Stocking instructions - Santa & Mrs. Claus

These two designs came from an old Christmas card that I found at my parent's house. Scott helped me modify the designs. Then I chose fabric for each one and pieced them together onto a piece of white broadcloth with embroidery. I didn't use wonder-under because I didn't want the applique to be stiff. I also tried to use materials that would be washable, if needed, and I pre-washed fabrics to help prevent shrinking on future washings.

(It was a good thing they were washable because when Sierra was about 18 months old, she had the stomach flu on Christmas...)

Santa's beard and Mrs. Claus's hair were done with a punch needle that I got from my mom. It took some practice to learn how to use it, but I loved how it turned out. This was probably 15-16 years ago, so I don't know if I would still remember how to do it or not.
After the applique was finished, I cut out the white cloth around the design and machine appliqued it using a close zig-zag to the main stocking.

There are a couple of reasons that we added the toes of the stockings as a different color. First, it helped save fabric because the shape without the toe was more efficient to cut out without waste. Also, it added personality and further uniqueness for each stocking. Notice how the color of the toe has matching fabric in the design itself.  Also, I chose fabric so that as all of the stockings hang by the chimney, there is a dark-colored fabric, then a light one, then a dark one, then a light one, etc.