These Large Christmas stockings started as a family tradition 40 plus years ago when my mom made them for the four of us. My mom, dad, brother and I all had our own, what seemed HUGE at the time, stocking on the mantle. My grandma also made large stockings for the family, but my mom took these to a whole other level! This Large Christmas Stocking Tutorial will guide you through making your own.
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The first thing you need to need to do for these stockings is make your pattern. I used this Butcher Paper which is really nice for making simple patterns. If you have extra, you can always use it for wrapping gifts or paper for your kids to color on.
This pattern is very simple and is made from 1 Rectangle (10” X 24”) and two circles with a radius (distance from the center of the circle to the edge of the circle) of 5 inches. You can use a marker with a string attached to act as your protractor to make a circle. I bet you thought you’d never use those Geometry skills again! You could also use a plate or anything round you can trace. You want to make your rectangle first and then make your two circles. The center of the first circle will touch the middle of the bottom rectangle line. For the second circle, the center will touch the edge of the first circle. This will give you a guide for making the foot part of the stocking. You can adjust the circles if you want a longer or shorter “foot” for the stocking.
Once you have the rectangles and circles drawn you can use a marker to outline the stocking to create your cutting line. Go ahead and cut out the stocking patten.
Now that you have your pattern, let’s talk about fabric. I used a flannel fabric for my recent stockings, though my mom used a quilted cotton fabric. I liked the flannel fabric options so I went with this and did my own quilting to make the fabric thick to match the other quilted stockings. It takes a little more work to do the quilting yourself, but it makes the stocking nice and durable. If you choose to purchase quilted fabric you can check your local fabric store like Joanns or check on Amazon. Here is an example of a quilted cotton fabric you could use. This is a flannel option and you would also need to purchase quilt batting to go between two stocking pieces. You will definitely be able to find more flannel and quilted fabric options at your local fabric store if it is during the holiday season.
Now that you have your fabric, you can cut out your stocking. If you’re using already quilted fabric, cut out two pieces. If you are quilting it yourself, cut four stocking pieces because you will need two stocking pieces to sandwich the quilt batting. Once you have the batting between the two fabric pieces, you can sew lines across the fabric or do more fancy stitching to attach the pieces.
You can see in the photo below the top stitching I did on my fabric. I just did lines across one way and then lines across the opposite way to attach the batting and fabric together.
Make sure your two stocking pieces are opposites of each other meaning the feet go the opposite way. This will allow you to place them right sides together to sew.
You can now put your two stocking pieces right sides together and stitch all the way around leaving the top of the stocking open. I loved using my serger for this project. If you haven’t used a serger before, it makes a strong seam while also cutting the extra material. You can view this serger HERE. I highly recommend a serger for projects like this or if you make garments.
For the top of the stocking, fold the top about an inch toward the inside and stitch along the top of the stocking. You can also add a loop for hanging. I used three pieces of fabric that I braided together, but you can use all kinds of material. I suggest something thick like a shoestring.
You can also add a name to the stocking with felt or pictures of items a child likes. Get creative 🙂
Now go hang your stocking! Make sure you use a sturdy hook since these will be a bit heavier!
You can view a short video tutorial on my Instagram @cafelunadesign
If you want to see more projects and patterns like this, make sure to join Cafe Luna Community!
