My First Bucilla Felt Stocking Kit: Choosing a Kit

Last year MerryStockings.com sold thousands of felt applique Christmas kits to our customers. This means there are many, many people out there who enjoy creating these wonderful, heirloom stockings for the people they love.

My grandmother was one such person. Over 40 years ago she made me a the stocking which has been stuffed full of surprises from Santa for many, many years. In fact, we often traveled for Christmas when I was little, and we never worried about Santa finding us because our stockings always went with us and were hung wherever we were on Christmas Eve. So, my snowman stocking has traveled a lot, too. Every time I pull it out at Christmas, it reminds me of some wonderful memories, and it reminds me of my grandma and all the special things she did for me.

Now that I have worked at MerryStockings (perhaps I have spoken to you on the phone a time or two), I feel it is my turn to learn the craft of creating these beautiful stockings. And, so, I am going to try my hand at creating a felt stocking over the course of the next few months. With each step in the process, I will create a new blog post in the hopes of creating a place where people can share their tips and post questions about creating felt stocking kits. I’m excited to hear from you all . . . I’m sure I will learn from you and I hope you can learn something too.

Your First Stocking Kit

How do you ever decide which stocking kit to make? There are so many designs in our catalog and on our website that it is hard for me to choose. I know some people enjoy thinking about the person they are making the kit for and selecting a Christmas stocking kit that fits the recipient’s personality. We have sports themed kits, and princess and fairy kits. We have cute snowman and deer families, and more traditional Christmas designs that feature Santa. There are even some more whimsical designs like the Santa Gnome and Snow Garden. I have had the chance to see the kits as they come in to MerryStockings, and I get to see many of the pictures of the completed kits that our customers send to us. There are just too many good choices.

Since this is my first try at constructing a felt stocking kit, I think I will pick a design with fewer details. I’m not sure who might receive the finished kit, so I’d like a more traditional theme. One of our customers recommended that I try the Jolly St. Nick (BC10-414) kit because it is a good beginner kit. I’ve also heard that the Snowman with Lights (BC10-301) and the Gingerbread House (BC10-302) are fun kits to start out on.

All that said, I think I am going to take our customer’s advice and try the Jolly St. Nick Bucilla stocking kit. I like the rosy-cheeked, friendly Santa design and it seems to have bigger pieces on it (and not too much in the way of stuffing, I think). I'm excited to start! I know that some of you have been making these kits for over 40 years. I would love to hear about the first kit, or a favorite kit you've made. – Kirsten, MerryStockings.com