Christmas stockings.
I’ve been seeing them everywhere. Maybe you have too?
People of all ages are hoping Santa Claus stops by with a few treats.
Although my husband and I still have our childhood Christmas stockings, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at repurposing a cable knit sweater from the thrift store… into….yes…a pair of Christmas stockings!
Karin was my inspiration. She says her collection is approaching 150 and it seems that she may have made most of them. Yes, I’m impressed. And so it seems that I should be able to make at least one, too!
I figured that as long as I was going to do this…I ought to take some photos along the way and put together a sudo tutorial. One may or may not be necessary. I see that Karin wrote a brief how-to. You can check that out if you want. Of course I didn’t read it before attempting my hand at a pair of repurposed Christmas stockings. I only drooled at the lovely photo here:
This was definitely a trial and error project.
All in all, it went pretty quickly and smoothly. Just believe you can do it!
If you’re short on time or whatever… I found an option on Amazon (affiliate) that you might like…
Sweater to Christmas Stocking in 12 Easy Steps!
First…hit your closet or stop by a thrift store for a large sweater. I wanted a cable knit and spent $3.99 on mine. Unfortunately I don’t have any old sweaters laying around. We left them all in Buffalo when we moved. If you need one…there will be plenty there.
Second…launder your sweater(s) unless they are wool. If you’re like me you probably needed to run a load through anyway. Kill two birds with one stone.
Third…layout your freshly laundered sweater on a cutting board or table inside out and study the sweater. My goal was to get two stockings from one sweater. Where can you get a beautiful heavy cotton cable knit stocking for just $2.00?
Fourth…set up the sewing machine. You might want to make sure you have some extra needles. (affiliate link) Someone may or may not have broken a needle. Rookie.
Fifth…it’s helpful to have some straight pins and heavy duty scissors, too.
Sixth…make a pattern out of kraft paper or wrapping paper. That was the tricky part. Figuring out the shape so that I could maximize my sweater and still have a nicely shaped stocking.
Seven…no more ‘th’s.’ Lay the pattern on the sweater as you would like it…and pin it down. The toe of my stocking actually was part of the sleeve and the ribbing became the cuff for my stocking. Also the back of my sweater had a simple pattern which created additional interest. I could have cut a stocking just from either the fronts or the backs. Be creative.
Eight…you have a big choice to make now. Cut through one layer of sweater or two. I rolled up my sleeves…flexed my muscles and cut two.
Nine…unpin the pattern from the cut stockings and pin the stockings together without disturbing them. Make sure the tops match perfectly. Details!!
Ten…sew up the stockings together. Be sure to sew in about a half an inch…it seems like a lot…trust me. You can trim it back when you’re finished…carefully. I used a fairly long stitch…you might want to, too.
Eleven…turn the stocking right side out and smooth and arrange the seam. At this point, you may also want to trim the edges at the top or cuff area so it looks nicely finished.
Twelve…attach a hanger to the inside of the top. You may choose to sew on a ribbon loop or use some of the leftover fabric for your loop.
There you have it…
12 Easy Steps for Repurposing a Sweater into a Christmas Stocking!
If you’re creative and crafty, don’t hesitate to use cardigan style sweaters. Sew to close up the front before laying out and constructing your stocking.
Keep in mind, there isn’t a wrong way to lay out a stocking.
You may want to add a cuff. I thought that I would be able to fold my cuff over…but I didn’t care to have the seam allowance show. Maybe next time I will cut the ribbed bottom off the sweater and sew it on so the seam allowance will be hidden. That is if there is a next time. You know how it goes. And, it might be fun to add a fur cuff to the stocking if you want to be all fancy.
I’d love to hear all your stocking stories….ideas…and whimsical creative outcomes.
Thank you for stopping by today.
If you enjoyed this post….please pass it on to your friends.
Merry Christmas!
Diane
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PLUS…
thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! by next Christmas we will have 2 new members in our family–the new grandson came 10 days early this year , then our daughter is getting married in March and I have been wanting new stockings but knew it would be costly! I so love this idea and will have 13 new stockings on the fireplace next year! Lord Willing and the creek don’t rise! yes I heard that somewhere! have a very blessed and Merry Christ-centered Christmas!
love
Glenda Kremer
Yay! 😀 Glenda that just made my day! I’m so excited that this will help you add more lovely stockings to your collection. Congratulations again on your precious new grandchild. What a gift from God!! What a special Christmas God is already blessing you with!
great idea for Grandma:/Grandpa’s sweaters
*laughing* Well, congratulations to Glenda! What a cool (early) Christmas prezzie that grandbaby was!
