Stockings are Done! (almost, pretty much, close enough)

Somehow (naptime+Kevin was off and took Lewis Christmas shopping+naptime+playtime with Papa), the stockings are finished!

 

Are they perfect? No.
Did I almost throw them away yesterday and go out and buy stockings? Yes.
Am I glad I kept going on them? Yes. I am glad that I waited until after the loop and cuff were sewn on. The top area where the stocking and cuff and loop all meet is a hot mess, but you can't tell unless you look closely.
Did I accidentally sew the loop of Peter's on the wrong side? Most definitely.


This was my first time sewing with an actual paper pattern, and there were some parts where I had no idea what they were talking about, so I might have missed some helpful tips. I also don't think the authors of this particular pattern had felt in mind when they designed it--at one point, I had to sew through 7 layers of felt (just over a small section where the loop attached), but that's a lot to ask out of my little sewing machine. And their loop pattern was way too small to have any hope of being turned right side out, so I  had to tweak that a little bit. Otherwise, it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be; however, I prefer online tutorials.


The designs for mine and Kevin's were inspired by the colors and patterns on The Land of Nod (thanks, Emily). I sewed Kevin's stripes on, but my dots and the dogs' dots are just glued. I just modified the paper pattern to make the shape for the dog's paws. I used a paint marker for our names--they are pretty subtle in the daylight, but I think that's okay. I could go along and sequin them if I want to add some bling, or I might just leave them. I'm not sure yet.


They aren't quite finished because I still have to add a trinket to Lewis' (his is the plain one in the middle). Martha Stewart had this idea on her website of starting with a blank stocking and adding a trinket each year to signify something that Lew was into, somewhere we traveled, a sport/hobby he had, etc. I already know what I'm going to make for this year--a small timer with a little heart button attached to show that he was well past his due date and was almost a Valentine's Day baby. It shouldn't take me too long to do, and I already have the supplies, so hopefully I can finish it one night this week.