DIY Faux Fur Trimmed Christmas Stockings

Every year I end up buying something new to decorate for Christmas. New things come to stores, new trends emerge & I love all things Christmas so I get pulled in just like everyone else.

This year I decided it was time for me to put my money where my mouth is & live my sustainable life even through the holidays. I committed to using items I already had form previous years, fixing or re-purposing things, & updating others.

Since I don’t really follow trends, it was much easier than I thought it would be. Turns out, there wasn’t much that needed changing except… our Christmas Stockings.

We’ve have had these stockings for 4 or 5 years. I loved them because of the velvet fabric & the monogram (on the flip side). But when I couldn’t find them with monograms for all 6 of us, I ended up changing them after the 1st year.

I didn’t do too much really – just added these letter ornaments that I’d previously bought for the tree. These are also about 4-5 years old but I had 1 for every member of the family. Perfect.

[irp posts=”4000″ name=”8 Places to Hang Stockings When You Don’t Have a Fireplace”]

 

Except when I pulled them out this time, I just wasn’t feeling it as much anymore. My 1st instinct was to go buy new stockings. Even though we already have 3 of these, 4 of another style, & too many to count that our littlest has made over the years.

Obviously new Christmas stockings are the last thing we need!

So I decided to keep it simple & sustainable & give our old stockings new life with faux fur.

I sat on this for a week trying to figure out something new. I hit up my fabric stash, but since I don’t sew I didn’t really think too hard about a fabric option.

Until I spotted this faux fur remnant I’d recently bought… then it hit me!  I can trim our Christmas stockings in fur for a whole new look!

Faux fur is everywhere these days so I thought this would be the perfect update. Especially since I had no plans for this remnant at all when I bought it. It was on clearance… what can I say?  I just can’t pass up a good deal!

I started by {loosely} measuring out the fur to fit the cuff of the stocking.  And by “loosely” I mean I:

1. laid the fabric face down on the table
2. placed the bottom of the stocking cuff on along the bottom edge of the fabric
3. flipped the stocking over to “measure” around the cuff (the length)
4. added an extra inch or so to the top & side – I just eyeballed it

It turned out to be about 5″ tall & 20″ long.  You could just “do the right thing” & measure the stocking with a tape measure. 😉

When I made the first cut for the height of the cuff, I noticed lots of loose fur.  Makes sense because when I cut it using the scissors, there’s no way to cut just the backing.  It cuts through the fur too… so here’s a little tip.  Use a very sharp exacto knife, box cutter, or blade to carefully cut through just the backing.

Protect your work surface below with something the blade cannot cut all the way through.  Make sure it is flat & sturdy.  Use a straight edge & be sure to cut away from you NOT toward you.

If fur all over doesn’t matter to you, just use the scissors & clean it all up later.  Safety first, always!

After measuring & cutting the first cuff, I used it as a template for the rest of my stockings.  I attached the fur to the stockings with hot glue.

 

Add a bead of hot glue along the top & bottom edges of the stocking cuff on 1 side. Then flip it over & do the same on the other side.

To seal it, run a bead of glue down the seam of the cuff, and on the inside of each of the ends of the faux fur. Press the 2 ends of the fur together while pushing the “seam” into the seam of the cuff.

To get a better idea of how to attach the fur, watch the video below.  Skip to 1:20 to see how to seal the seam.

And there you have it! And old Christmas stocking made new again!! Extra score for the monogram!

Just for kicks & giggles, I went shopping for stockings like this & they are easily upwards of $30 each.  These were practically free – except for that random fur that I happened to pick up.  But technically I already has it so… FREE!

What do you think?  How do you think it turned out? Let me know in the comments.

I think I love it & I hope it’s good because I’ve done 3 velvet stockings & am working on 4 more!  On another similar note, my mantel is nowhere near ready for Christmas!  But I think this little update is a good start.

If you like it, think you might want to try it, or know someone who would… do me a favor & pin it!  Merry Christmas y’all!!