DIY Holiday Stockings

This post is late. Mostly because I made these stockings mere days before going out of town for the holidays having only realized a week earlier that OMG I actually have a beautiful fireplace upon which to hang them!

Before you get too impressed with me, no, I did not actually knit the stockings. I'm really into the whole monochromatic Christmas decor, so it actually took trips to SIX different Target stores from Emeryville to San Francisco to San Jose to find matching white cable knit stockings, which is kind of ridiculous (and OCD). Each store had either the wrong color, the wrong size, or just one in stock, or none at all.


When I finally got my hands on the stockings I needed, I went shopping at a few craft/fabric stores for supplies. I spend about 2 hours in a Joann Fabric store wandering around looking for inspiration because even though I had a vague idea of what I wanted, I wasn't sure what materials would get me there. In fact, the material I used most wasn't even on my initial shopping list, nor did I realize it existed. It was this awesome lacy knitting "yarn" with a silvery edge that I used just about everywhere.

Yes, I just used "awesome" and "yarn" in the same sentence.

The tutorial for this is basically the same as the holiday wreath I did this year. Gather your materials, do a "dry fit" and make a nice composition, then start hot-gluing. You can see on these stockings, I used a gray burlap that I found at a boutique fabric store for $2 a yard. It was a bit hard to work with, but it looks so pretty in person. I cut wide strips of it, folded it around the existing cuff of the stocking and glued it in place.

For the his and hers stockings, I opted not to use our initials to distinguish them, but instead to make a masculine version and a feminine version. His stocking got buttons, pine cones and guinea bird feathers, while mine got lace, flowers, berries and bows. The dogs got simple bows for now until I can find a cute bone charm or something. There is a serious lack of classy canine decor out there! Actually, there's a serious lack of classy holiday decor in general, which is why I've been so slow at accumulating decorations. I want things to look high-quality and beautiful rather than buy-it-all-at-once cheap.

I really love how these stockings turned out! So much so that I made a pair for some dear friends of ours to hang in their new house as well.

I'm really pleased with all of my holiday decor this season, as sparse as it is. This is our tree's 2nd year and it is still sporting my little DIY top hat. I added some champagne and gold colors as well to brighten it up.

It has always been a tradition in my family to leave the Christmas decorations up until my January birthday ("tradition" meaning I protested vehemently when they tried to take them down any earlier), so I plan to keep that tradition alive. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Cheers to the New Year!