DIY Christmas – Turn an Old Sweater Into a Stocking

Vintage is in, and there is nothing more vintage than re-purposing an old sweater into old-timey Christmas stockings.  It’s a perfect way to use an old sweater that is still in perfect condition, but the cut has gone out of style.  Plus, they look like a “fun, old-fashioned, family Christmas,” that even Clark Griswold would be proud of.  {Incidentally, it’s a pretty easy project, so don’t let the idea intimidate you.}

You’ll Need:

A sweater
Sewing machine
Thread
Needle
Straight pins
Scissors
Ribbon {optional}

Directions:

Make a pattern out of a paper grocery bag, wrapping paper, newspaper…just whatever  you have on hand.  You can trace the pattern from another stocking, or go free-hand.

Lay the sweater out flat and pin the pattern to the sweater.  If you have a big enough sweater, you should be able to get 2 stockings out of it, so make sure to pin the pattern to the one side of the sweater, and then repeat on the other side.

Cut the sweater out along your pattern.  I recommend cutting through both sides of the sweater so that you will have two identical stockings to sew together, but if for some reason you didn’t have your Wheaties this morning, you can tackle them one at a time.

Unpin the pattern from the cut-out stocking and then pin the two stocking cut-outs together.  If you cut through both the front and back of the sweater, the cut-outs should already line up perfectly.

Now, comes the technical part, sew the two pieces together.  Sew in about 1/2 inch from the edge of the stocking–when you flip the stocking right-side out after sewing, the 1/2″ seem will help it hold its form.  I’m sure this goes without saying, but make sure to leave the top of the stocking open {I’ve been known to get a little stitch happy and check out mentally, only to find I’ve sewn something I shouldn’t have.}.

Once you have sewn and right-sided the stocking, you can attach a hanger by either using an additional folded over and hemmed scrap of the sweater or a looped ribbon.  Hand stitch it into the top corner of the open part of the stocking.

Ta-Da!  It’s Christmas magic.  Now hang it up, throw out some tinsel, and help yourself to the eggnog.

Merry Christmas,

~ Mavis