56 American Quilter November by Bonnie Sabel

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Chester Clarke
6 years ago
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1 56 American Quilter November 2011 by Bonnie Sabel

2 Christmas is a time for enchantment twinkling decorations magically transport our imagination to a time of innocent anticipation. Twin granddaughters recently came into my life, and my daughter asked if I would like to make their Christmas stockings. She still had the stocking I had made for her over 30 years ago, a humble one of red velveteen cut from an old skirt, embellished with plastic and metal charms, and a satin cuff. I was delighted with the challenge. I m not sure who had the most fun me while making these, or the girls as they discovered their new Christmas stockings. Tools & supplies for 1 stocking Taffeta or cotton Christmas plaid for the stocking back & binding ½ yard A piece of vintage linen for the cuff two corners cut from a white cutwork, Battenberg lace, embroidered placemat, or small tablecloth are ideal. Assorted light, medium, and dark Christmas prints, brocades, tulle, and velvet scraps for the stocking front Satin or silky polyester for the lining 3 8 yard Assorted embellishments see Choosing embellishments Cotton batting 2 pieces, 12" x 21" Fusible web 12" x 21" Template or clear plastic 12" x 21" Fabric marking pen or pencil Sharpie marker Fraycheck Craft glue (optional) Teflon pressing sheet Choosing embellishments Choose a variety of wide and narrow, heavy and translucent ribbons, and other lace and trim for covering the seams and adding interest. You can use the easy-to-find gold fusible bias tape to cover seams, but stitch it on instead of fusing. Tiny, packaged ribbon rosettes can be glued on wherever you like. To make a stocking like mine you will need a 19" piece of 4" wide icicle lace for under the stocking cuff. Some of the charms, buttons, and beads on my stockings are not Christmas themed. It adds to the magic to encounter the unexpected like ladybugs and frogs along with a gingerbread man and Christmas tree lights. Also look for small decorations sold as ornaments for miniature trees. Choose a variety of seed beads to stitch on. Heart, star, leaf, and round rhinestones can be glued. Safety tip: Don t use removable embellishments on stockings for young children. Getting started Enlarge the stocking pattern and templates 200%. Using a Sharpie pen, trace the pattern and templates, including all markings, onto the clear or template plastic. Cut out on the outside lines. Place the stocking template, right-side down, on the wrong side of the stocking back fabric. Draw around with a fabric marking pen or pencil. Cut out on the drawn line. In the same manner, draw and cut 2 pieces of lining (1 is reverse) and 2 pieces of batting. Place the template right-side up on the paper side of fusible web. Trace all around. Cut out just inside the drawn line. From the remaining stocking back fabric cut 1 binding piece, 2½" x 17¾", and 1 hanging loop, 2" x 10". Now cut the stocking template apart to make templates A through H. Making the stocking front The major sections of the stocking front (except the velvet toe) are fused in place. To do this, place the stocking-shape piece of fusible web, glue-side down, on a piece of stocking batting. The fusible web should not extend beyond any edge of the batting. Fuse in place, protecting your iron with the Teflon pressing sheet. Tip: Clean your Teflon pressing sheet often by scraping it with a dry Scotch-Brite sponge (do not scrape adhesive residue onto your ironing board). November 2011 American Quilter 57

Remove the protective paper. Using a Sharpie pen, roughly sketch the sections on the batting. Using templates B through H, place the template right-side up on the right side of the chosen fabric.

