Poinsetta Xmas Stocking
a Personal favorite...

This stocking differs from the others in several respects:

  • it's not made for a specific person
  • it incorporates silk brocade for the flap
  • it incorporates handmade twisted silk trim
  • it incorporates ombre thread embroidery
  • it has no jingle bells (too cheap)
  • it's the first to incorporate kumi
  • it was to be part of three part series

Originally, I planned to make two additional stockings, with white and pink-spotted poinsettas, respectively. (I still may, someday...:) I figured this might replace my childhood stocking, which is wearing out, or perhaps go to one of my parents. My mother finally accepted it as a gift this year. She not into totskches, so giving her stuff is extremely difficult.

This is a closeup, showing the beaded embroidery appliqued upon the felt. Part way thru the project I purchased some good quality red felt, which really points up the thin color on the older red felt. Click on the thumbnails for a 512 pixel wide enlargement.

 

Tighter shot of beaded embroidery...

 

...and another. Obviously, this is a personal favorite. This piece has just a bit of the organic layered shred style applique style that bloomed fully in the cardinal and angel stockings.

 

I like tassels that have fine fibers in them, as these do. Note the asymmetrical distribution of thread colors. I consider this piece of kumihimo to be the most successful I've ever made, at least with ombre (hand-painted) fibers, in which I attempted to get the ‘twisted diamond’ patterns to show up (green) and sink back (red) into the background.

 

A closeup of some of the kumi. I used dmc and handpainted caron watercolors perl cotton for this braid. It is a 16 strand tabby weave (keireko no himo pattern)

 

This shows my rather uneven efforts at making a twisted (as opposed to braided) silk fiber, using a rope making tool. I was unimpressed with the tool, which was suppose to twist three sets of fibers at once. Despite the uneveness, I used my ‘rope’—made of gudebrod silk (purchased for bead-stringing) anyway. The bamboo silk brocade was from Haberman's in Royal Oak, our local high-end fabric store. Note the outer stocking thread is that fun red and green twisted stuff, sewn in my favorite of my sewing machine's “decorative” stitches: a darning stitch. (I have a 1950s kenmore, with dozens of cams, that I picked up at a garage sale for $30; ironically enough, my favorite stitch is not an official decorative stitch!)