Neck tie stockings

I have had several people ask me about the Christmas stockings that I made from my grandpa's neck ties.  I posted about them 2 years ago, but have had numerous requests recently for a pattern.  First off - please change your settings if you are a NO REPLY COMMENTER!!!  I can not respond to you if you are!  If you don't know how to change it, follow this link for the instructions at Humble Quilts blog.  If you aren't sure about any of this, be sure to leave your e-mail address in your comment.

So, back to stockings...I don't have a pattern, and keep in mind, it's been a couple of years since I made these, so I may not remember all the details.  I just figured it out, but will try to give you some instructions, and I'm happy to answer questions you may have along the way.  Just keep in mind, if you ask me questions, I can not answer you if you are "No Reply"!!!  (I'm frustrated with this, can you tell!?)

A friend and I made a couple hundred stockings for our troops several years ago, and at that time we made a plastic template (you can use cardboard if you don't have any template plastic) of a stocking shape.  Just draw a stocking shape that you like, in a size that you like.  The top of mine is 8 1/2" wide and the stocking is about 15" long. It's 7" wide where the curve starts into the foot (hope that makes sense).  I then traced this onto muslin, and used the muslin as foundation to sew the ties to.  Roughly cut out the muslin - outside of the line - you will trim it down to the line later.  For the backing, I used Christmas fabric - you could do ties on both sides if you wanted.  I also sewed muslin to the back to give it more stability and to give you a finished edge at the top of the stocking - just sew the backing fabric and the muslin together (right sides together) across the top and flip over, then press the top.

What takes the longest is to take apart all of the ties.  I was lucky, because my husband actually did this for me!  He just worked on them in the evenings in front of the TV and had them done in no time.  I just keep them all in a tote, and dig through and find colors and prints that I want to use in the stockings.  My gramps had a ton of ties, so I have lots to choose from.  You just want to use random shapes and sizes, and piece them onto the foundation.  It's done exactly like paper piecing, except you're using muslin instead of paper.  You can see in the picture that I tried to use a little bigger, straighter piece at the top and the toe, but what you do is totally up to you, just make sure that you have a big enough piece to cover that section of the foundation pattern. After you have all the ties sewn onto the foundation, use scissors to cut out the stocking on the traced line.  I then sewed another piece of muslin to this (sew them together along the top edge of the stocking - sew right sides together, then flip over - so you have a nice finished edge along the top).  Because there are so many layers, I pinned them all together so they don't slip while sewing - stockings right sides together - and just sew 1/4" around the edge (not the top).  Don't forget to sew a hanger into the side.  I just used a piece of ribbon, made a loop and pinned it in with the layers.  Turn it right side out and there you have it!

Let me know if you have any questions, and I will do my best to help!