How To Make A Christmas Stocking - All About Plaids!

See how to make a christmas stocking with plaid. Make a beautiful plaid christmas stocking using my stocking pattern. The sewing pattern includes two different stocking designs, scroll down to see why, and how to get them both for free.

This post contains affiliate links and the fabric in this tutorial was gifted to me by Riley Blake Designs. Opinions, tutorial and patterns are my own. Did you know I have made several stocking patterns so far:

• my first reversible Christmas stocking pattern (smart no-fold cuff!)
• modern quilted stocking. (Pieced!)

I've designed two different stocking patterns you can use to make three totally different stockings - for free! Which one is your favorite? Link to the patterns, including the one used in today's tutorial is at the bottom of this tutorial - make sure to scroll down and download the pattern file for free from my shop.

Diy Plaid Christmas Stocking

And now, there is a third one, this plaid christmas stocking I want to show you today. This one has a more traditional look and I wanted to show you how easily you can make heirloom holiday decor, just by selecting the right plaid.

Also, we'll add a nice decorative cuff to add some contrast, this one will be different from my first pattern.

To sew it, I cut into the wonderful plaid prints from the All About Plaids collection, courtesy of Riley Blake Designs. Thank you, Julie, for speeding up the delivery so it flew across half the globe, went through customs, and came to my doorstep in mere 3 days, just because I got this last-minute idea to give my readers not one but three (three!) options to make their own stockings! And this one might be the prettiest 🙂 (Seriously, Riley Blake Designs folks, you are awesome. Thank you.)

And you can totally use scraps of your favorite plaid, too. This stocking will turn out beautiful even if used with solids, say dark green and some warm, dark crimson or bordeaux, plus a pinch of plaid that will set the holiday vibes.

To show you how, I made one side using the turned edge applique technique - one that does not fray. One you reserve for high-quality heirloom stuff. These stunning plaids will shine in your home for many holiday seasons!

Here’s to happy handmade holidays!

FINISHED SIZE OF THE Plaid CHRISTMAS STOCKING

Height top-bottom 17" (43cm), diagonal from loop to toe 19" (49 cm), width of the top opening 8" (20 cm)

SUPPLIES TO SEW THE PLaid Christmas STOCKING PATTERN

• a yard (meter) of quilting weight fabric in total
• scrap pieces of plaid as accents, tartan is the ideal plaid print here!
• batting: 2 pieces 11″ by 21″ to quilt the 2 outer pieces – skip batting for back if using fleece for the back!
• sewing machine, pins/clips, iron, scissors, or rotary cutter plus cutting mat
• STOCKING TEMPLATE: the second, large Christmas stocking pattern from my file (print just pattern pages 6-8) – scroll to the end of this tutorial for the link.

How To Make a Christmas stocking

In short, we'll first make two quilted pieces from whole fabric pieces to quilt the outer, then add lining and stitch those together, sandwiching a pretty cuff piece in between. But let me show you the process slowly and nicely, with a lot of photos:

Step 1 - Cutting Instructions

• Cut the small hanging strap from pattern piece No 2
• from pattern piece No 1, cut:
  • Cut the 2 outer main stocking pieces, mirrored and roughly one inch larger on all sides than the template for outer
  • two batting pieces, cut the same way (larger than template)
  • cut 2 main stocking pieces from lining – these two pieces should be mirror images of each other, too - but cut exactly the size of the template (no need to leave any extra fabric, as you won't quilt these lining pieces.)
• for the cuff, and this one is NOT in the pattern, cut two 10" squares (25 cm2) from contrasting, decorative fabric.

How To Cut The Main Pieces: you'll need to cut pairs: two main outer pieces, batting pieces and the lining pieces must be MIRRORED, each time one pointing to the left and the other pointing to the right. This is important. 

Optional Step 2 - Add Applique

If you wish, you can add some pretty, long-lasting, non-fraying applique to one or both of your outer pieces. I only added it on one side to show you how to. This type of applique technique is called the turned edge applique - but you know me, I made a quick tutorial to show you a HACKED version so it's super easy for you. You'll love it - click through to the applique tutorial and scroll down to the 'turned edge applique' part!

