JanCanToo: Stalking the Stockings

Taking a page from the lovely and talented Jackie Frost and her blog, I have documented my work today.

We begin with the problem:

Two of these things are not like the others. The one on the far right is mine and I like it, but it is time to go for a semi-coherent look here. Sam’s is the one that accidentally points the other way (more on that later) and if I’m making one, why not two? Also, we will have one more person joining us for Christmas and she needs a stocking, too! Three can’t be that much harder than two, right?

So: step one is to make the pattern. I traced Syd’s and added an approximate seam allowance. (Fortunately, my overall aesthetic for Christmas, and everything really, is Sincere, in the Charlie Brown sense, so perfection is not needed or desired here.)

Then, since families have a way of growing, I labeled the pattern because Past Janet whispered in my ear that Future Janet will thank me later.

Due to the Unfortunate Incident last time I made a stocking for Sam, I quadruple checked that I cut out the (time-consuming, hand-quilted and embroidered) fronts of the stockings in the right direction. Phew.

In general, my theory is that if I’m going to screw up one of something, it should be the one I’m going to end up using. So I tested my plan with success so far.

Again, because of that Unfortunate Incident, I was extra careful that the right sides of the stockings were both pointing the correct way when I cut them.

Past Janet whispered in my ear again and reminded me that I needed to figure out some kind of edge for the top of the stockings BEFORE I sewed them together to avoid nuclear explosions later. I used grosgrain ribbon and lots of pins because it’s just safer that way.

But I did not have three stockings-worth of ribbon that wide. For a moment, I flirted with the idea that I could successfully use this cute, narrower ribbon. Then I remembered that I am, in general, a Blunt Instrument rather than a Precision Machine.