Felt Christmas Stocking Kits - Handmade Keepsakes

With the busy holiday season just around the corner, fall is the perfect time to start crafting for the holidays.  We've been busy adding new holiday kits to the store, with new products arriving weekly, including all new Felt Christmas Stocking Kits!

The Finishing Touch Felt Stocking Kit from Bucilla is a new felt stocking design for Christmas 2011, featuring Santa and friends working together to add a final gold star to the top of the tree.

This felt applique kit includes stamped felts, cotton floss, sequins & beads, needles, instructions, and directions for personalization.

I've made several of the Bucilla felt stockings over the years and have always been very happy with the final result.  I'll share a few best practices from my experience making these kits.  First, be sure to spend sufficient time reviewing all of the paperwork included in the kit before starting any work on your stocking project.

I find it helpful to have a marking pen and/or highlighter on hand to circle or highlight important sections of the instructions as I need them.  I also find that checking off the assembly steps as I complete them makes it easier to find my place again, especially when starting back in after a break.

The Nativity Baby Felt Stocking Kit is a lovely Christmas stocking design from Bucilla, with the words "Joy to the World" embroidered above a beautiful nativity scene.

This felt applique kit includes stamped felts, cotton floss, sequins & beads, needles, instructions, and directions for personalization.

The felt pieces are pre-stamped with ready-to-cut applique shapes, which are numbered for easy identification.  It's best to only cut the felt pieces out as you need them for the project.  If you cut them out early, you'll also be cutting away their numbers, which will make it difficult to find the piece you need later on.

When it's time to start cutting out the felt applique shapes, you'll want a pair of sharp scissors designed for detail cutting.

I suggest something similar to these Precision Cut Scissors from EK Success.

I've used these scissors and find that they work well for cutting out the small and intricate felt shapes.

You'll need polyester fiberfill for stuffing certain applique pieces. This helps to create a dimensional effect for your stocking.

Felt stocking kits take some time to finish, so it's nice to be able to put them away & bring them back out as needed.  Here are a few optional items that will help keep your kit organized and portable.

• A tote or project bag for keeping everything together.
• An embroidery floss organizer to hold the separated colors.
• A small plastic bead box with locking lid & dividers for storing the beads, sequins, and needles.

If you're thinking about making one of the Bucilla felt stocking kits, I recommend starting now, in mid-October, so that you can enjoy the process of making the stocking without being rushed to finish.

I think you'll find that the results are definitely worth the time.  Your finished Christmas stocking will be a special handmade keepsake for a loved one to enjoy every holiday season.  My older daughter still has her Santa Bear stocking I made for her 24 years ago!

And, here's a photo of the Black Bear Bonfire stocking I made for my younger daughter just last year.

If you're short on time, I suggest choosing a felt stocking design with larger & fewer applique pieces and less detailed embroidery.

Another option is to try one of the new felt Christmas stocking kits from Dimensions.  This is a nice new line of felt craft kits, perfect for beginners & skilled crafters looking for a fun weekend project.

The Festive Tree Felt Christmas Stocking Kit includes presorted cotton thread, precut felt shapes, needle, and easy instructions.

The felt pieces are precut and ready to stitch.  They're also prepunched with small holes for easy embroidery & hand sewing.

The Dimensions kits are a great option for busy crafters to make a quick & easy felt stocking!

Visit the Christmas Stocking Kits section to see our complete selection of felt stocking craft kits.

Weekend Kits offers a unique selection of DIY Art & Craft Kits from well known brands as well as independent artists.  Explore a variety of creative project kits for adults, teens, and kids.  Stop by today and be ready to create a handmade holiday keepsake on your next Weekend at Home!  Thanks for visiting the Weekend Kits blog.