19 Ways to Personalize a Stocking

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care…

Christmas will be here soon and before we know it we will be packing up Halloween decorations and breaking out the Christmas boxes! If you want to add a personal touch to your mantel this year with personalized stockings, I’ve got 19 great ideas for you to use!

“I am going to make our own stockings this year, but I want to be able to personalize them with our names. I don’t have an embroidery machine. What are some ways I could do this?” – Kara

Ideas for this post were taken from this thread on the Craftaholics Anonymous Facebook Page

19 Ways to Personalize a Stocking

19 Ideas for Personalized Stockings

{Click here for Striped Christmas Stocking Tutorial, Ruffled Mini Christmas Tree Tutorial, Christmas Rag Garland tutorial}

  1. “I make new stockings for my family each year. Last year I used different silk brocade for each and since they were quite elegant I wanted something simple so I just painted a script-style first initial wooden letter gold and attached it to the loop used to hang them.” – Patti W.

free christmas stocking pattern

{Free Christmas Stocking pattern here.}

2. “You can get a stencil with the size letters that you want. Using the stencil you can fill in the letters with fabric paint. If you do this, take your time and let each letter dry before you move on. You can also use the stencil and a erasable fabric pen to trace the letters for appliqué. If you use felt or something that doesn’t fray for the appliqué it will be easier. If you want to use a nice satin for the appliqué letters, to prevent the letters from fraying while you work with them, iron your fabric to heat n bond first. That will kind of seal the edges down and make it easier to work with. Then trace the letters, cut them out, iron in place and then use a blanket stitch by hand or satin stitch the edges using your machine. Patience is the key. Give yourself plenty of time as this will be a lot of work. When you are finished you will be so please with the heirlooms you create. I would sample the different methods on the different fabric types and see what provides the look you are going for. Personally I would use satin for initials with the machine satin stitch for an elegant look. Good luck!” – Andrea T

DSC02528-001
Personalized Stockings by SewSara

3. “I think a picture of each person attached with a rafia bow would be unique.” – Dottie O.

More Ways to Personalize a Stocking

4. “The first time I did this I bought premade letters at walmart (looked like for school jackets) and embroidery thread and hand sewn around the letter… gave it a handmade look without as much error but was super easy!” – Amandalynn S.

5. “I’m making ours and buying a metal initial for each person to tie to it. I’ve seen them at hobby lobby if you have one near by.” – Shanna M.

6. “I cross stitched mine. It is a lot of work but well worth it.” – Christy H.

7. “I sewed in a strip of cross stitch fabric that I had put their names on with floss thread. I also added a small symbol of what they liked to do for fun.” – Debra P.

8. “We used flocked iron on letters. Looks great!!” – Kristen W.

cottage instincts
Personalized Stockings by Cottage Instincts

9. “My Mom used to write in glue and sprinkle with glitter. They were beautiful. I’m sure there are easier ways. You can embroider using a regular machine.” Rose R.

10. “My sister and I made stockings and we used Aida Cloth (counted Cross stitch) we picked something that meant something to the person and cross stitched it with their names they are beautiful.” – Sandra E.

11. “Felt or use an Iron on Transfer pencil! I just bought some iron on trasfer pencils last night, you draw or trace the design you like on paper then iron it onto your fabric then you can paint or sew useing it as a guide! I havnt used mine yet but im pretty excited about it!” – Jen M.

Christmas Stocking Tutorial

12. “Chain stitch the name with wool on the turndown.” – Preeth P.

13. “Use heat and bond on the backside of the name fabric. Then cut out the letters and iron them on. Then zig zag stitch for added security.” – Ashley A.

14. “Cut the names out of freezer paper, iron it on the fabric. Use fabric paint to fill in. Once it’s dry, pull off the freezer paper.” – Amy H.

More Ways to Personalize a Stocking

15. “I did first initials with small buttons. Turned out cute.” – Breanna J.

16. “I made felt stockings for our family and cut names out of felt and glued them on with tacky glue.” – Caroline N.

craftiness not optional
Personalized Stockings by Craftiness Not Optional

17. “Write their name on tissue paper and hand stitch over it. The tissue paper pulls away. That’s how I did both of my kids’ stockings.” – Stephanie E.

18. “Stitching, glitter glue or use old clothing, cut out the names and sew it on the stockings” – Diana Z.

19. “Glitter glue is easy to script with and makes a nice showing of a name if you use a color that stands out beautifully against its background.” – Erin L.

Christmas Stocking Tutorial

What is your favorite way to personalize your Christmas stockings? Have a crafting question? Post it on our Facebook page and get answers!