Update on 3-8-15: New PDF is up & the links all work. (Woop!)

These stockings were designed by my grandmother, Mary Ellen Kinter. She made them for everyone in the family (her children when they were young, their spouses later in life, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, friends and their children+spouses and grandchildren, people from her church and their extended families…); there are literally hundreds of people in and around western Pennsylvania (and now WA, CA, NC, TN, and MN who have Grandma Kinter stockings as part of their holidays; they’ve gone to so many homes with her love, that they were even mentioned in her obituary.

She would love it if even more children woke on Christmas Day to a brightly colored stocking filled with treats or toys chosen for them by someone who cares. And that’s why I’m making her pattern available to anybody who wants it.

I usually make these with ye olde Red Heart one-pounder yarn, to match all the other stockings already in the family. Whatever yarn I pick, it’s always acrylic, simply for the sake of long-term wearability and ease of care. I’ve made these in Christmas colors (duh), but also in blue, brown, green, and white (very pretty).

This is a standard Christmas stocking. There’s nothing unique or exceptional about it except for the woman who created it.

I’ve never measured yardage. The one-pounder skeins last for basically, well, forever (feels like it). Great stashbuster.

I was reminded (by family) to add that these make great wedding gifts. A pair for the new couple for their wedding day, then a new stocking as a baby gift for each child that may come along.

I prefer to add 2-3 holly leaves and some berries to my stockings, for decoration and to help cover up where the hanging loop gets stitched on. I’ve tried a few patterns, but my favorite by far is Attic24’s holly leaf pattern. It’s easy to do, looks terrific, and the pattern is free! Attic24 suggests cutting out felt circles for holly berries, but you can also make individual bobbles for each. Claire Fairall also offers a free pattern (Ravelry download), as does Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits. Plus there are a ton more patterns for adornments and charts in Knitting Pattern Central’s Christmas section. Or, you may want to consider adding some fair isle elements using one of the many free charts at Knitting Pattern Central.

If you have trouble getting this to print correctly (because of the watermarks added by the software on the first and last page), download the pattern file “Mary Ellen’s Stocking (no links)”. I printed a simpler PDF, without links, using different software; you won’t be able to click the blue text, but the web addresses are listed in footnotes at the bottom of each page. Just copy and paste them into your favorite web browser and you’re good to go!