Needlepoint Christmas stockings

Christmas stockings add a colorful and traditional touch to any décor. Unfortunately, well-made Christmas stockings are expensive and the cheaper ones are too predictable. However, with a little effort and inexpensive materials, you can make your own beautiful Christmas stockings - and without being a seamstress! Let's look at three stockings: one great for kids, one great for tiny gifts and one surprising recyclable.

Kids Stocking

To begin, trace around a child's sock, right onto the craft foam and cut two of these. Now cut different shapes from contrasting colors and build a design just like a collage. Glue this foam collage onto one of your stocking shapes. Now match both stocking shapes and staple the two stocking together all around the curved outside - leaving the top open. Glue on additional decorations such as buttons, lace scraps, glitter or plastic "gems." These kid stockings are such fun that you might want to make an extra stocking in miniature to decorate your backpack!

Tiny Stocking

Felt is another simple crafting medium that works for adults or kids. Purchase a variety of felt sheets, buying several in black for your main stocking section. You will also need narrow red ribbon and a thick needle with a large eye and a couple jingle bells.

For this great small gift holder, you can trace around a baby sock for your pattern or make a mitten shape for an unusual twist on the traditional stocking. Cut two stocking or mitten shapes from black felt. Black makes a great stocking background color because as you layer on extra colors, they look brighter and more festive against the dark background. Now cut leaf shapes from bright green. After you cut the basic fat leaf shape, cut half moon "bites" from the sides to turn your fat leaf into a traditional holly leaf. Cut some small red circles from red felt. Glue your holly to your stocking. Now thread the red ribbon onto the needle and tie a fat knot in the end of the ribbon. Make a running stick around the outside of your stocking, leaving the top open. A running stitch is a simple down and up stitch. Your stitches need to be about ¼ inch to ½ inch from the edge of the stocking. Don't worry about how neatness, a certain amount of unevenness just adds to the charm of these little stockings. When you reach the end of your sewing, remove your needle, thread a couple jingle bells onto the ribbon and tie a thick knot just beyond the bells. This trailing ribbon can be used to tie the stocking to a branch on your Christmas tree or to the ribbon on a large package. Fill the stocking with tiny gifts or candies.

Recycling for Christmas

Winter holidays are great for warm wool sweaters. Unfortunately, sometimes sweaters get mixed into the wash and shrink, shrink, shrink. If you have a shrunken wool garment, don't toss it - recycle it into a charming, rustic Christmas stocking. As 100% wool is washed, it shrinks and the individual fibers twist together in a process called "felting." Wash your garment again in very hot water and dry in a hot dryer.

Now cut two stocking shapes from the felted wool, using pinking shears. Using contrasting yarn and a thick needle, whip stitch around the outside of the stocking. A whipstitch is easy, just stick the needle through, "whip" the yarn over the stocking edge and stick it through again in the same direction, about a quarter inch from the first. This makes a nice old-fashioned edge. At the end of your stitching, tie a knot but leave some trailing yard to hang your stocking by.

Now decorate your stocking with glued on silk or ribbon roses and a fluffy bow for an elegant, yet inexpensive stocking. Or you may want to continue the recycling theme by gluing on some "recycled" buttons.