is going to be sewn over with another strip when you're doing log cabin work. The overhang on the dark blue in this example will not show.
Continue with the strips until you have completed the square. All of the base fabric should be covered.	Turn your square over and stitch along the edge of the base fabric, very close to the edge.
Trim the excess denim with the base fabric side up, squaring it off as you go if necessary.	You should have a neat edge when you're done.
Turn your square over and, voila, a denim strip pieced quilt square.	Here is the square turned another way. You can decide how you want it to be oriented when you make your strips.
An example square.	Another example square.
I chose to make my rows 7 squares wide. This is an example photo of a few of the squares sewn together.	Another example of a portion of a row.
The rows were sewn on the recycled blanket binding using strip quilting methods. Each row was considered a strip. One row was sewn down face up. The next row was placed face down upon this one and a seam taken. This method was followed until all rows were attached. This photo shows some of the squares. Each one is different.	The back is, as described earlier, a recycled "Mexican" blanket that we were using as a lap blanket. Because it's open weave, it never really was warm! I cut my own binding at 3" wide and applied it by hand, mitering the corners.

The finished lap quilt. Have fun!

Free denim, an essentially free backing source, and other items used from the fabric room. Not one iota of anything was purchased for this project. And I tell you what - it's warm! One small problem using recycled denim is that it is a bit heavy, so keep that in mind as you work with it. Take your time, don't rush through it, sew slowly on the machine (especially when several layers are involved), and you'll have a one of a kind lap blanket all your own or to give as a gift. You would use fleece for the back or use traditional batting and muslin. there are no rules. It's totally up to you. (11/15/2008)

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