Needlepoint Christmas Stocking

A needlepoint Christmas stocking can become a treasured family heirloom. Nothing says Christmas like a beautiful stocking, and what better way to decorate your handmade Christmas stockings than with a beautiful needlepoint motif? Most readily available kits and instructions show a needlepoint Santa or a wintry scene, and this handmade gift is sure to be treasured for generations to come.

Needlepoint Christmas Stocking Kits

Perhaps the easiest way to get started on your needlepoint Christmas stocking is to purchase a kit at your local craft shop or online. A kit is nice for a big project like this because it includes everything you need to complete the project, from the stocking to the thread to detailed instructions and charts.

This is convenient because then you don’t have to run down every color that is used in a chart you find online or in a book, so you can get started a lot more quickly (and it’s a big project, so you’ll want as much time to work on it as possible).

Here are some places to look for needlepoint Christmas stocking kits:

• Needlepoint Fun has five pages of stocking kits, all of which seem to come with painted canvas. That makes your work even easier because you can follow the color changes on the canvas itself as well as on the chart (the charts are also in color). Many motifs are available, from snowmen to nature scenes.
• Another good selection of kits is found at Needlepoint Heaven. This site offers a wide range of designs, from a golfer nutcracker to toys, Noah’s ark to gingerbread people. On this site you can purchase the kit with or without yarn, so if you have a big stash you might be able to save a little bit of money.
• Check out Salt and Pepper for a selection of stunning needlepoint Christmas stockings, from winter scenes to all sorts of Santas. The kits are labeled as to which are complete kits, which are counted cross stitch versus stamped, and some that are made with appliqué rather than stitching.
• X Stitch with Me has a small but cute collection of needlepoint Christmas stockings, mostly stitched with yarn.
• Another good selection is found at Stuart Stitchery, where you can choose which kind of threads you would like, or none at all.

Going your Own Way

Of course you could also design your own needlepoint Christmas stocking design. Decide how big you would like your stocking to be and how big you want your fabric to be (most needlepoint kits use 13 count or larger). Cut out the stocking shape from your cross stitch fabric and whatever fabric you want to use for the back of your stocking.

Then you can choose a design motif based on the space you have to use. Tape together a bunch of pieces of graph paper and sketch out a design, or incorporate designs from fee sites like Free Patterns Online or Craft and Fabric Links.

For more information on designing your own cross stitch patterns, read Cross Stitch Design. Or, if you’re computer savvy, check out this tutorial on using Paint Shop Pro to build a stocking design.

Designing your own needlepoint Christmas stocking will take more time and effort, but it will produce a truly unique and beautiful gift for whomever you choose to give it to and will be treasured forever. Have fun exploring your options and remember to start early because Christmas gifts always take longer than you think they will.

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