Stitch A Stocking Surprise

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MAKING (IT) UP

Begin by sewing the strips together: Take one strip of calico and one of maroon, pin them with their right sides together, and stitch down the length of one side. Continue in this manner, alternating solid and calico strips, until all the strips have been sewn. After pressing the seams open, pin the stocking pattern to the patchwork rectangle and cut out one stocking. Again, remember to flip the pattern on the material so that the completed stocking will have the right sides of the fabrics facing out.

Next, lay one piece of batting on the wrong side of the patchwork stocking and pin or baste it in place. Do the same with the maroon stocking, then pin it to the patchwork one, right sides together. Leaving the stocking top open, baste and then stitch the two halves together. Remove any basting stitches, clip all curves, and trim the batting to about 1/8" from the seam.

Now let's make the puppet. Pin the felt mane, with the fringed edge pointing inward, onto the right side of one beige stocking piece. Pin the second beige stocking piece to the first, right sides together, and then stitch around the horse, leaving the bottom open (this opening, of course, corresponds to the top of the stocking). Clip all the curves, and turn the horse right side out.

Match one piece of brown to a piece of beige to form each ear. Stitch the sides, clip the curves, and turn the ears right side out. Turn the raw edges in at the bottom, and sew the folded edges together with a running or slip stitch. Now, fold each ear lengthwise, slightly off center, with the brown lining inside. Hand-stitch the folded ear in place below the mane so that it points forward. (If you have it, slip a piece of fairly stiff plastic inside the horse's head to act as a darning egg to prevent your needle from poking all the way through the puppet as you sew.) Take several small stitches about one-third of the way up the back of each ear to hold it close to the head. Position the felt circles for the eyes, and sew them in place using a blanket stitch. A line of white thread from the center of each eye to the rim will help to give your horse a lifelike expression.

Finally, fit the stocking—wrong side out—inside the puppet, making sure that the seams of both pieces line up. Fold the unseamed edge of the stocking over that of the puppet, turn under the raw edges, and hand-stitch them to make a narrow hem.

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