Christmas Stocking Cross Stitch Patterns

Everyone in my family has a knit Christmas stocking, so it would never occur to me to cross stitch a stocking, but it’s possible (albeit a lot of work!) and would definitely be an heirloom piece for anyone you make one for.

There are so many options out there you can make one to suit anyone’s style or favorite things. I’ve gathered a few patterns from Etsy to get you started but it’s easy to search and find Christmas stocking cross stitch patterns with just about any theme you can think of.

Let’s start with some Santa patterns. Cross Stitch Kits Ala has a gorgeous Santa wearing a while cloak and surrounded by white animals. Or go the opposite direction with tons of color on the Santa cross stitch stocking from Zanna Cross Stitch. On this one Santa is checking his list in front of a house with elves and gifts all around.

If you’re looking for something with a religious theme, this personalized stocking has a manger scene at the top, as well as flowers, trees, ornaments, reindeer and candy canes. The design is from Happinesst.

This vintage style snowman cross stitch stocking pattern has space for a name at the top and comes with a full alphabet. I love all the animals gathered around. You can get this pattern from Sampler Antique Stitch.

If I were going to make a cross stitch stocking I would find it hard to resist this retro deer design from Satsuma Street. The ornaments in the antlers are so cute, and you can make them whatever colors you want to suit your decor. I also love it on the black cross stitch fabric because it’s unexpected for the holiday season but really striking and fun.

Looking for even more patterns? White Raven Patterns has two sets of 15 designs you can buy as a set. The first one includes trees, retro cars, animals, Santas, gingerbread men and more, while the second includes ornaments, nutcrackers, some very cozy looking critters and more.

Most of the cross stitch projects I make are pretty small and not something I would consider heirloom quality (though I am working on a big project for my daughter that I hope to have done for her high school graduation in two years that I hope is something she’ll want to keep forever, but that’s another story).

But it is definitely possible to cross stitch projects that will stay around for generations, and one prime example of that is a cross-stitched linen tablecloth.

Linen tablecloths are classic, while stitching one can be a big project, depending on the size of your table, it doesn’t have to be really complicated.

Koekoek has a good, detailed post about figuring out how much linen you would need to make a tablecloth that you can cross stitch and/or embroider on (they also sell tablecloth linen in their shop if you don’t already have some or a linen tablecloth you already use). Of course for a project like this you’d want the best fabric you can find and afford, because you’ll be stitching it for a long time and hopefully using it for years.

The post walks through how to measure your table and determine how much fabric you’ll need including the drop you’ll want and hems. It includes the math for rectangular and square tables as well as circular tables, which helps take the guesswork out of buying fabric. It also talks about preparing the fabric and making mitered corners if you have a square or rectangular table, which will help the tablecloth sit nicely on your table.

The tutorial doesn’t include specific patterns to use for your tablecloth, but it does advise keeping it simple because this is a really big project. You can start with a motif in the center or doing borders, and this is a project you can add to through the years by, say, stitching a symbol for each family member or adding names, wedding dates, etc. and making it a real record of your family.

Would you ever cross stitch a tablecloth or have you done so? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Koekoek]

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