A few weeks ago, I came across the Stocking Advent Calendar instructions on BurdaStyle.com and decided to make some of my own.

If you know me, you can probably guess at the difficulty I had in actually creating 24 little stockings (24!) and finishing the project, but shockingly, I did finish it. (Knitters talk about the “2nd sock syndrome”… try the 23rd sock!)

I pretty much followed the instructions from BurdaStyle.com, with a few exceptions:

• I used a different pattern for the stockings [download the pattern (but ignore the instructions on it!)]—it’s rough but I liked the shape better. If you use it, know that I added a ½” seam allowance. If you’re better at sewing than me, you could reduce this and eliminate the seam allowance trimming step.
• I cut out the numbers and applied them applique-style (new to me, and I really like the effect, though I might recommend starting out with a smaller project for the first attempt!). If you’re interested, here’s the pattern for two styles of numbers, ready to print backwards for tracing.
• I used different ribbon for the bows than for the top edge.

I’ve uploaded photos of the whole process to Flickr, so if you’re interested in seeing it pretty much step-by-step, start there. If you have questions, ask them in the photo comments or leave a comment on this post and I’ll do my best to clarify.

As a side-note, this was my first project on my new sewing machine and I love it.