Step 3 - Quilt the 2 main pieces

Position the batting on a flat surface, place the fabric piece over your batting. Then quilt. While I do believe you can use some pretty awesome quilting here, I just went with straight lines again, since I love the look (and maybe I'm just too lazy for elaborate, beautiful free motion quilting.) I straight-line quilted it with seams approximately ¾″ apart, top-to-bottom. Especially with tartan, buffalo check, and overall with plaid, I just follow the color line. Looks amazing and it's easy! On the other piece, I made a one-inch grid.

Step 4 - Sew the Top of The Plaid Stocking

Make two stacks:

• Place down the outer pieces with right sides facing up.
• On top. place the folded cuffs with raw edges aligned with the top raw edge of the outer pieces.
• And on top, the lining pieces with right side facing down, again aligned along the top edge.

Using the ⅜″ (1 cm) seam allowance, sew the top edge on each of the two stacks. Trim the seam allowance and press.

Step 5 - Trim the Cuff sides

And now, a smart hack - oh how much I love little hacks! This is how we'll prevent the finished cuff from squishing the quilted part. We need to make it juuuust a tiny bit wider than the main stocking - or in sewing terms, we need to add some ease to the cuff. All you need is to slip your hand between the cuff and the quilted stocking, and only THEN pin or attach the sewing clips. This way, the cuff will retain the little extra width it needs - see this image:

Then baste the cuff sides and trim the excess:

Step 6 - MAKE AND ADD THE HANGING LOOP

Cut the small hanging strap from pattern piece No 2.

Make the hanging loop: fold along the long edges, first along the center (1), then unfold and press the sides towards the center (2). Refold along the original center and press (3). Stitch along both long edges (4). Please excuse the colors (I do these loops so often it looks like I've developed a standard 4-step image-that-fits-all haha)

Fold the strap in half, forming the loop. Place the two ends on the edge, approximately one inch under the top seam where the outer quilted fabric meets the lining. The loop should face in the direction of the lining and slightly bent towards the inside of the stocking. You just want to catch the loop ends into the backside seam of your stocking, not the entire loop. Like this:

Step 7 – SEW THE PIECES TOGETHER

Place the pieces right-sides-together and sew around,  using a ⅜″ (1 cm) seam allowance. Make sure to leave an opening for turning on the back seam of the lining piece.

Step 8 - TURN RIGHT SIDE OUT AND CLOSE THE HOLE

Trim the seam allowance, taking care not to snip into stitches. You can use pinking shears or just snip notches, it will help you make your project neat. Then turn right-side out and press well. Feel free to use this free seam roll template, it will make pressing so much easier!

The two things left to do: close the turning hole in the lining. Also, I always topstitch around the opening. Here’s your plaid christmas stocking pattern – and the project finished!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, share it, like it or tell your friends about it. Or save the project to Pinterest so you can use the tutorial any time you feel like:

Enjoy! Also, check out my 6-sized Christmas gift bag pattern here in my shop. For all your handmade presents!

HOW DO I GET THE plaid STOCKING PATTERN FOR FREE?

The plaid stocking pattern is free with the 100% OFF exclusive code for all subscribers to AppleGreen Cottage newsletter – you get the 100% discount code when you sign up at this link:

CURRENT SUBSCRIBERS: Your 100% DISCOUNT CODE is in my latest newsletter – visit the SHOP (here - scroll down for STOCKING PATTERN) and apply it in ‘View Cart’ before checkout.

For anyone who’d prefer not to join the newsletter, you can still purchase the Christmas Stocking Pattern in my shop.

ALREADY OWN THE Stocking pattern - and want the NEW version? To download the latest version (with the added second stocking pattern) just visit the shop HERE, make sure to LOG IN, and then click on your ORDERS to download the PDF file again -  you'll find the file now has two stocking patterns - the new one is on pages 6-8.

Make sure to download it - remember you get two different stocking patterns you can use to make three totally different stockings - for free! Which one is your favorite?