10 best easy Christmas stocking patterns 5 FREE

10 best easy Christmas stocking patterns 5 FREE

Christmas stocking patterns – a little guide to making the perfect wool Christmas stocking from knitting, crochet and a few sewing ideas for good measure. Because whatever your skill level, handmade stockings make a really special part of your festive decorations as well as being an important part of Christmas morning when loved ones discover what’s inside! I’ve picked my favourite beautiful stockings to make including free Christmas stocking pattern ideas and other diy Christmas stocking projects to enjoy. Merry Christmas!

I’ve found THE PERFECT knitted Christmas stocking knitting patterns for making Christmas stockings you’ll want to keep forever. They are by wonderful Olga Prinku and are available to buy from her Etsy store. Olga has also kindly shared her tips for creating the perfect Christmas stocking too – so why not get the knitting needles out and start making a stocking or two, or three..?

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. 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 seams.

Take time to make a hanging loop

Make an effort with the hoop for hanging at the top of the stocking. 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 your 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 stocking – it’s all about going for what you are drawn to and embracing your creativity.

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.

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

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) to keep the shape nice and even and to avoid raw edges or wonky lines. Fabric requirements obviously differ, but left over fat quarters (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 fabrics can work well, as can edging everything with a simple top stitch.

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. You can trim the bottom of the cuff in any way that takes your fancy. Faux fur could be cute…?

Get free sewing pattern here

Quilting

If you’re looking for free quilting patterns, how about this cute stocking 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 favorite 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’ 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.

Embroidery

You could always make a plain stocking in an exterior stocking fabric piece that you embroider with your favourite festive motifs (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.

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

Ready made stockings

If you’re not crafty, don’t worry. 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

You might also like

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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