Maker of the House

Happy New Year 2010!

I decided to start the year off right by celebrating with some of my own personal traditions for New Year’s Day, one of which, is writing!  For many years, I have taken some time to reflect on the past year and jot down my hopes for the future.  I am so happy (and relieved) that I finally achieved my goal of getting some of my creations up for sale with a storefront on the internet and starting this business blog to go with it.  It took me six years of resolving to get this started to finally have it happen! For this coming year, I’m simply hoping to move forward…  Wish me luck!

I hope you were able to celebrate this day with your own traditions!  May 2010 be a great year and decade for all of you!

Now here’s the craft project I’m FINALLY catching up on… better late than never, but here it is:

A reversible Christmas stocking.  This is the first thing I’ve made with my own pattern.  I searched and searched for a good one, but couldn’t find one as simple as the one my own mom made for me.  So what did I do?  I took construction paper and traced around my own stocking, added some room for seams and voila!  I tried to improve on my stocking, remembering how I never had enough room for stuff in the foot, but ended up with pretty much the same sized one, maybe even a little narrower.  Oh well.  Evan will complain about Santa not being able to cram as much stuff into his stocking too.  The project took me a lot longer than I expected also, but was worth it in the end.  I need a LOT more practice in applique (putting on letters or decorations) so I won’t be making personalized stockings for sale next year unless I do.  I could definitely make some plain ones though.  Next time, I will make a pattern with a slightly bigger foot.

So if you want to make your own, here’s the jist of the steps I took (keeping in mind that this project requires a basic knowledge of machine sewing):

1.  Find a stocking you like and create a pattern by taping pieces of construction paper together to make a piece big enough to trace a wide margin around the edges of the stocking.  No margin around the top.

2.  Using your pattern, cut out four pieces of fabric, two each of coordinating prints or colors.

3.  If you want to personalize it like I did, cut out letters for your name, one in each of the selected prints.

4. Iron all four stocking pieces and zigzag the edges to prevent unraveling.

5.  Applique the letters to the front side of your stocking (if you want a reversible one, you will have two front sides).  I appliqued my letters by first ironing in Stitch Witchery tape to hold them in place, and then zigzag-ing the edges with a very short, tight stitch.  This was very difficult and time consuming, but I learned a lot.  Hoping to master this skill in the future with more practice, and perhaps lessons!

5.  After ironing again, and with right sides together in the first print, stitch the sides.  Do the same for the other print/color so you essentially have two stockings, one in each color/print.  I used as small a seam allowance as possible.

6.  Turn right sides out and place your “two” stockings together, one inside the other.  If you have two personalized stockings, you have to do this so that the finished stocking is truly reversible and the name shows on the outside both ways.  My brain was addled during this process and I almost ruined my stocking, so be careful with this step!

7.  Zigzag around the top of the stockings so they are stitched together.

8.  Finish the edge with bias tape in a coordinating color.

9.  Use bias tape to make a loop to hang your stocking and you’re finished!!