Handmade Christmas Stockings (and Template Download)

Happy Wednesday! Today I wanted to share a holiday project I made this Fall, stockings! Now that we live in a house and have a mantle, it was finally time to make some stockings.


I knew I wanted to make three stockings, one for each of us and one for George bunny. Initially I thought maybe I'd do something patchwork like the mini stockings (tutorial) I made a few years ago, but I decided something a bit simpler was best. So I dug into my Christmas fabric and had enough of this pretty vintage holly print I found thrifting.


I scoured the internet looking at different tutorials and patterns for stockings but I could not find one with the shape I was looking for. I wanted it to have a classic shape, with a straight "foot" and a straight "leg" too. So, I ended up drawing my own template, and I'm really happy I did! Since I had a hard time finding one, I want to share it with you. Pair it with your favorite stocking tutorial! I used a 1/2" seam allowance when sewing it up. It's approx. 16.5" tall, 6.5" wide at the "leg" and 10" wide at the "foot".

You can download it here: Vintage Stocking Template Download

For mine, I kept construction really simple. I used fusible fleece on the exterior pieces and added a small hanging tab to each one. I cut my hanging tab pieces 6"x2".


I skipped the cuff and instead made a bow for each stocking. I was inspired by these stockings, but instead of stitching them in place, these bows are attached with safety pins. That way if I ever change my mind and want to switch things up, they're easily removable. I cut my strips 7"x42" for each bow. The red is Kona Red that I picked up at a local shop here in CT.


I love how these turned out, I think they have such a vintage-y feel to them, which is exactly what I was going for. I couldn't find any holders I liked, but I did find some really budget friendly low-profile ones at Target that just kind of blend into the mantle. Win-win!

Happy Sewing!

Black Friday Pattern Sale

It's time for my annual Black Friday Pattern Sale! I'm making things easier for you and me by skipping the coupon code, all patterns are already marked down 25%! Sale will run from today (11/23/18) through the end of the day Monday (11/26/18).

Shop the sale here.

Happy Sewing!

Bear Paw Pillows in Quilts & More Winter 2019

Today I'm excited to share my project in the Winter 2019 issue of Quilts and More magazine! You'll find my trio of bear paw pillows in the Scrap Lab section!


*Update: These pillows are now a standalone pattern available for purchase!

Find the pattern in my shop here: Bear Paw Pillows Pattern


Photo used with permission from Quilts and More™ magazine. ©2019 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

Scrap lab is a section in each issue where three designers share a project made with the same fabrics. This time around it was a selection of solids from Paintbrush Studio*. I loved working with these colors!


I made three pillows, which are a twist on a bear paw design! I love how bold they feel, in all solids! Here are all three:








Each pillow finishes at 20" square and has an envelope closure on the back. They fit on our theater seats perfectly!

Find the pattern in my shop here: Bear Paw Pillows Pattern

Happy Quilting!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

October Monthly Report

Happy November! It's time for October's monthly report. See past reports here.

Quilt top from Expanse Quilt Pattern.


October was a really busy month over here. My parents came to visit, and a few weeks later Michael's grandparents visited too. While my parents were here we tackled a bunch of projects around the house, including preparing and planting grass in our backyard. It was quite an undertaking, but I'm glad it's in! We also took a trip to Monger's Market and picked up this set of vintage lockers. I've always wanted some, and they had a huge selection.


Despite all the work on the house that we did this month, I actually got a good bit of sewing done. I didn't finish anything huge, but I made progress on a number of projects that were lingering. I did finish a few small things, including this patchwork drawstring bag. I had some smaller pieces of my friend Anna's fabric collection, Forage, to play with. I chopped it up into squares and made an Artist size lined drawstring bag!

Patchwork Drawstring Bag Tutorial


I also made a zipper pouch for my friend Brianne's birthday! This is the cosmetic pouch (slightly upsized to fit the zipper I had on hand) from my Triplizip Pattern. I added a little hand quilting for an extra fun detail. It was fun to use some of this linen cheater print from an old Heather Ross collection, Nursery Versery.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I'm tracking my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track my here. Here is how I did in October:

October Fabric
Used up: 5.5 yards
Brought in: 4 yards
Net: -1.5 yards
Year to date: -15.5 yards

October Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: +218 yards

Pretty happy with my intake this month. I bought some solid red fabric that I used up right away for a set of stockings (I'll share those soon!). Closer to the end of the month I ordered some more sweatshirt fabric. I finished a new sweatshirt this month, and that spurred me on to make more!


Here is the sweatshirt I finished! This is my second hooded sweatshirt that I've made, and I'm loving it. I drafted the pattern for it from my favorite Loft sweatshirt. It was really simple to create the pattern, and with this one I was able to further adjust it so the fit is just how I want it. For this one I used organic cotton fleece from Birch Fabrics. I'm not sure what color this is, I found it in a remnant bin at a local shop last year.


I started a new project with some of my indigo scraps! I had a bunch of skinny strips, and one day I decided to just play with them. I used the June quilt pattern from my friend Amanda Jean's book No Scrap Left Behind. I only made a few blocks because of the limited fabric I was working with. I'm not 100% sure where I want to go with it from here, but I'm not in a hurry, so I'll let it sit for a while.


This was the first Halloween in our new house, and so our first time handing out candy! We had been warned that Halloween was pretty crazy in our neighborhood, so we decided to dress up and decorate the house too. We went with a Stranger Things theme, I dressed up as Eleven, and Michael is Mike. We had a ton of fun and we went through an insane amount of candy!


Even George was sleepy the day after! And maybe a little grumpy! :)

Have a Great Month!