Sunny Stocking SAL - 2024
It's that time of year again! Every October we kick off the Sunny Stocking Sew Along! We will share our templates, designs and ideas for you to use to create your stocking. All of the templates, instructions and tutorials are the intellectual property of Sunny Day Supply. You may use our templates and tutorials, but please do not copy our templates and tutorials to post as your own. Nor do we allow our templates and tutorials to be sold as a pattern or to any quilting or sewing magazine.
You do not need to use our templates or stocking ideas to participate! There are many stocking patterns available to purchase. Cambridge Stitches UK on Etsy has a lovely pattern you can purchase from her Etsy shop!
To kick things off, we are going to start with the Clamshell Stocking. The post today will get you started on preparing the foundation fabric, making the clamshells and stitching. In a few days, I will continue with another post showing you how to finish up your stocking!
To begin a clamshell stocking, we need to create a foundation fabric to hold our clamshells. For the large stocking template you will need a fat quarter (at least 18" X 22") of a muslin or solid fabric. I used Kona Snow. The foundation fabric will not be seen in the finished stocking, so it doesn't need to be a nice piece of fabric. On your foundation fabric, you need to use a heat erasable pen (like a frixion pen) to draw a grid. This grid is to help space the clamshells while you sew them into place.
My clamshell is 3.5" so I drew a 3.5" grid from top to bottom and from side to side. The grid should be the same size in height and width as your clamshell. So, if you are using a 2.25" clamshell, then the grid would be 2.25".
Once you have your grid, you may want to trace your stocking outline on the grid. By tracing the outline on the grid you will have a guide as to where the clamshells should be placed. That way you aren't adding a clamshell to a square that will be trimmed away in the end. **excuse my well used template** This is completely optional. You may choose to cover every square with a clamshell. That will give you a bit more wiggle room when you cut out your stocking using the stocking template.
Now that you have your foundation fabric, you are ready to start making clamshells! Transfer your clamshell template to Quilters Template Plastic or cardboard. It's easier to use something that is a bit more rigid for tracing around.
Using a Frixion pen or heat erasable pen, trace your clamshell on the right side of your fabric. Get creative with your fussy-cutting!
Cut your fussy-cut clamshell leaving a quarter inch seam allowance around the curve and the scooped-out sections of the clamshell. Cut the bottom straight on the line.
You don't need a precise quarter inch, just eyeball it!
Now, it's time to start appliqueing the clamshells to the foundation fabric. I use either a glue pen or Roxanne's Glue Baste-It to hold my clamshells in place. You could also use small applique pens or washable school glue. Just a dab of glue will hold the clamshell in place.
Please note, the top row of clamshells will be trimmed. So to preserve as much of my clamshells as possible, I placed my first clam so it was centered on a grid line. In the photos, you can see where I placed my first clamshell and my finger is pointing to the top of the stocking. Of course, if you cover more of the foundation fabric with clamshells, you will have more wiggle room for cutting out your stocking in the end.
Here is another look at the first row of clamshells and placing the first clamshell centered on a grid line or placing the first clamshell between the grid lines. Just consider where you will be placing the stocking template when your clamshell panel is complete, and you are ready to cut out your stocking. The red line indicates the top of my stocking outline.
Continue adding clamshells and appliqueing them to the foundation fabric. Remember, you only have to applique the top curve. And remember to use the grid lines to keep your clamshells straight. I have a new video on YouTube to help demonstrate adding the clamshells and appliqueing. Just click the hyperlink above or you can go to our YouTube channel by following the link in our Instagram page bio.
You may choose to use the starch method to prepare your clamshells. For my stocking, I am simply using needle turn applique. Remember, take your needle down into the foundation fabric directly below where you pulled the needle through in the clamshell fold. By doing this, you will hide your applique stitches.
Look for our next BLOG post on trimming your stocking and finishing.
TEMPLATES:
Here are the templates you may need for the Stocking SAL! Note, the templates are set to be viewed by anyone. If you have trouble opening, it may be because of your security settings.
This page will take you to all of the Stocking BLOG posts from the past several years! STOCKING POSTS
Be sure to tag @sunnydaysupply when you post your stocking and use the hashtag #sunnystockingsal
We can't wait to see all your Merry Merry Stockings!