It Only Took Six Years

Every year at Christmas, there's always one thing that's missing in the Chadwick household.  Stockings.  That are hung by the chimney with care.  And until this year, the chimney part was missing, too.  I have a slight aversion to buying anything that I can make for myself, and, honestly, there's not much out that that I can't make for myself.  That aversion even holds true for Christmas stockings.  I have always really liked the look of cable knit stockings.  They look like the socks that people would have used years ago.  However, the thought of knitting them kind of made me want to cut my nails too short so I couldn't.  So instead of torturing myself, I went to Goodwill, bought two sweaters for about $4, and did this instead:

 I took one large sheet of heavy paper from a very tall person's artist pad.

 Free-handed the stocking.

 Ummm, changed it up a bit.

 Cut it out.

 Changed it up a bit more.

 Pinned the stocking on the inside out sweater.

 Stitched around the pattern using a zigzag stitch and the edge of the paper as a stitching guide.  

To be perfectly honest, I just couldn't quite wrap my head around how the pattern should look including the seam allowance, and I figured it would be easier to stitch the stockings first without cutting the pieces out anyway.

 Cut out the stocking.

 Turned right-side out.

 Did this three more times.

 Cut red ribbon to appropriate length. 

 Took a really bad picture of a small cup hook that I put in the wall above the mantle.  

 Hung stockings with care.

I went ahead and did four stockings so there would be one for any future little Chadwick child.  Right now, it's the dog's.  For this project, I think a sweater that is either 100% cotton or wool works best.  The fabric isn't as stretchy, and that will give you a nicer looking end result.  The cup-hook-in-the-wall is a trick I picked up from my dad.  They will just stay put year round, waiting patiently for each Christmas to roll around so they can bear the weight of stockings stuffed with sweet little presents.   Some future Christmas may find me decorating them and embroidering our names on them, but for this year, I like them just the way they are - plain and simple.