Sunday, December 6, 2009

little christmas stockings


I had a vision of miniature Christmas stockings: stockings to tuck notes or tiny gifts into, to hang on the tree or string onto a garland. I thought it would be easy to find a pattern on the web, and yes, they are there--but not as many as one would expect.

This pattern is lovely--so nicely proportioned, and the tiny button is a sweet accent. I made four of them:

(Yes, the third one has a big foot. It was the first one I made. On subsequent stockings I changed to a smaller needle size after the Fair Isle pattern part and that worked better for me.)

As much as I like the look of these stockings, I really don't like sewing up at the end of the project and then having a gazillion ends to weave in. So I started thinking about a quicker little stocking pattern, one that could be knit up in an hour. I used Dale Baby Ull yarn on all of these because it was what I had. Feel free to substitute with whatever you have:

Little Christmas Stockings
Finished size: 3 inches

Dale Baby Ull Yarn or similar baby weight wool in 3 colors: for cuff (Color 1), body of stocking (Color 2), and heel/toe (Color 3).
Size 1 double pointed needles
Size D crochet hook (approximate)

Cuff
With Color 1, cast on 24 stitches over 3 needles (8 sts per needle) and join in round. K 7 rounds.

Body
Change to Color 2, leaving long tail 18" from Color 1 (this will be used later to create a hanging loop). K 20 rounds, or until Color 2 portion measures approximately 2".

Heel
Divide stitches as follows:
Needle 1: 12 stitches (this is the heel)
Needle 2: 6 stitches
Needle 3: 6 stitches (Needles 2 and 3 are the instep.)

Change to Color 3. On Needle 1, K back and forth in stockinette stitch for 8 rows, ending with a purl row. This is the heel flap.

Turn the heel:
Slip 1, k5, ssk, k1, turn.
Slip 1, p1, p2tog, p1, turn.
Slip 1, k2, ssk, k1, turn.
Slip 1, p3, p2tog, p1, turn.
Slip 1, k4, ssk, turn.
Slip 1, p4, p2tog, turn

Change back to Color 2.
Needle 1: k6 across next row  pick up 4 stitches along heel flap.
Needle 2: k1, k2tog, k6, ssk, k1.
Needle 3: pick up 4 heel flap stitches on other side, K3 from needle 1.

Gusset
Needle 1: k3, k2tog, k2.
Needle 2: k10.
Needle 3: k2, ssk, k3.
Needle 1: k2, k2tog, k2.
Needle 2: k10.
Needle 3: k2, ssk, k2.

Foot
K 8 rounds.

Toe
Change back to Color 3.
K 1 round.
Needle 1: k1, k2tog, k2.
Needle 2: k1, ssk, k4, k2tog, k1.
needle 3: k2, ssk, k1.
K one round even.
Needle 1: k1, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2: k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1.
Needle 3: k1, ssk, k1.
K one round even.

Thread yarn on needle and draw through remaining 12 sts. Pull tightly and weave in all loose ends, except for the 18" tail left from the cuff (see above). With this piece, weave just to back of cuff, then using crochet hook, ch st 16 or 3" and loop back, reattaching to stocking; weave in end.

As it turns out, it takes me closer to 2 hours to make these, but I did unknit and reknit a few times along the way. If you're a fast knitter, you may still be able to churn these out.

We did a quick search around the house for things that might fit into the stockings and found the following:

What would you put in yours?

5 comments:

  1. Welcome!

    These are Beauteous!

    For inside, tiny candy canes, little fairy dolls (Waldorf style, didn't you make these before?), crimson and/or glitter nail polish, chocolate Kisses!

    Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! Love the ideas for filling them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have a blog! You have a blog! I don't think I've ever been happier to find a blog. I am so excited. You are right 140 characters is not enough and I always want to have just a bit more of a peek, this is great.

    Those stockings are adorable. I think I would roll up lottery tickets or money for the adults and hang them on the tree.

    I would also (if I had the time to knit 24 of them) use them as an advent calendar, and put a little treat inside each one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Sam! I hope I can keep it up--we'll see...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cute little stockings! Ideas for treasures inside... maybe little rolled up horoscopes (they're sold all over the place in our part of the world). Or perhaps little individual charms from a charm bracelet.

    ReplyDelete

Responses from cool people—please be sure to visit their blogs as well!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...