Name Stockings

I made these last year and originally posted about them HERE but I thought I'd share it again in case anyone is interested in making some! They really were a lot of fun.

 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.

Christmas Sunday/matching dresses

Last Christmas, I bought Ruby's dress but I sewed pajamas for the kids. I decided that I'll rotate each year - sewing one or the other (dresses or pajamas).

Someone commented that the girls looked like Christmas gifts all wrapped up and tied with a bow.

I was really excited to sew matching dresses for Ruby and Greta this year. I thought about it all year, but still I was sewing til midnight on Saturday night!

I realize this sorta gives the boys the short end of the stick but I don't think they care that much.

David was giving me a hard time about all the sewing (combined with the stockings - it was a lot!) and I said "oh don't worry, your heart will be so happy when you see the girls in their dresses on Sunday" and he joked, "yeah, when I take the kids to church by myself and you're passed out in bed after staying up all night!" Ha! Nearly true. I stayed up til 5 am one night, but on Saturday night, I did get a decent amount of sleep. 

The great part is that I bought this red polka dot fabric for about $3/yard! And of course the boys just got new ties. Thank goodness boys are so easy. Same white shirt every week? Yes, please.

I decided to make the ribbons removable, so we can switch them out to not look so Christmasy through the year. The dresses are roomy enough to fit them for at least a year. Ruby and I are thinking pink ribbon for Valentine's Day and blue ribbon for 4th of July. And maybe red or white for the rest of the year?

**linking to Fabric Tuesday!

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.

lil' red kitchen

The main gift from Santa this year was this wooden kitchen set for Max and Ruby. I wanted them to know it was for both of them, so I made the aprons with their names on them. The kitchen was built by a local Amish man and I love how it turned out. It was my friend's idea to have one built for her little girl, so I went with her when she ordered it. It is amazing what that man can do without electricity! We showed him a photo of the (ridiculously expensive) Pottery Barn retro kitchen as a guide. I painted it and added the hardware. The sink is just a silver mixing bowl! The faucet, however, was a full-priced bathroom faucet from Home Depot. "Mr. Claus" was drilling that into place at 11pm on Christmas Eve. hehe. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be, but it turned out well and the kids love it. Don't look too closely ... I still need to touch up a few spots with the paint.

I made them aprons, mostly so they'd know that the kitchen was for BOTH of them.

{{They are really into their posessions these days. I even hear them
fighting like this: "My mama!" ... "No, she's my mama!" then Max
will usually say "No, she's both of ours mama!" I'm constantly telling
them "that's our FAMILY's couch/chair/cup/car/TV..." *roll eyes* }}

Christmas Catch-up

We hope everyone had a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Ours was really fun and the kids had a blast.

More soon...