3 Remove the protective paper. Using a Sharpie pen, roughly sketch the sections on the batting. Using templates B through H, place the template right-side up on the right side of the chosen fabric. Draw all around, and cut out the piece. Position the pieces right-side up over the prepared batting piece. They should fit together like a jigsaw puzzle but don t worry if you have small gaps. Fuse. Use template A to cut a velvet toe. Machine baste in place close to the edge of the velvet. Important: Don t try to fuse the velvet as the heat required for fusing can crush the velvet. If you choose to use other fabric for the stocking toe you may fuse it in place. If desired, quilt the stocking front. Bring life to the stocking by topstitching a variety of ribbons and trims over the raw edges of the fused pieces. As you add ribbons, give thought to how the ribbon s cut ends can be covered by other ribbons (photo 1). For example, I first stitched the vertical ribbons that intersect with the curved lines. I then stitched gold bias tape over the raw ends. Topstitch ribbons over empty spaces. Machine baste ½" from the stocking front edge all around. This helps mark the seam allowance. Using template J, cut a heart of velvet and of batting. Apply Fray Check to the edge of the velvet. Trim ¼" off around the batting heart. Lay the batting and then the velvet heart on the stocking front. Baste. Satin stitch to the stocking. Now comes the really fun part the embellishments. Have fun stitching on beads, charms and other trinkets. Keep in mind that the top 6" of the stocking will be partially covered by the cuff. Set aside any embellishments that are too close to the seam allowance. These will be hand stitched or glued after the stocking is sewn. Assembling the stocking Machine baste batting to the wrong side of the stocking back. Note: all seams are 5 8" unless noted otherwise. Trim away 3 8" of the batting. Pin the front and back stocking pieces, right-sides together. Sew together leaving the top open. Photo 1 Turn right-side out and inspect the seam. Resew if necessary. Turn inside out and trim excess batting in the seam allowance. Clip all curves. Trim the seam allowance to 3 8". Using a wide and long zigzag stitch, sew along the raw edges of the seam allowance. Turn right-side out. Press the seams, using the Teflon pressing sheet to protect the stocking. Pin the lining pieces, right-sides together. Stitch. Trim the seam allowance. Clip the curves. Zigzag over the raw edges. Press. Place the lining inside the stocking. Pin at the top. If desired, cut a piece of 4" wide icicle lace, including seam allowances, to fit under the cuff (photo 2). Seam the ends, trim and zigzag the edges. Turn right-side out. Press. Pin to the stocking s top edge, aligning the seams. Use the dotted line on the stocking pattern (page 60) as a guide for cutting 2 corners from a piece of vintage linen for the front and back cuffs. You can adjust the size of and shape of the pieces to accommodate the chosen linen. Pin the linen pieces right-sides together. Stitch the side seams. Trim and zigzag the seam allowances. Turn right-side out. Press. Pin the cuff to the stocking top edge, aligning seams as you go. Baste. Finishing the stocking With the wrong-side up, fold the long edges of the 10" hanging loop to the center. Press. Fold 58 American Quilter November 2011

Matching raw edges, place the loop inside the

To add a tassel, tie a bead or charm at the end of

4 stitches. Baste the braided ribbons to the top corner of the stocking (photo 3). Photo 2 in half to enclose the raw edges. Topstitch the length of the strip. Fold the strip in half to make a loop. Matching raw edges, place the loop inside the stocking at the top corner. Baste. To add a tassel, tie a bead or charm at the end of several pieces of ribbon cut to various lengths. Braid the ribbons together in groups of 3 or 4. Anchor the braid ends with a few machine Photo 3 November 2011 American Quilter 59

5 G H cuff placement line J F Join the ends of the binding strip. The strip should fit the top of the stocking. If yours is different, adjust the binding seam to match. With raw edges together and aligning the seams, pin the right side of the binding strip to the stocking lining. Machine stitch with 5 8" seam allowance. Trim and grade the seam allowance. Fold the binding to the front and hand stitch. Add embellishments to the cuff and binding. Sew or glue those that you set aside previously. E D Enlarge 200% Finished size: 10½" x 18½" C B Sugar Plum Christmas Stocking by Bonnie Sabel 2011 A 60 American Quilter November 2011

Victorian Charm Christmas Stocking

Victorian Charm Christmas Stocking Pair fashion with history for an exquisite result -- this elegant stocking! Gold cord and brass buttons form the 19th century boot, and a string of miniature ornaments