Lila's First Christmas Stocking - December 2005

I made this for Lila for Christmas. It's a silk ribbon embroidery pattern that I bought when I was in college (15ish years ago) and never completed for myself. I'd done all of the work of the actual embroidery except for adding my name, but just stopped. As Christmas approached, I added Lila's name, chose all the backing and trim and then finished the project in mid December.

The fabric on the back is from a vintage piece that my mom bought when I was 6 or 7 (30 years ago). She used a scrap of it to make skirts for my Barbie dolls. The fabric is this wonderful almost brocade and embossed floral pattern shot through with silver metallic. It's amazingly rich and lovely.

The inner lining is pink shantung silk - only I liked the "wrong" side better, so that's why it's so shiny. :)

I feel that this stocking is really not something she'll really like as much now as she would, say, a reindeer or Santa motif, but she does ooooh and ahhh over it and say "touch it. I touch it." :) She mostly wanted to know when it would be filled with candy and toys!!

This stocking has a little of my mom and a little of me and now it'll have a little of her in it. I hope it's something she grows to love as much as the love that I put into it for her. I'm really proud of how it came out, and the fact that I finished it at all. I have a needlepoint unicorn pillow I've had since my Freshman year in high school - I'm a CHRONIC starter and not finisher when it comes to crafts. Maybe I'll finish that now, too!

I hope you enjoy. I'm sorry some of the shots aren't very good; my camera was unhappy with how close I wanted to get.

The stocking, front and back. The back photo doesn't adequately illustrate the total gorgeousness of this fabric. I'm sorry! I tried several times, but the flash off the metallic threads just made it all look white.

 

Detail views from the top down, starting with the name.

My favorite detail is the fan in the center.

 

I love this little corner of roses by the hanging thingy (what do you call that, anyway??)

 

A view down into the stocking. This silk feels incredible; you'll have to take my word on it!

 

 

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