Christmas Stocking Pattern Ideas: Prints, Cuffs and Personalization

A stocking is a small canvas with an awkward shape: tall, narrow, curved at the foot and broken in the middle by a cuff. Most of the decisions that make one look good are about that shape, not the motif.

The cuff is a built-in second fabric, so use it. Three pairings that work reliably:

• Pattern body, plain cuff. A busy print on the leg with a solid or velvet cuff in the print's lead color. This is the safest approach and the easiest to personalize.
• Plain body, patterned cuff. A calm solid or tone-on-tone body with a plaid, stripe or Nordic band at the top. Good when the stocking needs to be personalized across the body.
• Two related prints. A medium floral body with a tiny check cuff, built from the same palette. This looks collected rather than matched.

Keep the contrast in value (light versus dark) rather than just hue. A red body with a dark green cuff can merge to the same gray in photos; a red body with a cream cuff will not.

Names are the reason many stockings exist. Whether the name is embroidered, printed, appliqued or hung on a tag, reserve space for it before you finalize the print:

• Leave a clear band, usually on the cuff, tall enough for lettering to be read from across the room.
• Size it for the longest name in the family and an extra letter.
• Keep the panel quiet. Lettering on top of a busy print turns to noise.

If you sell personalized stockings, a print with a built-in empty cartouche, such as a banner, wreath or ornament shape, looks designed rather than blank.

A stocking leg is straight, then the heel and toe turn the shape sideways. A print with a clear up-and-down direction, like trees or deer, will point correctly on the leg and tip over at the toe. Two ways out:

1. 1Use a tossed, non-directional print so rotation does not matter.
2. 2Cut the toe and heel as separate pieces in a coordinating solid or small print, as many knitted and sewn stockings do.

The front and back are also mirror pieces. If your print has a prominent focal motif, decide whether it appears on one side only; the usual choice is to put it on the front and keep the back calmer.

Stockings are one of the few Christmas items where the surface counts as much as the artwork.

• [Velvet](/create/velvet-patterns/) has a nap. The same color looks darker brushed one way than the other, and pieces must all be cut in the same direction. Rich solids and tone-on-tone prints suit it better than fine detail.
• [Quilted](/create/quilted-patterns/) stockings already have stitched diamonds or channels, so keep the printed pattern simple or large-scale and let the stitching provide the second layer.
• Felt and wool hide fine lines. Draw bold shapes with generous gaps.
• Cotton and canvas take crisp prints and are the best choice for detailed illustrations.

Design the set as a system:

For example, cranberry #8E1B3A, cream #F5EBDD and pine #3F5B3E could yield a plaid stocking, a reindeer stocking and a snowflake stocking that clearly belong together. For fabric and scale choices, Christmas plaid and tartan patterns shows which checks suit a cuff, and Christmas tree skirt pattern design can echo the same system under the tree.

• Vertical garlands, pine boughs and candy-stripe lines that follow the leg
• Nordic bands with stars, hearts and snowflakes
• A single ornament or wreath on the leg, ringed by a quiet ground
• Tossed gingerbread, stars or tiny trees for a non-directional look
• Pet motifs for a matching pet stocking; see Christmas pet bandana and accessory patterns

To explore a family of prints in one palette, Christmas patterns in Browse Styles is a quick start in Pattern Weaver, and Restyle changes the finish of a pattern you like, which helps when one design has to suit both a velvet and a cotton stocking.