Puppy Dog Stockings

When I was growing up my sister Annie and I had very similar stockings for Christmas.  They were knitted and mine had reindeer on them and her's had snowmen.  For some reason my parents could never remember this and every year, a couple presents in, we would have to switch stockings because they had filled the wrong ones.  The stockings being knitted also cause problems because the presents would always get tangled up in the threads.  And most importantly, the stockings never seemed to be big enough for our present haul.

So, a few years ago, Annie and I made stockings for my whole family.  We used stockings that my grandmother had made for her and my grandfather as a template. It cleared up all kinds of confusion and we've all enjoyed them ever since.

A year or two after my cousin saw them while visiting from Washington and asked if I might make her some for her family with a Hawaiian Print theme.  Last year there was a fire in her house right before she had her second child and they were making do living elsewhere while their house was repaired.  To send her some Hawaiian Christmas cheer I finally made the stockings she had asked for.

 

This year they took custody of her husband's nephew and to make him feel included she asked if I would make him one too.  While making his socking my mom asked for a stocking for her dog Ruby (she asked specifically for one where the name could be changed - depressing I know, but my mom is not one to waste things).  Here's Ruby's stocking:

 

When making it, I made the pattern freehand, and when I sewed the whole thing together I realized that the stocking was a little to narrow. I couldn't fit my hand into it.  So, when I decided to make some for a friends dogs I made the stocking wider and shorter.

For the stockings I made for my family I machine embroidered the letters on individually.  Since the puppy stockings were much smaller that wouldn't work so well. So I used my favorite Heat 'n Bond to make the name iron-on and used a blanket stitch to keep the edges down:

I made a lining for each stocking so that they were a little thicker and I embroidered the names through the top and the lining.  After sewing the front and back of the stockings together (with linings) I then measured the top so I could add the cuff.  I would take the circumference and add 1/2" for seams and then cut it about 5" high and sew it to the stocking with the ends sewn together and folded in half.  The loops for hanging are made from a rectangle about 2.5" by 8". Sew together the long way then turn right side out and fold in half and sew it to the heel side of the stocking:

I also added a jingle bell for merriness and some trim along the bottom of the cuff.