Updating this blog post as our fourth baby boy Rory was born earlier this year and it makes me so happy to finally see four finished needlepoint stockings hanging on our mantel! Anyone who has picked up needlepoint knows that larger canvases like Christmas stockings are such a labor of love but extra worth it in the end. I will look forward to bringing these personalized stockings out as part of our holiday decor for many years to come and I hope eventually our children will too!
I learned to needlepoint from my Grandy the summer before our wedding eight and a half years ago and it’s been my favorite hobby ever since! I started small with a couple Christmas ornaments and key fobs before moving on to a needlepoint belt for my husband and it was a few years before I felt ready to tackle a needlepoint canvas this large. I’ve had people ask me how long it takes to needlepoint a stocking and it totally depends on the size of your canvas, the stitch(es) you use, and how frequently you stitch and for how long. I needlepoint exclusively in the continental stitch because it’s what I know best and can execute most easily and I would estimate I spent at least six months on each of these, stitching an average of maybe 30-45 minutes, 4-5 nights a week. Needlepoint stockings are custom projects with thousands of stitches on each canvas, which makes them some of the most satisfying projects to complete in my experience!
Our children's needlepoint stockings
I started our first son Teddy’s needlepoint stocking once we already knew we were expecting our second son Peter, so I knew I wanted their stocking designs to feel cohesive and coordinated but not identical. I went with Bauble Stockings needlepoint canvas designs that are available at KC Needlepoint (Bauble Stockings also sells miniature finished versions of each of these designs on their website here and here and is currently offering pre-orders on finished full-size stockings for next year if you’d prefer not to stitch your own!). I ordered this jingle bells stocking canvas for Teddy from the KC Needlepoint website (where you can have your canvas personalized with a name painted on for an additional cost) and picked out my Silk & Ivory threads at my local needlepoint store (I like to compare and combine thread colors in person, but you can always order threads online at Lycette Designs or Penny Linn Designs if you don’t have a needlepoint store near you).
I ordered this Bauble Stockings holiday trimmings canvas when we found out we were expecting our third son Tucker (above in 2023!). This design is from their collaboration with Dogwood Hill, but I stitched the background in the same navy blue as the first two stockings so the three designs would feel more cohesive.
When I found out I was pregnant with Rory (above at 9 months old!), I ordered this topiary Christmas tree stocking and again customized the background with the same navy thread color I’d used on the first three.
This is the first year I get to see all four of them hanging in a row and there is something so satisfying about knowing I made each of these heirloom quality pieces myself! I like to think Grandy would be proud. ❤️
I’ve been asked whether I use canvas stretchers or anything to make the canvases for these large stockings a little less unwieldy and the answer is I don’t! I watched my Grandy stitch for many years without any accessories and I guess that’s just what I know and I haven’t deviated. I’ve since stitched an even bigger canvas than these (see it here!) and would occasionally roll up one side of the canvas and keep it in place with a large binder clip, but any warping that occurs during stitching can be easily corrected when you drop it off your local needlepoint store to be finished, so I really don’t strive for perfection! Handmade with love is the name of the game here. 🙂
P.S. You can find details on the plate wall above our mantel in this post. The preserved boxwood garland is available at Ballard Designs here and the stocking holders are Restoration Hardware stocking cachepots in an antique silver finish that my parents used in our childhood home but that occasionally pop up for sale on eBay (a couple current listings here and here!).
P.P.S. Many more needlepoint posts in this category on my site! Here are a few on how I started needlepointing, the first needlepoint belt I made, framing needlepoint canvases, turning a needlepoint canvas into a lucite tray, how I organize needlepoint threads, and the needlepoint project I stitched for my dad.
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