Embroidering Christmas Stockings

I decided to make two things for my loved ones for Christmas: new stockings and little portable sewing kits.

I found an easy pattern for stockings - not that you really need a pattern, but for me it was helpful. I made six of them and it seemed to take forever, even though I am betting each one took a total of less than an hour! Just a matter of procrastination. And I got tired of cutting. I had to cut six stocking-size pieces (four fabric, two craft fleece) for each stocking, plus the two little trim pieces and the cuff pieces (two of fabric, two of fleece).

When I got to putting the names on the stockings I initially wanted to use iron-on letters. The first one came out well (see the "Paul" stocking, above" but the second, not so well. So I thought of alternatives. My friend Maryann suggested simple embroidery, which is something I have not done since I was a child. But I thought, maybe it would actually be faster and easier than some of the other ideas I had. I went to the store and bought embroidery floss and I looked a bit online about how much to use. Three strands seemed to be typical, so I tried that.

Embroidery can be a real pain. I had a lot of trouble threading the needle. I did my best when I followed recommendations I had also seen online, to cut the thread cleanly, then hold it between thumb and forefinger, very close to the end. "Saw" the needle onto the thread. Although this was better it was still a pain, though. I mentioned it to Maryann, also saying I did not do so well with the first two stockings, one of which is shown below:

The stitches are too loose, almost floating above the fabric. Not a great look. I wasn't about to rip it out and it does have that homemade funkiness to it, so okay. But I wanted to do better. I looked online for more tips. Discovered a better way to do a line, and applied it on the next stocking:

Cleaner, more compact. This is what I wanted for the remainder. Somehow, though, I didn't achieve it. Thread knotted up and got twisted frequently and the strands were just hard to manage. So the next one was acceptable but not as good as the Mary one. I mentioned this to Maryann. She suggested using heavy-duty thread. Now why did I not think of that?? Well, I'm new at this. I am not used to thinking beyond standard yet.

I tried it for the last one, the "Elaine" stocking. Threading was easier but I still had difficulty with twisted thread and knotting. When I was done I mentioned this to Maryann and said maybe I should try a single strand next time instead of double and she said yes, that is what she does. She also lets the thread untwist occasionally by holding the needle up and letting it dangle, untwisting. I will do all that next time! My stockings are far from perfect but I did learn a lot from them.