Christmas stockings on a line hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Christmas stockings on a line: preview of the stitched design

Two Christmas stockings hang toes outward from a cord of satin stitch that turns up in a scroll at each end, with a sprig of holly over the cord between them. Each stocking is outlined in stem stitch and hangs by a strap of satin stitch; its cuff ends in four scallops with a gold French knot over each, a heart of satin stitch lies on the leg, and the toe and heel are striped in satin stitch, a green stripe between two red stripes. The holly berries are satin stitch and the leaves are outlined in stem stitch with a vein of back stitch.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

3 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.6 × 1.4 in	4.1 × 3.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.1 in	6.4 × 5.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 2.8 in	8.4 × 7.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 3.5 in	10.4 × 8.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.8 × 4.9 in	14.7 × 12.4 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

In a 3 inch hoop the French knots are drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for them there, or choose a larger hoop.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenCord, green stripe of each toe and heel, outlines of the holly leaves, and veins of the holly
DMC 304 Medium RedHanging strap, stocking outline, stripes of the toe and heel, hearts, cuff outline, and holly berries
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnots of the cuff

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Satin stitch 2 strandsCord, hanging strap, stripes of the toe and heel, green stripe of each toe and heel, hearts, holly berries
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsStocking outline, cuff outline, outlines of the holly leaves
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots of the cuff
Back stitch 2 strandsVeins of the holly

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.