Christmas Stocking Tutorial

So this week I have finally finished my wrapping, tidied out the spare room, sorted a bit more of the study, we have our tree up and decorated, decorated the hall, study, and the fireplace and I made stockings!

I was going to keep this a secret from my in-laws to surprise them when they arrive but I can't resist sharing on the blog with a little how to in case anyone else wants to give it a try!  (I know my friend Sarah does!)

We don't have a mantelpiece so I have improvised using my inspiration picture as a starting point.  I wanted to have some hanging baubles and lots of candles with greenery like this image found via Pinterest...

I got 3 similar but different sized silver glass baubles from TKMaxx to hang in the space and spaced out some Ikea candles so they wouldn't burn them.  I used two branches which were hanging loose from the bottom of our tree but plan to add to the greenery closer to Christmas.  As we don't have a mantel, I have pinned the stockings to the bottom of our large picture frame.  We have 6 people coming for Christmas so I made 6 new stockings using 2 kinds of fabric from Mandors.

Here is our fireplace...

It was really easy so here is the how to...

You will need:
Sewing machine (mine was my Mum's) (a basic knowledge of sewing will help)
Tailor's chalk (also Mum's but easy to get in a fabric shop or haberdashery)
Pins (as above)
Fabric scissors (as above)
Thread £1.55 from Mandors
Green fabric £10.99 per meter from Mandors (I bought 2.5m of the green one as I was making a table runner as well but have about 60cm left over)
Snowflake fabric £14.99 per meter from Mandors (I bought 40cm of the snowflake one)
Faux Fur £7.99 per meter from Mandors (I used 50cm and have about half left)
Stocking template - easy to draw by hand but I used a couple of old ones to draw around
Threads to make a hanging loop - I made my threads into mini friendship bracelets to hang them (you could easily plait them or just have them plain.)

I made 2 longer ones and 4 shorter, fatter ones.  I managed to get 2 stockings out of the 40cm of snowflake material and 4 and a table runner and a mini stocking out of the green - with plenty left over!

First fold the fabric and lay it on a flat surface.  Draw around the  template leaving a 1cm margin.
Cut the fur to whatever depth you want to have (this is super fluffy!)  Separate your layers.

Add the fur to each later - pinning the furry side down onto the back.
Stitch across the top.  Then lay the two together inside out (so the fur is in between).

Pin the layers together and sew around the edge (don't forget to leave the top open!)
Loop through your chosen hook to the back edge when sewing, making sure you put the ends between the fur layer  so it doesn't show.  Turn it all inside out and hang!

I hope that explains it all easily enough.  If you have any questions, just leave me a comment and please let me know if you have a go yourself!  Would love to see the results!