Sew your own Christmas stocking

Christmas stockings are empty sock-shaped bags hung up to allow Santa to fill them with presents such as small toys, sweets or fruit for children on Christmas Eve. Can you design and make an appealing Christmas stocking for Santa to use?

Activity: Sew a Christmas stocking

This is one of a series of STEM resources designed to allow learners to use the theme of the Christmas period to develop their knowledge and skills in Design & Technology, and Engineering. This resource focuses on using textiles skills and knowledge to design and make a Christmas stocking.

This activity could be a main lesson to teach about the skills and techniques associated with making textile products using hand stitching and decorative embellishments. It could also be used as part of a wider scheme of learning focusing on manufacturing processes, tools and equipment used within textiles.

Learners can use scrap pieces of felt and other materials instead of new ones to create their decorative Christmas stockings. Students can be very creative when faced with this challenge.

The history of Christmas stockings

The history of Christmas stockings dates back to British folklore. The tradition is believed to have originated from the story of St. Nicholas, known for his kindness and generosity. According to the tale, St. Nicholas wanted to help a poor widower and his three daughters. Late one night, he dropped bags of gold coins down their chimney, which happened to land in the stockings the girls had hung by the fireplace to dry; this led to the custom of hanging stockings by the fireplace on Christmas Eve, hoping that St. Nicholas would fill them with gifts.

The engineering context

Hand stitching and sewing are essential skills when producing textile products. Textile engineers should understand how different methods are used to join and embellish fabrics in order to create complete textile products.

Suggested learning outcomes

By the end of this activity, students will be able to understand the function and purpose of a Christmas stocking, they will be able to use hand stitching techniques to make a Christmas stocking, and they will be able to use decorative features and embellishment techniques to enhance a textiles product.

Download the free activity sheet below!

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable so that you can tailor them to your students and your schools’ needs.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, helpful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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