Sewing Project

Now, I am not skilled at sewing.  I can work maybe three settings on my sewing machine, and I generally have to stop once or twice each project to rip out a seam and start over.  But I like the creativity and freedom involved.  I like picking the fabrics and combinations.  I like creating something with my own hands.  I can express my mild creativity with low risk, and it gives me something productive to do during periodic unemployment.  And best of all, I can make handmade, homemade gifts to give to people I love.

Occasionally, this will backfire.  About three years ago, I got it in my head to make advent calendars for everyone I know.  I started making little mittens, trees, presents, ornaments, and santa hats, and intended to put them all on string to make a little advent garland.  But you need at least 25 little guys for every garland.  And I wanted to make six or seven garlands.  And sewing numbers on each little ornament?  I didn't get through that many before the project became too daunting and I gave up.

I've made a few quilts, some napkins, some bags, and little things around my house to relative success.  When my brother's girlfriend saw the Christmas stockings I had sewn a few years ago, she expressed her frustration with being able to find stockings they liked.  I jumped at the chance to make them some for Christmas.

I had this fabric left over from the advent calendar fiasco, and loved it.  (It was my mitten fabric.)  I added fusible interface to the back to give it a little more stiffness.  The stockings I made for our home did not have fusible interface to start, and they just sort of hung limply and misshapen when filled, so I ended up adding some to relative success.

The pattern looked a little small in the stocking form, so I decided to add the heel and toe details to make it a little less overwhelming.  The top, heel, and toe are white fleece (discounted for being the end of the roll and having a small blue discoloration!).  These were all machine-sewn.  I hand-sewed the fleece letters.  Here, I sewed the letter before sewing the two sides of the stocking together.  It is much easier than waiting until the stocking is all one piece.

Stockings after the sides were sewn together. 

A little mistletoe detail to break up the white expanse at the top.

The finished stockings!  I made a smaller one for their cat as well.  I am about to ship these off (with a little bit of soap and lotion extras) for their Christmas.

(Yes, I recognize that it is the end of January and a little late for Christmas gifts.  I got married about a week before the holidays, and it put a damper on my ability to purchase or make gifts this year.  Better late than never?)

I hope they like them!