The habit of hanging stockings in front of the fireplace mantel on Christmas Eve is no longer a common practice. The tradition, however, remains and is still embraced by some. Christmas stockings are cute and they make beautiful decorations. You can find them in stores or you can craft them yourself from scratch.

If you decide to go with the DIY version, we have some really great design ideas that you can try. For instance, you could personalize each stocking with a name tag. It’s a detail that defines the project we found on Twocreatedetails. The tutorial described how to make the stockings from scratch and includes a list of required supplies.

If you plan on only using the stockings as decorations, there’s no need to make them sturdy and durable. You just have to focus on the looks. It could be nice to decorate the stockings with pom poms and you could make them look like ice cream cones. This is actually a cute idea that we encountered on Mypoppet.

If you have a staircase, you can use the railing as a support from which to hang Christmas stockings. You can add a garland and it will really look festive. The stockings are pretty easy to make. You just need some fabric, a sewing machine and a pattern. You can find all the necessary details on Marymarthamama.

You know what would make the project a lot easier? To use some actual stockings. Look for some that are fluffy and have that cute and cozy look. You can hang them from a branch and you can decorate that with greenery as shown on Themerrythrought. You can use eucalyptus branches or something more Christmassy like pine or fir tree trimmings.

On the other hand, if you want you can also spend a little more time with the project and crochet some stockings. This actually allows you to give them the desired size and shape and to also try all sorts of lovely patterns and color combinations. And you can experiments with other things as well. You can find some suggestions on Dabblesandbabbles.

Crafting a basic Christmas stocking shouldn’t be difficult at all. Let’s say you choose to use felt to make it look cute. Choose the colors you want to use and gather your other supplies which include sticky tape, craft glue, embroidery floss, colored yarn and sewing supplies. You’ll also need a template. You can find that along with the instructions on Mypoppet. The stockings featured here look like cacti.

There are lots of other ways to decorate your handmade felt stockings. Pom poms and tassels are always cute and easy to make so perhaps you can work with that. It would be nice to also add some custom tags or to embroider names on each stocking. In any case, you’ll need wool felt for the stockings, gold embroidery thread for the names and colored yarn for the tassels and pom poms. You can find the instructions on Newblooming.

Of course, it would be useless to spend all that time and effort making cute Christmas stockings when you have no way of displaying them. You don’t need a fireplace mantel or a staircase when you can make your own stocking holder. It’s an easy project for which you need a wood board, some screws, hooks, a saw, a drill and some paint. {found on modelbehaviors}.

You can probably find some simple stockings at your local store. Take those and give them a makeover. You can decorate them with burlap ribbon and embellishments like tags, flowers, pom poms and other things. You might need a hot glue gun although you could just use a needle and thread. Find more details about this along with some other Christmas decorating ideas on Kleinworthco.

If you’re serious about your Christmas stockings, you can try a design that’s a bit more complex. For instance, try the mixed fur design featured on Npdodge. To make them you’ll need various types of fabric for the liner, base, toe and top of the sock. You’ll also need fur, ribbon, a sewing machine, a hot glue gun and embroidery thread.

Actually, fur can make Christmas stockings look more appropriate for the season. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than needed. Just add some fur trim to a fabric stocking. You can find templates online or you can just draw one yourself. Make sure to sew the fur on the inside on the stocking so you can then fold it over. Add some pom pom trim as well if you want. {found on tuftandtrim}.

All you need to make a cute Christmas stocking is some fabric and a sewing machine. First you cut out the fabric. You’ll need matching pieces for the front and the back. You can use two types of fabric, one for the interior of the stocking and one for the exterior so when you fold over the top you can reveal a contrasting trim. You can find more details on Paulsvera.

There’s no need to go overboard with the design of the stockings when something simple can actually turn out to be more charming and appropriate. Try for example the personalized stockings featured on Housefulofhandmade. they’re made of drop cloth and they’re each personalized with cute bows and stitched names.

In case you’re tired of the traditional Christmas stockings and you want something a bit different which preserves the symbolism but not necessarily the function, consider making some paper stockings. You could try the idea suggested on Thehousethatlarsbuilt. The materials needed for this project include heavyweight paper, crepe paper, scissors, glue and clear tape. You can adjust the size and customize the design if you want it to suit your style.

We also found a paper stocking design idea on Thecraftsworld. Basically in this case you just print out some stockings, you cut them out and you glue the matching pairs together. You can then decorate them with ribbon bows and other ornaments like cute little toys, name tags, colored beads, pom poms and other small things.