It’s the time of the year when holiday sweaters start coming out! Goodwill® is the best place to find these fabulous personalities, whether you’re going to a sweater party or you’re just brave enough to don a highly decorated pullover as everyday wear. But here’s something else you could do with a holiday sweater – make yourself a stocking!
Step 1: Turn your sweater inside out, then fold up the ribbed bottom edge and freehand or trace your stocking shape onto the sweater. Pin both layers of the sweater together.
Step 2: Cut about a half an inch outside of the marked area. Feel free to measure this seam allowance before you cut. If you have a very loosely knit sweater you may want to make the seam allowance bigger, as knits do unravel when cut. You can trim it down after sewing.
Step 3: Take the pins out of the top of the stocking and tuck the ribbed edge inside, then re-pin.
Step 4: Sew along the stocking outline you drew, with a regular stitch. Trim your seam allowance if necessary, then zig-zag stitch the edges for security. Turn right-side out!
Now that you’ve got your basic stocking finished, it’s all about embellishment. Using an embroidery needle and yarn you could easily stitch in a name or add a design, but why not go a bit further than that by making your own pom-poms and deco-tape? Let’s start with the pom-poms.
Step 1: Wind your yarn around all of the fork prongs. I wrapped mine 60 times. The more wraps you do, the fluffier your pom-poms will be!
Step 2: Cut a separate length of yarn and weave it through the middle prong of the fork. Tie it in a tight double-knot around all of the wound yarn.
Step 3: Snip all of the yarn loops except for the knot you just tied.
Step 4: Roll the pom-pom around in your hand to fluff it up, then trim the long pieces that stick out all willy-nilly.
Next up, the super easy handmade washi (or deco) tape. Grab some double sided hem tape and ribbon or fabric strips and tape your ribbon to the stocking! Voila!
Who knew you could make your own knit stocking so easily and give new life to an old sweater at the same time? Not only did I get this sweater at Goodwill, but that’s also where I got my ribbon and yarn. I like to think of Goodwill as a supply store where I can find the materials to make my wildest DIY dreams come true. I also love this organization because they create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue that contributes directly to the health of local economies across the U.S. and Canada. It always feels good to help others, especially at this time of the year!
xx, Julia
