Fully-Seamed Ahead!

Stockings are often sold as One Size Fits All, but that’s rarely the case in practice. Especially
with winter weather on the way its the perfect time to curl up in cozy stockings or reading
socks, and now you’ll be able to draft and see them in any size!

If you can bear a little bit of math and drafting, you’ll soon be on your way to one of the most
stylish, customizable patterns you’ve ever tried. And the best part? They’re remarkably quick
and easy to sew!

Drafting time: 20mins
Sewing time: 10 minutes
Skill level: beginner

Materials:

1M Plush Band Elastic
.75 Bamboo, Ribbed Knit or Stretch Mesh*
Optional: 1M lace trim, .5M double faced Satin ribbon for bows
*We recommend bamboo, ribbed knit bamboo or stretch mesh, but these could be fun in a
variety of fabrics, as long as they’re made of four-way stretch that is at least 50% stretch
percentage in one direction. Please refer to this blog post for instructions about stretch
percentage:

First things first, measure around your thigh and record this measurement.
Careful not to take this measurement with your knee bent, ask a friend for help if necessary.
Second, you’ll want to measure the length from your toe to mid-thigh.

For the sake of this tutorial we are going to say that the measurements are as follows:
Thigh: 20’’
Toe to thigh: 24’’
Toe to knee:18’’
Around the knee:14’’
Drafting can be daunting but hang in there!

We want the stockings to have some hold, so we’ll subtract three inches from the thigh
measurement
(20-3=17)
And then divide by 2 (17/2=8.5)
Plot this horizontally on your drafting paper
And then plot your toe to thigh length
Mark your knee height and plot out your knee circumference divided by 2 (14/2=7)
Extend the top of the stocking 2.5 inches to encase elastic.
round the toe shape at the bottom, you can round using a french curve or a pair of socks.
The final step is to taper the outer edge of your pattern so it grazes the knee measurement and
extends to the toe
Your pattern should look something like this:

Construction:
Cut fabric with the DOGS (direction of greatest stretch) running around the leg)
Cut a piece of plush band elastic the width of the top of the stocking pattern.

Sew elastic to the good side of your fabric using a wide zig-zag stitch and a 1/8 seam
allowance.

Flip the elastic towards the inside (bad side of the fabric) and flip-down a second time.
The waistband should now be encased in the fabric.

Sew down along the bottom edge to secure with a three-step zig-zag.
(If you would like to sew a lace trim to the good side of the fabric, now is the best time)

Fold so that good sides are facing each other and sew the back seam all the way down until it
connects the toe using a 2/8 seam allowance.
For added support, you can go over this seam with a three step zig-zag.

Turn inside out, and you’re done!

Finishing options include bows, pom-poms or lace to customize these cozy stockings.

You can always lengthen or shorten this pattern to make a variety of lengths- ankle socks
especially are great for making use of scrap fabric, but you can also try dress socks, over-the-knee socks or thigh-high stockings-there are so many possibilities!