Christmas Stocking Template

How to print and sew the stocking

1. Print at “Actual size” or 100 %, never “Fit to page”. Measure the 10 cm check square on page 1 with a ruler; if it is 9.6 cm, the printer shrank the page and every piece will be 4 % small. Each pattern sheet also has a 10 cm ruler at the bottom.
2. Tape the sheets together. Lay them out as the map on page 1 shows, row A at the top. Trim the left and top edge of a sheet along its thin dotted line, lay it over its neighbour so each round cross mark sits exactly on its twin, and tape. The shaded strip is the 15 mm that the next sheet covers.
3. Cut the fabric. For fabric, cut on the dashed line and sew on the solid one. Cut two stocking pieces (turn the paper over for the second, so you get a front and a back), two lining pieces, two cuff pieces and the hanging loop. Woven cotton, velvet, flannel or a knit all work; for a knit, use the 1 cm allowance.
4. Sew the outer stocking. Put the two pieces right sides together and sew along the solid line, leaving the top open. Clip small notches into the curve of the toe and heel and one snip into the inside corner above the foot, stopping 2 mm short of the stitches, then turn it right side out. Sew the lining the same way, but leave it inside out.
5. Add the lining and the cuff. Slide the lining into the stocking. Sew the two cuff pieces together at their short ends to make a ring and drop it inside the lining, right side of the cuff against the lining, top edges level. Fold the loop in half and tuck its ends between the cuff and the lining at the heel side. Sew round the top, then pull the cuff up and fold it down over the outside.
6. Put the name on last, when you can see where the cuff hangs. Cut each letter from felt on its line, lay them on the cuff (the faint dotted letters on the cuff pattern show the spacing), and stitch close to the edge or use fabric glue.

The no-sew or hand-sewn felt version skips the lining and the allowance. Cut two stocking pieces and the cuff from felt on the solid line, stack them, and join the edges with a blanket stitch about 5 mm in, or with fabric glue for a child's craft. Felt does not fray, so the edge stays clean. Wrap the cuff round the top, overlap its ends at the back and stitch it on.

Questions

Is this Christmas stocking template free to print and download?

Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no paid version. The PDF is built in your browser: page 1 is the assembly map with the 10 cm check square and the piece list, then the full-size pattern sheets, then the name letters. The same sheets save one at a time as 300 dpi PNG pictures if your phone prints pictures more easily than PDFs.

How big is a normal Christmas stocking?

Shop stockings are mostly about 46 cm (18 in) from the top to the bottom of the foot, which is why that is the default here; 40 cm (16 in) is a common smaller one and 51 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in) an oversized one. At 46 cm the classic shape is 32 cm wide across the foot and 17.5 cm across the opening, and its pattern prints on 9 sheets of A4 with the lining or 5 without, plus the map page and one sheet of letters. A 15 cm mini ornament's pattern fits on two sheets.

Which seam allowance should I choose?

Use the allowance your sewing machine's guide is marked in. 1 cm is the usual European allowance, 3/8 in (9.5 mm) is common on American patterns for crafts, and 6 mm suits thin cotton and quilting. Note that 6 mm is not quite the 1/4 in (6.35 mm) quilting foot: on a stocking that is 0.35 mm per side, too small to matter. The dashed line is a true offset, the same distance from the solid line all the way round, so the curves stay the right shape when you sew them.

Will it print the right size on my printer?

It will if the print dialog is set to 100 % or “Actual size”. The pattern is drawn in millimetres and each sheet keeps a margin of at least 8 mm, which home printers do not clip. If the check square measures 10 cm, the stocking is the height you chose to within a millimetre, because this page's own test rebuilds it from the printed sheets by their overlap marks and measures it.

How do I cut the name letters?

The letters are the outlines of Roboto Bold, an open font, sized to fill the front cuff: about 35 mm tall for a four-letter name on a 46 cm stocking. Pin each paper letter on the felt and cut round it, or trace it with a fabric pen. Use small sharp scissors or a craft knife for the holes in A, B, D, O, P, Q and R. If you use fusible web on the back of the felt, trace the letters reversed (hold the sheet against a window and trace from the back). Letters under about 15 mm tall are fiddly in felt, so the page warns you when a long name makes them that small.

Can I cut the stocking on a Cricut or Silhouette?

Yes. “SVG” saves every piece whole at true size in millimetres, with the name letters underneath. For fabric the cut line is the seam allowance and the sewing line is in a separate group to draw with a pen or hide; for felt the cut line is the finished edge. Silhouette Studio's free Basic Edition does not open SVG, so “DXF” saves the same lines on a CUT layer and a SCORE layer. A 12 × 24 in mat cuts about 29 × 60 cm, so the stocking piece fits it only up to about 38 cm tall for the classic shape, 34 cm for the square, 30 cm for the mini and 27 cm for the wide elf toe (with a 1 cm allowance). The page tells you which pieces are too big at your size; cut those with scissors from the paper pattern and use the machine for the cuff and the letters.

Want more Christmas things to make?

The gift tag maker prints name tags for what goes in the stocking, and the paper ornament maker makes ornaments to hang beside a mini stocking.