Seven Weeks of Christmas Crafts: Week 1 - Stockings

I did it!  I actually made Christmas Stockings.  I have always wanted to do it because I never seem to like any stockings in stores unless they are over $30 a piece. 

It wasn't nearly as time consuming as I thought it would be.  That being said, they are FAR from perfect.  My biggest "error" was that they are not uniform in size or shape because I'm just not very good at handling my sewing machine.  I guess that's what happens when you use it once every three years. 

Here was my pinterest inspiration:

Source: cottageinstincts.blogspot.com via Cassie on Pinterest

Now this is a little to "fancy" for my usual whimsy Christmas Decor so I had to add my own funk to it.  The burlap is what sucked me in though.  I love the rustic feel of it, plus I felt it could hide my imperfections a little better.

I used an old stocking as a pattern.  Now the stockings turned out about 4 inches longer than the pattern stocking because I did not read the tutorial all the way before cutting and sewing.  If I would have done so I would have realized that the cuff goes above the stocking piece and not overlapping it.  So now we have long stockings or "irrigation boots" as Jon called them :)

Here they are!  We picked out the colors because they match a lot of what we already use in our decor.  Once I got the stockings done I had to figure out how to embellish them and how I wanted to incorporate the initials (the store ran out of A's so Addy's will have to wait). 

Photo will not rotate and I don't know why.  Anyways here is a sideways view of the embellishments.  I literally strolled through the store for inspriation and this is what I came up with.  The pom poms really finished it off for me!  The initials are just wooden letter that I painted white and then went over with a "pearl" coat. 

The hardest part for me was sewing on the stocking hooks.  It was tricking sewing on the inside layer without going through the outer layer, but I survived... and I had to hand stitch the entire cuff.  I'm glad I didn't know that ahead of time or I might have chickened out. 

I actually enjoyed the project and now that I have my crafting station set up downstairs I think the upcoming projects will go a lot smoother. 

I'm very nervous about that tree skirt though... especially with my sewing disabilities. 

What was your craft this week??

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