Christmas Stockings: How-To-Make for Dummies
Does your pet have a stocking?
Include your pet in the traditions of Christmas. Every new kitty or puppy deserves a stocking.
It’s fun to learn something new. Look how much you’ve mastered in the past year! Add something creative and loving and long-lasting. Make Christmas stockings for you fur babies and people family.
Supplies and Tools
- 4 pieces of fabric or felt about 9 by 5 inches or less
2. Newspaper or paper to make your pattern
3. Ruler or tape measure
4. All the other stuff mentioned above which sewers usually have:
Thread, fabric scissors, pins, hand needles or sewing machine.
This is Not about Being Perfect
There is a longer leg part of a stocking and the heel-foot-toe part. Draw a stocking pattern that looks similar to this pattern.
Because you need more fabric around the foot than what will actually show (technical term is seam allowance), make a very fat foot. Think “Chunky Monkey” for pattern.
The first time I made a pet stocking, I made the cut-out foot pattern realistically sized. That was a BIG mistake.
After I sewed the 2 sides together and turned it right-side out — blecch — I had a weird skinny emaciated chicken foot!
If you want to follow my measurements exactly, the green board pictured shows 1-inch squares. Therefore, the width of the before-sewn leg ankle heel foot is 4 inches. The toe gets down to about 3 ½ inches wide but do not go any skinnier.
Front Sides and Back Sides Are Important
Printed fabric usually has a front side and a back side.
So, your very first step in dealing with this is to
- make your paper stocking pattern
- cut out only ONE in your fabric
- flip the pattern to its other side
- cut out your other stocking side.
The purpose is to have both sides of your beautiful pet stocking showing the great fabric. (If you cut 2 exactly identical stocking pieces, one side will show the pattern on the outside and one will have the pattern on the inside. Not what you want.)
To get the good side to show to the world in your stocking, anytime you connect pieces you do it front-to-front and then turn them inside out for the finished product.
Example: look at any sewn shirt or blouse (NOT T-shirts.)
What you see from the outside is just a line where front meets back. You don’t even see stitches. The stiches and a wee bit of extra fabric hides inside. That’s the way you’ll make these stockings.
To connect any pieces there must be some fabric which will be sticking on the inside (technical term is seam allowance, if you care). So, when you decide how many stripes or bands of different fabrics there will be — make sure each has overlap room to sew to the adjacent pieces. About ¼ inch is plenty. amount.
Do the same adding of 1/4 inch extra fabric for a different fabric on top, if you like.
Sew the front of the stocking pieces all together using the front-to-front method.
Then separately sew the back pieces all together using the front-to-front method. Open each and flatten to make two separate sides with all the seam allowances on what will be the stocking’s inside.
DON’T connect front to back yet!!!
If You Want to Hang the Stocking . . .
If you are going to hang this stocking along the stairs, from a mantle, or on a wall, it is very helpful to have a loop for a nail or other hanging hook.
Make a Hanging Loop
Over-estimate how long it must be
Let’s keep it easy. Choose a fabric ribbon or fancy shoelace. Cut a 6-inch long piece.
“Six inches!” you may guffaw.
Yes. You must fold this fabric in half to be a loop, so that immediately brings it down to 3 inches, but . . . part of this — I’d allow one full inch — will be inside the stocking. You want plenty of loop to be well fastened to this stocking full of catnip treats, toys, and love. That leaves a loop which is about 2 inches long. Now that’s not excessive.
Carefully pin the loop into position on the wrong side of one of your stocking sides. have the overlap be about an inch and sew many lines to frimly, strongly attach it.
Finish Attaching the Front and Back
Finally, you put the two stocking sides together front to front and pin them in place in a few places.
Then sew from one top corner, going down the side and around the foot. Continue up to the other corner. [Do not sew across the top. That would make it impossible to place treats in the stocking.]
Take out the pins and turn the stocking right side out. A pencil or chopstick can be used to help push out any parts that are not completely turned right side out.
Feel the Love
Enjoy including your pet in the traditions of Christmas which are safe for the him or her.
This includes a pet stocking.
However, remember, for most pets — human foods are not a good idea. Maybe Santa has some chewbones or catnip treats for your pet. Now, hang that stocking “ by the chimney with care.”
If You Want to Know More
I have more to say about cats. Comment if you have a question. :-)