And I adore these! I’m thinkin’ I could possibly manage this one from a stationary position IF I hand sew. And I DO have pretty, older sweaters–they shrunk dontchaknow! (so I’m told…LOL)
I’ll have to see if I can fanniggle getting one or two up from the storage room so I can have a try.
*laughing* I can hope!
Very nice photos of the project, btw. Very helpful for those of us who are ‘visual learners’.
Oh Mel! You make me smile!!!!
I hope you do give the sweater stockings a try. They really look great…especially for the limited amount of work.
The photos take a bunch of time…I so glad you found that helpful!!
Oh these are fantastic! I am saving this tutorial to make some for next year! Love it! Thank you for sharing this fun idea with us at TTF. I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!
Oh Diann, I’m so glad you liked it!!! I think it would be a great January project. Nothing like getting ahead of the game. Or am I dreaming?
These are wonderful! And that is just the perfect sweater to use… they are so pretty!!
Thank you Jennifer! I was sooo excited find that sweater as it had a pretty back as well. Now I’m wondering what I can do with the left over sleeves and the very nice ribbed turtleneck. Hmmmmm….
Heart ornaments???
What a fantastic idea!!!
<3 <3 <3
You’re the BEST, Victoria!!
I LOVE this idea! Thank you for sharing!
May the peace, joy and love of the season be yours all year long!
Thank you soooo much Laura!! 😀
This is such a wonderful upcycle project. It turned out lovey. Well done. Thank you for sharing at the hop xo
Thank you Katie! It was fun to do. I even gifted a friend with one. 😀
I look forward to joining in the fun at the hop each week!
Merry Christmas!
I love the old-fashioned look of your Christmas stockings. It’s another terrific use of old sweaters. 😉
Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday. I hope you’ll link up each week. Be sure to stop in tonight to see yourself featured.
Blessings,
Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage
Hi Liz!
You are so kind.
I’m humbled that you would feature my Christmas stockings!
Thank you so much!!
those sweaters are wonderful! Can’t wait to dig out some old sweaters and cut them up.
I just know you’ll have the most fun making them into stockings! And then…you get to fill them, too!
Thanks for popping by and leaving your warm words. 🙂
Blessings!!
Great idea! You don’t have to cut the ribbing and sew it back on to get a cuff that doesn’t show the seam. Start stitching just shy of the cuff measurement with right sides together as you usually would. Turn the stocking right side out, then sew your cuff with wrong sides together. When you fold it down, the stitching won’t show.
Pat…you are the best!!!
Thank you soooo much for that tip. I need to add that to the tutorial!!!
I could give you a big hug!!!
I don’t sew…sooooooo….please tell me this will work if I lace them together with purty coordinating ribbons…please???
Hmmmm….I think if the lacing goes in far enough so that it doesn’t pull out it might work. Really Darby…why not experiment with it? It isn’t an expensive project so you have nothing to lose. If you make them that way, let me know. 🙂
Congratulations on your feature at The Scoop! I LOVE your stockings.
Thank you so much Sharon!! It really is a blessing!
May you and yours have a Blessed Thanksgiving!
I knew I’d use my white sweater for something….thank you for the reminder! Your toot is now on my Pinterest page to inspire others…thank you!
JP
Yippee!! How fun is it that you already have one to work with. Enjoy stitching up your sweater, JP!
Thanks for the share too!! 🙂
Wishing you a Blessed Thanksgiving!
I made a tutorial for doing this last year too! 🙂 Love your sweater choice! Super cute. The cable-knit make them look so cozy!
How fun! Great minds think alike!! 🙂
Thanks for your kind words, Katelyn….I was so please I was able to find such a nice sweater at the SA. 😉
Blessings!
In a word LOVE!! another terrific up cycle. Pinning!
Awww….JoAnn…I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your visit and kind words. [hugs]
This turned out beautifully! I JUST bought some from JoAnns today, and the store bought ones don’t even look as nice as yours! 🙂
Thank you for linking up at our Holiday link party 🙂
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!
-Jane @ urbanejane.com
Thanks Jane!! You just put a great big smile on my face. 😀
Blessings!
