How to make a Christmas stocking: sewing & knitting

How to make a Christmas stocking: sewing & knitting: 10 best easy Christmas stocking patterns 5 FREE

Buy Olga’s chunky knit Christmas stocking pattern on Etsy here >>

Christmas stocking knitting patterns – Olga Prinku’s expert tips

I love the festive season and the opportunity it creates to roll up your sleeves, start making and decorate the house and the Christmas tree. One of the first things I ever made was a Christmas stocking, when my son was two. I’ve made a bunch of stockings ever since, and not just for friends and family. Here’s what I think makes the perfect Christmas stocking knitting patterns:

1 Choose beautiful and natural materials

I love knitting and always choose 100% wool for my own stockings, rather than manmade fibres.

2 Make it chunky.

I love using chunky wool as it makes the stocking super tactile and bulky yarn also knits much faster. Chunky wool is expensive, though. Using multiple strands of less thick wool also works.

4 Make it BIG.

I love oversized stockings, the longer the leg length and roomier the better to fit in all those extra treats. Plus it will definitely make a statement over the fireplace! No-one will miss it.

If your stitches are not perfect, or you go a bit wrong with your stitch count don’t worry – knitted wool is such a forgiving medium. Just use a crochet hook to redistribute the tension of the stitches on the right sides to make them more even. The wrong sides can helpfully hide a multitude!

Knit in the round

Knit it in the round to avoid any bulky seams. It might sound a bit scary knitting on 4 double-pointed needles, but it’s easier than it seems and there are lots of tutorials online to give you a solid foundation. It’s so much easier not having to worry about a side seam or having to press the seam of the stocking.

Getting the circular shape can also be easier with circular needles – it’s up to you which feels more comfortable. I also love plain stockings but if you’re planning to make a few stockings it’s a good idea to work out how they’re going to look hanging up together. The end result is all about creating a festive expectation on Christmas Eve – and a little bit of magic made with your own hands.

Take time to make a hanging loop

Make an effort with the hoop for hanging at the top of the stocking. A loop of ribbon will do the job – I love to use cotton ribbon, and to make it look neat I attach a wooden button over the seam where I’ve stitched the ribbon onto the stocking. Pom poms are another great way to finish off the top edge of the stocking as is a simple piece of ribbon in a fold loop or ric rac as a jaunty last step.

There’s no right way or wrong way to trim your diy christmas stockings – it’s all about going for what you are drawn to and embracing your creativity. I like the texture created by adding a stocking cuff made by rows of knit stitches. But feel free to add anything you like to customise the outside of the stocking – or indeed the entire stocking if that’s how you feel.

Personalise it!

There are lots of ways to personalise your stocking. I particularly like the custom leather tags you can get on etsy.com. Or you could go down the embroidery route and stitch an initial on the front in a contrasting yarn. Actually it can also be a nice touch to add your initials or a hidden motif to the back of the stocking too. Also think about the inside of the stocking. A lined Christmas stocking can be a really nice touch if your sewing skills are up to it. There’s a step-by-step guide here that might be helpful:

Crochet Christmas stocking patterns

How beautiful is this crochet pattern? I love the texture and simple, chunky shape. Gorgeous in winter white too…

Buy crochet Christmas stocking knitting pattern on Etsy here >>

Free pattern ideas

Love Crafts is a great place to find patterns – and a useful starting point for finding free sewing pattern, knitting pattern and crochet pattern ideas.

This is a cute self-striping free knitting pattern:

This video tutorial is really helpful:

The Love Crafts youtube channel is a useful place to know about: https://www.youtube.com/@lovecraftscom</strong>

Red Heart Yarns is another useful resource to know about and there’s a cute selection of pattern ideas here:

Free crochet pattern

This scalloped edge crochet free pattern is my favourite – love the scalloped contrasting cuff.

Sewing patterns

If you have a sewing machine, making a Christmas stocking is a quick and easy festive project and perfect for using up pieces of fabric. If it’s your first time or you’re a beginner, take care with the seam allowance (using a stocking template – or old stocking – to make your own pattern – easily done with a piece of paper!) to keep the shape nice and even and to avoid raw edges or wonky lines. For me, achieving straight lines at the sewing machine is all down to going slowly enough and resisting the urge to speed… Press seam lines (long edges and short edge) as you go is my other key tip. And if you’re using a folded edge, iron the fold line with a warm iron too. I’m always tempted to cut these corners but the result is so much better when I don’t!

Fabric requirements obviously differ, but left over fat quarter fabric (ie pieces of fabric that measure around 50cm x 55cm) can be useful as can leftover fabric/trim from other sewing projects. I love a plain main fabric with contrasting lining piece and cuff piece. Mixing different fabric scraps can work well, as can edging everything with a simple top stitch. Layers if fabric can also work well – whether that’s for the main sock pieces or just the front of your stocking.

Repurposed jumper

This is a great easy Christmas stocking pattern which repurposes an old jumper or piece of knitwear, and as stocking shapes go, this mitten take on it is a fun idea. So cute with candy canes poking out of the top… You can trim the bottom of the cuff in any way that takes your fancy. Faux fur around the edge of the cuff could be cute…? The exterior fabric that you use to make the main body of the stocking is the key choice. I’d probably keep my own choice to cotton fabrics with a contrasting fabric for the cuff panel and for making a lined stocking.

