Rag Quilt Christmas Stocking

Add a cozy, homespun look to your Christmas decor with a festive rag quilt stocking. Denim fabric and textured edges give this stocking a unique, rustic look, while beautiful embroidery adds even more interest.

There are also free tutorials that show how to make a rag quilt tree skirt and a rag quilt pillow -- use them to coordinate with this stocking project for your Christmas decor.

Place the Section 1 pattern piece on the homespun cotton fabric.

Pin in place. Trace the shape, and cut it out. Repeat this so you have two pieces. Set the fabric pieces aside.

Tape the pattern pieces together.

Prepare the fabric for the embroidered square.

Using an air-erase pen, draw a 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square on the linen or solid homespun cotton.

Leave a few inches of excess fabric around the square. Mark the center of each side, and draw lines connecting the marks. These marks will be used when hooping the fabric.

Print a template from embroidery software. If you don't have software, Wilcom's TrueSizer is a free program that can print templates.

Print a template of the design, then align it with the center of the square that you drew.

Make sure the design fits well within the shape. There should be at least one inch of space between the outer edges of the design and the edges of the shape.

Spray a piece of medium-weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the fabric on top.

Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together. Align the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design.

When the design has finished, cut out the square.

Trim the stabilizer away from the back. When you trim, ensure that there is at least 1/2" of space between the stabilizer and the edges of the fabric.

Place the denim fabric flat, right side facing up. Place the stocking pattern piece on top, and pin in place.
Trace the shape, and cut it out. This is the front stocking piece.

Then, lay another piece of denim fabric flat with the wrong side facing up. Place the pattern piece on top. Pin in place, trace the shape, and cut out the shape. This is the back stocking piece.

Place the embroidered square on top of a piece of denim (not one of your stocking pieces). Pin in place, trace the shape, and cut out the shape.

Place the front stocking piece flat, right side facing up. Place the embroidered linen and denim squares in the middle of the front stocking piece.

The top edge of the square fabric should be 5" down from the top of the stocking fabric.

Center the square between the sides.

Pin the square in place. Sew a 1/2" seam around the outer edge.

Fold the side edges of the square over towards the center and pin in place. This will prevent the edges of the square from getting sewn over later on.

Next, make a patch for the toe. Cut a piece of print homespun fabric and denim to 3"x 3". Align the pieces on top of each other with the wrong side of the homespun with the right side of the denim.

Pin the square in place on the bottom toe of the front stocking fabric, leaving at least one inch of space between the edges of the square and the edges of the fabric. Sew a 1/2" seam along the entire outer edges of the square.

Align the print top cuff fabric pieces with the top edges of the both the front and back stocking fabric.

Pin in place. Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edges only, and press the back seams open with an iron.

To prepare the inner lining of the stocking, place the front stocking fabric on top of the homespun fabric, wrong sides together.

Pin in place, and cut out the shape. 

Sew a 1/4" seam along the top edge only. Also, repeat this step with the back stocking fabric.

To prepare the loop, cut two pieces of denim to 1" x 7 1/2". Align the pieces together, wrong sides together, pin in place, and sew a 1/4" seam along the entire outer edges of the fabric.

Align the front and back fabric pieces together (the right sides of the inner lining pieces together), and pin in place.

Measure and mark one inch up and down along the right side of the stocking at the top seam. The area between the marks will be left open for the loop to be added later on. 

Sew a 1/2" seam along the side and bottom edges. Leave the area between the two marks open.

Fold the top cuff down over the top of the stocking. Fold the fabric of the opening in 1/4".  Bring the ends of the loop together and insert the raw ends inside the opening about 1/2" and pin.

Lay the cuff flat and zigzag stitch along both sides of the loop to secure it in place and to close the opening. Also, top-stitch a 1/4" seam along the entire top edge of the cuff.

Clip along the seam allowance, about every 1/2" or so, along the side and bottom edges of the stocking.

Also clip around the squares and the bottom edge of the top cuff.

Be careful not to cut the seams.

Sharp, spring-action scissors are my favorite choice for cutting the layers, as they're much easier on my hands. Some fabric or crafts stores also carry special rag quilt snips (one brand example is Fiskars. You can also look on Amazon to find these.

Machine wash the stocking. The agitation will fray the seams, giving a fuzzy, cozy look. After washing, take the stocking outside and shake it well. This will lessen the lint and threads that will be in the dryer.

When machine-drying rag quilt items, like this stocking, it's possible that a lot of fabric waste will come
off in the dryer, so be sure to empty the lint trap about every 10 minutes or so during the drying cycle. After drying, clean up the frayed edges by trimming any long threads.

The rag quilt style is known for its exposed seams and country-style look.

Use this rag quilt stocking to add a handcrafted look to your holiday decor!