If you have very basic sewing skills, you should be able to sew a very simple Christmas stocking with good results.
You can either use a sewing machine or sew by hand. Here are the steps for making your own custom Christmas stockings with minimal sewing.
Fabric Selection
Select the fabric of your choice for your stocking.
You should select fabric that is somewhat sturdy to support the weight of whatever you plan on putting inside the stocking.
If the stocking is purely decorative, then you can use whatever fabric you want.
You will need approximately 12" to 18" of fabric per stocking, depending on how wide of a stocking you want.
Solid colored fabric that does not have a front or back side is the easiest to work with.
Trace and Cut
Fold your fabric over on itself to create 2 layers.
If your fabric has a pattern or has a front and back side, ensure that the pattern is going the same way on both layers and that either the front sides or the back sides are facing each other.
Also consider whether you want your stockings to face to the left or face to the right.
You may want to use pins to hold the fabric exactly where you want it.
Using either a stocking template or a stocking you already own, trace around the stocking onto the fabric using either a fabric marking pencil or a marker.
You should mark the stocking approximately 1/4" wider than you want the finished stocking. You may want to trace multiple stockings at the same time if you are making more than one.
Cut out the shape of your stocking using very sharp scissors or a rotary cutter.
Sew
Put the front sides of your stocking facing each other so you can sew on the back side of your fabric.
Using either a sewing machine or hand stitching, sew around the edges of your stocking, but not the top, approximately 1/4" from the edge.
Start at the top edge and try to make one continuous stitch to the opposite edge.
Top Finished Edge
To finish the top edge, you can fold the edge over (still on the back side of the stocking) and sew a simple hem on the back side, sew on quilt binding #ad, or hot glue quilt binding to your Christmas stocking.
Once complete, turn the stocking right side out so the finished side is visible.
If you want, you can iron the stocking so the sewn edge is flat.
Hanger
Hand stitch some ribbon on to your Christmas stocking so it can be hung from your fireplace mantel.
If your Christmas stockings are purely decorative, feel free to hot glue on the ribbon as well.
You can sew the ribbon so it is perpendicular to the top edge of the stocking or at a slight angle since the stocking will naturally turn at an angle when hanging.
Embellishments
You can add many different embellishments to your Christmas stockings.
You can hot glue on lace, add jingle bells, rhinestones, buttons, iron on monograms, or whatever you desire.
