And the Stockings Were Hung ...

Happy Holidays Everyone! Elizabeth here with a fun yuletide sewing project: a White Shirt & Tie Christmas Stocking.  As of last week, I have made seven of these and thankfully with each one, the learning curve has gotten easier.  Whew!  And so in the spirit of giving this season, I thought I’d share with you just how I made them.

I’m sure you are wondering why I would be making this very specific type of stocking.  My son is currently serving a two-year church mission overseas and pretty much wears a white shirt and tie 16 hours a day (great training for later in life, right?).  So to help him add a bit of holiday cheer to his bland apartment surroundings ... and ...  let’s be totally honest... to give me something to do other than cry in my closet from missing him so much ... I worked to transform a child’s dress shirt and some suiting fabric into this adorable stocking.

Supply List:

• White dress shirt & clip-on tie: boys size 4-5
• Suiting fabric: ¼ yard
• Black backing fabric: ½ yard (I used duck cloth for the stiffness)
• White backing fabric: ¼ yard (again, use something with a bit of stiffness)
• Belt webbing in black: 1/3 yard
• Black & white thread
• Sewing machine & iron
• Pinking shears, scissors and pins
• Ruler
• Stocking template: I just traced a stocking I had onto butcher paper and added ½ inch on all sides for seam allowances ... the finished project measured approximately    13.5 x 21 inches.

Step 1: Cut stocking back from black fabric.

Step 2: Fold over top raw edge ½ inch and press. Fold again ¾ inch and press. Top stitch to hold in place.

Step 3: Cut toe from suiting fabric.

Step 4: Cut toe from white backing fabric.

Step 5: Remove tags from shirt yoke and press.

Step 6: Cut shirt into top shape of stocking, making sure to adjust for pocket.

Step 7: Cut hanging tab from the bottom section of the button-hole placket. Piece should measure approximately 3x’s the width of the placket by 8 inches in length. Clear as mud?  (If this explanation is too complicated, just make a hanging tab from whatever leftover part of the shirt you want.)

Step 8: Fold tab piece so there are no raw edges and sew lengthwise to secure.

Step 9: Sew tab to shirt top, placing stitches about 1/8 inch from top edge ... actually ... just go ahead and stitch along the ENTIRE top edge ... from just under the collar to the raw edge.

Step 10: Sew the top edge on the other side of the shirt.

Step 11: Sew again under top edge stitching on both sides, making sure to capture the bottom edge of the tab on that side. You can follow the yoke stitching if you’d like to hide it.

Step 12: Sew up shirt front through both layers at one side of the button placket ... this will keep the shirt layers from shifting.

Step 13: Sew shirt to toe pieces.

Step 14: Press seam open and zig-zag stitch over seam to hold raw edges in place.

Step 15: Baste stitch around outer edges of stocking to hold layers in place.

 

Step 17: Top stitch belt webbing to stocking front over shirt/toe seam.

Step 18: Sew front of stocking to back of stocking. Clip corners as needed.

Step 19: Turn stocking to right sides and press ... esp. the seams.

Step 20: Add tie and admire the cuteness!

So if you have anyone in your family that sports a dress shirt and tie often, this thematic stocking may just be an appropriate addition to your mantle décor.  Or get creative with other themes ... I wonder what an “inconsolable-mother-of-a-missionary” stocking looks like ... I’m sure it incorporates boxes of Kleenex somehow. LOL!

 Happy Christmas and Merry 2015 dear readers!