Cowboy Christmas Stocking

On my children’s fifth Christmas I make them a holiday stocking that reflects their personality. I made my daughter a fairy princess stocking when she was five years old. My son’s fifth birthday was fast approaching as was the holiday season. I decided to make him a cowboy Christmas stocking.

I bought some soft leather-looking fabric and suede string. I sewed the stocking from a cowboy boot pattern that I came across on the Internet. I then poked holes along the seam of the boot-shaped material. I threaded the suede through the holes and tied them off. This was the beginning of my son’s cowboy Christmas stocking. 

I made fringe out of some soft suede fabric that I found in a half off bin at the local craft store. I sewed the suede fringe along the top half of the boot. I then added a piece of leather to make the heel of the boot. By this time, I could not help but to notice that my son’s cowboy Christmas stocking looked remarkably like an ordinary felt cowboy boot and not really a holiday stocking at all.

I decided to fix the problem by embellishing the project with seasonal items to make it more of a cowboy Christmas stocking and less of a cowboy boot. Instead of spurs, I used small jingle bells on a string and hung them from the back heel of the stocking. I then took red, green and cold glittered fabric paint and embellished the body of the item.

I then took white cotton and dusted gold glitter on it. I glued the cotton to the top of the stocking and sprayed it with a top spray that I use for ceramics. I still was not satisfied with the results. The cowboy Christmas stocking looked more like an overdone cowgirl boot than anything else. 

I was going to have to come up with something else and soon. I found myself starting from scratch. I started the cowboy Christmas stocking the same way as the last. If I used holiday-colored material it would resemble Santa’s boot. I decided to simplify the project. I

Instead of using a string of jingle bells, I used one larger one. I sewed it into the heel area. I then used the holiday colored glitter to write his name on the stocking. I then took the smaller bells and sewed them onto a few of the pieces of fringe. I hung the finished cowboy Christmas stocking that holiday evening.