Christmas Secret Cross Stitch Finally Unveiled

Hey everyone, well Christmas is just around the corner and I think I am pretty well prepared at this stage. Presents have been bought, decorations are up, most of my gift wrapping is done and a super special secret Christmas project is done. This is a piece I had been planning to do for most of the year and now that it has been received by the new owner I can finally share it. I am ridiculously excited to show this off.

Handmade Christmas Stocking with Cross Stitch Piece Cuff

Here it is, my handmade Christmas Stocking for a very special member of my family. The cross stitch piece is from Just Cross Stitch Ornament Edition 2014 and it's a SamSarah Designs pattern called First Star. When I saw this piece I fell in love with it, and it is perfect for this project. It is stitched on 28ct antique white evenweave using DMC threads I had in my stash, 2 over 2.

First Star by SamSarah Designs - Just Cross Stitch Ornament Ed. 2014

Once the cross stitch was done I started putting the stocking together based on a template made from an old stocking of mine for size and shape. The inside of the Stocking is lined with the grey Christmas tree fabric that I used for the cuff, and there is a layer of batting between the outer layer and the lining to make it nice and squishy. I really took my time with this, carefully cutting out each piece and stitching them together. I even made a practice one out of cheap material and I am grateful I did! Based on the practice run, I decided to stitch the cuff into the sides of the stocking which made it much neater and easier to put together.

Stocking nearly ready to send to its new home

I thought that putting the majority of the stocking together would be fairly straight forward but the one thing that I couldn't figure out was how to stitch the lining to the inside so it wouldn't get pulled out. Thankfully the Internet came to the rescue and I used this tutorial to put it together so the lining would stay in place.

I am so delighted with how this project looks and I really hope the recipients love it too. It was super fun to make something so different and figure out the best way to put it all together. Hopefully this will encourage me to continue trying new ways to use my sewing machine and cross stitch finishes.

I want to wish all my readers an amazing Christmas and a wonderful New Year as this is my last post before the Holidays.