I didn’t read the comments so hopefully I am not being redundant…….
First I love this.
Second, have you tried a rotary cutter or cutting out the shapes?
Awww…thanks Sheila!
No…I don’t own a rotary cutter. Hmmm…maybe I need to get one. 😉
However, my one time use of one makes me think that it would not be appropriate for this project. But, if you try it…let me know!!
p.s. no one else has asked the question. 😉
Hope your day is extraordinary!
Thank you for this idea! I make or get new stockings for my family every year. It’s a fun tradition I started when my kids were young. We have a lot of stockings now, but I figure it will help my kids with some Christmas decorations when they move out. It’s been fun for me throughout the years, and they like seeing their new stockings Christmas morning. I think this will be what I do this year. Thanks again!
I love this! I’m a newbie sewer (just got a machine for my bday in Sept and turned it on last week of roast minute halloween costumes!). I’ve always loved sweater stockings but couldn’t stomach the price tag. I’m definitely making these this year!! So beginner question….can I use my standard needle or do I need to do something special for thicker material? Also I’m considering lining them….is that a waste of time?
Thanks so much for the great tutorial!!
A standard need will work just fine Leah. It gets a little tricky in that you may need to pull your fabric under the foot to get keep it moving if your sweater fabric is bulky. I would suggest testing it with some scrap to see how it works. Lining? Hmmm…. Gosh…for a newbie… you are ambitious. 😉 I don’t know that it’s necessary… but it’s not a bad idea either. It will certainly keep your stocking from being saggy and will help it hold a shape.
Glad you like the tutorial. Best wishes for lots of creative success!!
Great idea!!!! Mine turned out great. Love them!!!!
YAY!! These are going to look fabulous! I’m going to surprise my family with new stockings this year. And how easy it will be to either cross stitch or just sew their names into the stockings with yarn!
THANK YOU!!
I’m so pleased that you love them and that your family is going to be blessed with new stockings!!
Merry Christmas, Ang!
I am super excited about making these stockings! My son who is 7, wants to learn to sew! This will be our first sewing project together! We’re going to make these to give as a personalized gift to his grandparents and one for his little sister who is 4. This is so exciting!! Thank you for inspiration!!!!!!
Shawnna….you make my heart sing! What a wonderful idea.
All the best for a blessed Christmas!
This was posted years ago, but I came across it thru Pinterest. I was searching for alternatives for vintage stockings to save some money. This is absolutely the perfect solution! Want to make some to hang on the glass doors of my hutch (with suction cups). Thanks so so much!!
You are so welcome, Lindsey! I LOVE this project, too, and I might create some new stockings again this year using it. Have fun and best wishes (a little early I know) Merry Christmas!!
Love Love Love this !! Can’t wait 2 get started. I’m going 2 be the kids old Xmas jumpers !! Might even make me n hubby 1! Might even make some Xmas tree decs with left overs !!
Oh Vicky… that sounds wonderful!! I’d love to see your finished product… email me a photo or post it on the An Extraordinary Day ~ A Place of Joy and Inspiration Facebook page. 🙂 Happy Crafting!
I wanted to let you know that this DIY stocking is featured on my blog to inspire our Bee Creative Stocking Swap participants.
What a fun project for everyone. 🙂 Thanks, Lizette!
All the best for an extraordinary day!
Keep the leftover sweater, and make sweater ornaments, or small ornament sized stockings for the tree. I think you could get a mitten or two out of it.
Jackie… that is such a good idea! Thank you for the inspiration!
And thanks for taking the time to leave you thoughts today.
All the best for an extraordinary day!
Found a giant extra large cream cotton sweater at Goodwill today! I’m hopeful I can make stockings for all 5 kids…it’s that big! ? That’s $1 per stocking! ?? Thank you!!
Great find!!! I hope it works out perfectly! Have fun Rochelle, and thanks for taking the time to chat!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love the idea & really want to try it.
As I don’t sew this may sound silly lol but is there a certain type of thread or needle used so the sweater doesn’t start to come apart?
Lynda, I really didn’t worry about it unraveling… simply because I sewed it on the machine. If you sew it by hand you would just use small stitches. Hope that helps!
Merry Christmas!