Get free sewing pattern here

This free basic stocking tutorial video takes you through all the stages you need to know to make your own stocking – including the amount of fabric you’ll need, (both outer fabric and the one you want to line your stocking with) as well as how to cut the long sides and getting the size of the stocking right, factoring in an inch seam allowance (or so!). It will help you get to grips with getting the desired width, cutting out the short sides, as well as the long edge and adding a piece of cuff fabric.

It’s also helpful for working out the cuff line, how to make the main stocking using a simple paper template and also how to add the hanging loop to the top seam. There’s something reassuring watching this stocking come together so easily. It’s always a little bit more tricky when I come to sit at my own machine, when there seems to be too much fabric bunching around me, but I’m not going to let that put me off.

This is another great tutorial:

Quilting

If you’re looking for free quilting patterns, how about this cute stocking for the holiday season from Love Crafts. The stocking pieces are made from Windham Fabrics Chalkboard design and cuff fabric is a festive red stripe but you could obviously adapt to use your own festive favourite fabrics. If you are tempted to make a quilted stocking, having a walking foot sewing machine would be helpful to make handling the fabric easier.

Or how about this wonky stripes pattern from Yarnspirations?

The outside fabric is made from joining together ‘wonky stripes’ to make the outer pieces with plain backing fabric inside. The actual size is 48.5cm tall. You’ll need:

Coats & Clark™ Dual Duty XP® All-purpose Thread

¼ yd (23cm) each of six different fabrics, for front.

½ yd (46cm) each of backing fabric, lining fabric and cotton batting.

1/3 yd (30.5cm) grosgrain ribbon, 3/8″ (1cm)

Removable marker

This scandi inspired pattern is by Little Sister Sewing and available to buy as instant download PDF pattern on Etsy which you can then print out to create a paper pattern for the stocking pattern pieces. You can choose to make it in two different sizes and in four different designs. You can also use your own quilt blocks if you’d prefer.

Love this pattern too:

It’s a modern quilting design with simple star by Made Just Sew on Etsy.

Tilda is always a great place for finding free pattern inspiration, including this gorgeous Christmas Stocking free pattern.

This is a great video tutorial to make a simple patchwork quilted stocking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBWXz87kQ_o</a>

And this is a great tutorial for showing you how to finish your main stocking using a cuff tube. https://cluckclucksew.com/2010/12/tutorial-lined-stocking-with-cuff.html</a>

A few fabric options

First thing to say (from bitter personal experience) is to make sure you have enough fabric. If you’re not great at sewing, I have seen perfectly good results by using fabric glue instead of stitching. But I would urge you to try your hand at sewing instead, as I tend to stuff Christmas stockings with as many gifts as I can cram in, and I just don’t think glue will hold up the same. If you, like me, also like to stuff as much as you can into your stockings, the width of the top of your stocking is an important consideration. I like the idea of adding decoration (pom poms probably) to the side of the cuff but keeping the rest simple. Adding wood slices as trim decoration are also quite popular right now – and have a natural/scandi feel. I like the idea of painting on your own motif – maybe a gingerbread house, robin or snowflake perhaps – before tying to the stocking.

Embroidery

You could always make a plain stocking in an exterior stocking fabric piece that you embroider with your favourite festive motifs with embroidery thread (DMC threads have a great free template of Christmas motifs here: It’s the perfect way to add a unique touch to your finished stocking. Or you could just embellish with simple embroidery (even something as simple as blanket stitch along the top of the cuff can work really well) along the top edge. Handmade Christmas stockings are such a lovely thing, don’ t you think?

Stoney Creek have a cute selection of Christmas Stocking cross stitch charts, including this Wintertide Friends design

Ready made stockings

Final ideas to share – new Christmas stockings to buy that have been hand made if you don’t have time to make one yourself or the entire project idea feels too much. You can also buy ready-made new stockings on Etsy, like this Chunky Striped Nordic Stocking – all you have to do is hang them and enjoy!

Or how about this adorable polar bear stocking by Laura Long also on Etsy?

And I’ve just found these adorable hand-knitted Christmas stockings, one with crochet mistletoe. Gorgeous!

Chunky knitted Christmas stockings to buy

I just love this large, super-chunky knitted stocking from Laura Ashton Designs on Etsy

It’s great to support our artisans and makers but if you think you’re not up to making you own stocking, I’d urge you to reconsider.

Having a go at one of these easy patterns would, I promise you, be the perfect project for this time of year. Have fun and don’t worry about making mistakes. Find a DIY Christmas stocking pattern you like, pick a themed fabric if that floats your boat, make it for a family member or just as a handmade decoration to bring out every year. The best part is that you are sure to have a great time as you go. I say that but I do tend to spend at least half of the time I spend at my sewing machine quietly swearing…. Merry Christmas!

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How to make Christmas crackers with pretty paper

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You may already be familiar with Olga Prinku’s beautiful dried flower embroidery hoop art (read our blog post How to make embroidery hoop art with dried flowers)

Discover another great festive make idea by Olga here: how to make wool baubles with stripes. Hope you enjoy… X

Find Olga Prinku in the Creative Workshops section of our Directory.

You might like to discover another great festive MAKE idea from Olga: How to make wool baubles with stripes

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