Stockings and stocking fillers are an old Christmas tradition. When Santa Claus went down some chimneys, occasionally small gifts fell out of his sack and landed inside people's socks and stockings that were hanging around the fireplace to dry over night. The owners of the stockings and socks were happily surprised on Christmas morning to find their stockings filled with ?stocking fillers?.

Nowadays, stockings are a firm feature of Christmas however, we do tend to hang out our stockings more expectantly rather then to appreciate a welcome accident.

To make a mini Christmas stocking you will need...

Assorted coloured pieces of felt, coloured thread, ribbon, glue and a print out pattern (see the link at the bottom for a free printable patter)

Cut out the pattern piece.

Place the stocking pattern piece onto a piece of felt. Put the pattern close to the edge of the felt to save fabric. Cut right up to the pattern piece, there is no need for a seam allowance. Two main stocking parts are needed for each stocking. These can either be the same or different colours.

Pin the two pieces together and working on the right side, work blanket stitch around the edge of the stocking to sew he two parts together.

Tack a loop of ribbon inside the top of the stocking at the back. This is the loop for hanging the stocking up.

Decorate the front of the stocking with holly leaves and berries cut from scraps of felt. Stick them into place with PVA glue.

You could personalise the stockings by embroidering a name or initials on it.

Sequins make attractive decorations. Sequins look really festive near the Christmas tree, reflecting the light from the fairy lights.

Another simple decorative idea is to cut away shapes in one side of the stocking before blanket stitching them together. This Lacey effect is pretty and shows off a little of the stocking filler inside.

These little stockings are ideal for small gifts, such as sweets, chocolates, money, nail varnish, broaches, and other little trinkets. Hang them on the fireplace or on the Christmas tree.