I have to decorate for a ladies Christmas Tea each year. This year I’m going rustic. These will be perfect to help with the decor I have planned. I just picked up 4 sweaters today at the thrift store for the sleeves to do candle wrapped sweaters. Can you guess what I’m making with the bodies? Thanks bunches for the inspiration.
Oh how fun, G! So blessed that you were inspired. Have a great tea… your theme sounds fantastic!!
My kids have grown out of the Disney-licenced stockings they started out with. And I’ve been wanting something bigger/longer (for everyone) for years. Using the ambition that mysteriously appeared I’m making 7 stockings for the fam, plus 1 for the dog. And a 9th one as part of a coworkers gift. (She didn’t grow up with opening stockings, so doesn’t have one still and I think that’s a crime.)
Thank you for the inspiration and tutorial. I’ll try to post all 9 before too long.
I’ve seen these before in pictures, etc but your tutorial made it seem possible. So this year I am going to attempt to make 9. One for a friend as part of her present, the rest for my family who have gotten a bit big for Disney-licenced stockings.
LOVE these stockings! I just found your tutorial on Pinterest and today i bought the perfect sweater at the thrift store. I’m thinking of making FOUR from it, and using a canvas-type fabric on the back. This would stabilize the knit and get me twice as many finished items. What do you think?
This is fantastic!!! Thank you so much Diana for sharing. I truley love my stocking in my historic home!
Oh, Suzanne! I’m thrilled to hear you love your stocking!
Wishing you the most blessed Christmas!!
Nov 2019! Yes! The perfect stockinh idea! Thank you so much. My daughter and I bought all size sweaters any goodwill, thrift etc. I even made deals when in bulk if they will drop price to x amount. The baby, toddler made perfect mini and pet and baby stockings.
I’m so excited for you Angie!! How fun for both of you to enjoy making stockings of all sizes! I need to make some mini ones too! Thanks for taking the time to share and inspire me as well!
All the best for a blessed and joy-filled Christmas season!
Beautiful! The way I handled the ribbed cuff without a visible seam allowance is to sew the inside seam only until reaching the beginning of the ribbing. Then stop! Do a couple back stitches to reinforce the seam. Turn stocking right side out. The sew the two sides of ribbing on the OUTER edge. Yes. Really. When you turn the cuff down, the seam will be hidden!
You are so smart Judy! I absolutely must do that in the future! Thanks for taking time to share your fabulous idea!
Merry Christmas!!
I saw a girl cut a sweater to make a ski cap & actually fabric glue it, right sides together, carefully and in an even thin straight line. She pressed it together, as she went, so the glue would hold, let it dry, and then turned it right side out. I didn’t expect that to work, but it didn’t show, didn’t come apart, didn’t soak through or run. She wore it all last winter, and it held. For those that don’t sew, I wonder if that would work here – as long as no one stuffed it with an anvil lol, I don’t see why not. She’s a tomboy, an energetic kid. That hat went through some major activity, got yanked on as she flew out the door to play outside, pulled off fast and flung onto a hook…. It’s still as together as if it was knit in one piece. I just asked her mama. She has snagged the yarn in one spot on a bush, and had to learn to hide that pull with a crochet hook, but the seams are strong. It’s her favorite hat, bc she got to choose the color. Hm. It’s on her head, not filled, but if family stocking stuffers tend to be chocolate bars, socks, a necklace, little things, not heavier knick knacks, then I’ll bet it would, if carefully done without squeezing a blob when first getting the glue to the bottle tip, work just fine. And if not like our hostess pointed out $2, & a lesson. But it could be practiced with scraps left after cutting the stocking out, to get a feel for the glue line, how much to use, and staying straight over a cable knit or etc. Just make sure it’s dry before turning it! Maybe glue a triangular little tree, as an ornament, while testing out how much glue for that knit, too, and add a stick for a trunk. Hm….
Oh Sarie, I LOVE this ‘construction’ idea and all the others!! Thank you so much for sharing this delightful story. I will surely give this a try and hope you do too!
Merry Christmas (belated) and best wishes for a blessed and happy New Year!!
This would be a great tutorial if you had included the pattern for the stocking!! Come on!! That’s the hardest part, so why not share that??
Sorry about that, Karissa, but you appreciated the tutorial. Everyone has a favorite stocking style — some sleek and some chunky. Feel free to Google for a pattern that suits your style, I’m sure you’ll find many.
All the best for an extraordinary Christmas!