Holly Christmas Stocking Ties

Today, we are taking a short break from the puppets, for something a bit more practical this Christmas. This Holly Christmas Stocking Ties pattern has been two years in the making! Two years ago, I grew tired of using up pieces of my yarn or ribbon to tie our stockings to the stair bannister, only to be cut off Christmas morning. I wanted something we could reuse every single year. Once I designed them though, I was very nervous about sharing the pattern. I wanted to make good and sure they would work for anyone needing them. So my family tested them out for the last 2 years, just to be sure! Then I tested out the math and measurements, to be certain they could easily be adjusted for bannisters of varying widths. I hope your family finds them as useful as we have!

If you’re interested in a printer-friendly PDF of the holly Christmas stocking ties pattern, you can find the design in my Ravelry or Etsy shops! If you prefer to use the free blog copy below, I still appreciate you being here! And another great way to support my blog is simply by sharing! You can also view this complete pattern on YouTube! Thank you for supporting my business! 

Materials:

Worsted Weight (4) Acrylic Yarn 

Used here: Red Heart Super Saver Yarns

1. Spring Green
2. Cherry Red

Crochet hook: F-3.75mm

Tapestry needle

Scissors 

Measuring tape (measure your banister, or wherever you plan to use the tie to hang your stocking!)

Terms and abbreviations to know:

ch, chs – chain, chains

st, sts – stitch, stitches

sl st – slip stitch

sc – single crochet

hdc – half double crochet

dc bobble – double crochet bobble

1. Yarn over, and insert hook into designated st.
2. Pull up a loop. 
3. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 2 loops on hook.
4. Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
5. Pull up a loop.
6. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 3 loops on hook.
7. Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
8. Pull up a loop. 
9. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops, leaving 4 loops on hook.
10. Yarn over, and insert hook into same st.
11. Pull up a loop.
12. ​Yarn over and pull through 2 loops, leaving 5 loops on hook.
13. Yarn over and pull through all 5 loops.

Notes: The leaves and tie of the Holly Christmas Stocking tie, are all made in one piece, from the first leaf through the second leaf, with the tie part in between. (Only the berries are made separately and sewn on). Crocheting through the back loop of the chains isn’t absolutely necessary, but it gives it a nice finish, and makes the centerline of the leaves more prominent. The berries are crocheted separately and sewn onto the front center of the two leaves. The length of the tie depends on the width of your banister. If you follow the gauge, you need about 5 chs per inch of the circumference of your banister. Keep in mind that it will stretch a bit with the weight of your stocking. There is also a video on YouTube, to help with the steps, as well as show how it is best used! Video is posted at the end of the blog post. The puppet patterns pictured are also available on my blog or in my pattern shops. 

Size: completed tie size is dependent upon the circumference of the banister it is made for. From leaves to loop, it should be about 1.5 inches longer than the circumference of your banister. Each leaf alone is just under 2 inches long. The leaf size is unimportant in your finished product, just a marker for gauge.

Gauge: (taken from the tie part) 9 sc sts = approximately 2 inches

Holly Christmas Stocking Ties

Beginning with the first leaf, working 2 rnds around the chain.

Ch 8, turn, and use the back loop (bump) behind the ch, for the first par

Rnd 1: 2 sc in 1st loop, hdc in next 2 loops, sc in next 2 loops, sl st in last 2 loops, turn work to work the bottom side of the ch (this will now have 2 loops like the top of a sc, if you used the back loop for the first part), work through both loops like the top of a st, sl st into the same spot as last sl st, sl st into next st, sc in next 2 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, sc in last st (same space as the first 2 sc), do NOT join or fasten off, but continue to next rnd; 15 sts

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each of the next 2 sts, hdc in next st, ch 2, sl st into the side of the hdc, sc in next 2 sts, ch 2, sl st into the side of the last sc, sl st into the next 5 sts, sc in next 2 sts, ch 2, sl st into the side of the last sc, sc in next st, hdc in next st, ch 2, sl st into the side of the hdc, sl st in the last st on the leaf, do NOT fasten off, but continue to make the length of the tie.

Ch about 5 chs per inch of the width of your banister. Ex. 9-inch banister = approximately 45 chs. My banister is 6.25 inches. I multiplied by 5 for 31.25 – round up, and chained 32 

Once you have the proper length, turn and join with sl st to the 10th ch from the hook, to create the loop.

Then sc in the same ch as joining sl st, and sc around the outside of the loop through each ch for 10 sc around the loop (the loop hole is the only area where we do NOT use the chains back loop), sl st back into the first st of the loop, and begin to sc down the ch back toward the leaf.

When you get back to the first leaf, sl st into the next st on the leaf where you’d left off to create the ch, and begin work on the 2nd leaf. Again, you will be working two rnds around the chain.

Ch 8 (again, use the back loop or bump, behind the ch for the first part of the rnd.

Rnd 1: sl st into first 2 loops, sc in next 2 loops, hdc in next 2 loops, 3 sc in the last ch, 

Then turn to work the underside of the ch, hdc in next 2 sts, sc in next 2 sts, sl st in next 2 sts

Rnd 2: sl st in next 3 sts, sc in next 2 sts, ch 2, sl st into the side of the last sc, sc in next st, hdc in next st, ch 2, sl st into the side of the hdc, 2 sc in each of the next 3 sts, hdc in next st, ch 2, sl st into the side of the last hdc, sc in next 2 sts, ch 2, sl st into the side of the last sc, sc in next st, sl st in next 2 sts and fasten off. Weave in ends. 

Berries, in red

Ch 3

Turn and dc bobble into the 1st ch, ch 5, turn and dc bobble into the 2nd ch from the hook. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Sew the berries onto the center of the two leaves, one bobble per leaf, and weave in ends. 

To use: with the front of your stocking facing forward, put the tie through the loop with the leaves in front. Wrap the tie from under the bannister, with the loop coming up over the back. In the front of the bannister, pull leaves AND berries through the loop, and arrange them where you want them visible on the bannister.

I hope you have enjoyed making the Holly Christmas stocking ties! This was day 7 of our 12 Days of Christmas Crochet-a-Long! If you loved making any of these patterns, and show them off on Instagram, please be sure to tag @ekaygdesigns to let me know, and I will share in my stories! Use the hashtag #12daysofChristmasCAL