Name Applique Stockings

 Now that our family feels complete, I decided it was the perfect year to sew some stockings. I was so excited when this idea came to me. I knew I wanted to incorporate our names somehow. And lots of my favorite fabrics. So this is what I came up with.

I knew I wanted the base to be felt. Our stockings were made from felt when I was little, and I just think it seems Christmas Stocking-ish. And I knew I wouldn't have to line it. I am glad I went with felt because it was a good base for the letters. I used wool felt from JoAnn. I don't think it's 100% wool, but it's definitely not the acryllic stuff that is the cheapest. It was on the smaller bolt for about $10/yard (I used a coupon, of course).

I tried to draw my own stocking shape, and then tried to trace an old one, but neither of those efforts gave me the exact shape/size I was looking for. I like a larger size, and a nice round toe. While browsing my favorite blogs, I found Mad Mim's "perfect stocking template" and it was just that - perfect! Find it HERE. Thanks, Miriam! So, I simply cut the felt pieces out and then the trickiest part was sketching out the letters. I wanted them big and bold, so I made them fill the entire stocking. I'm glad everyone has 5 letters or less in their names - it was tricky fitting Simon and Greta on there! Technically, Max is "Maxwell" but that's mostly when he's in trouble and Max was easier!

Drawing out the letters and making them look just right was the most time-consuming part (and least fun). But then it was fun to pick out the fabrics and get my applique on! For more letter applique tips, see my tutorial HERE.

 Most of these "process" photos were just snapped with my phone whenever I randomly remembered to take one.
 

I drew the letters normal, but was sure to trace them BACKWARDS on the heat-n-bond before ironing onto the letters. ((take a look at my applique letter tutorial to see what I mean.))

I stitched around the letters -- three times around each letter if you're wondering. (see photo below) I have lots of fancy stitches on my machine, and I tried out a bunch of different things, but in the end I liked the thickness that I got by going around each letter 3x with a straight stitch. Which of course kept me up til 4:30 am one night, but hey they will be on our wall for years and you should see how excited my kids were when they them.

 
 The nice thing about felt is that I just stitched the fronts to the backs (right sides together), flipped them out and that was it! Didn't need to line them or finish the top. I am still debating what to use for a hook (maybe rick rack) so for now they are just hung with some pins. We don't have a mantle, anyway. I told the kids that Santa will take them off the pins before he fills them, of course.