How many of you with pets consider them a special part of your family? I know that our 2 cats, Sophie and Sheba, and our yellow lab Nellie are definitely part of ours! I have some kind of Christmas stockings for each of them hanging on the mantle every Christmas! The bond our family has with our animals inspired these new stocking designs, and I hope that you enjoy stitching and hanging them in your home as much as I’ve enjoyed designing them!

Each leaflet comes with a design for a full size stocking to hold lots of toys and treats as well as a smaller version designed more like an ornament. The large stockings are stitched over 2 threads on 18ct linens from Wichelt using perle cottons and specialty fibers from DMC, Rainbow Gallery and Weeks Dye Works. There are lots of options for embellishments, but I’ve chosen a couple of nice ceramic Debbie Mumm buttons from Mill Hill for these models. If you prefer a slightly smaller stocking, just stitch them on 28ct linen and switch to floss-weight fibers.

Stitch the little ornaments on most anything you like. I chose 28ct cream linen from Zweigart for the dog’s and 18ct linen stitched over 1 thread for the cat’s, then used DMC and Weeks’ flosses plus little buttons from Just Another Button Co. And, don’t forget to customize the cat or dog on your stocking a bit so it’s the same color as your own furry friend!