White Family Stockings: Pattern and instructions

In the previous post, I shared some background on how the family stocking tradition began. This post tells how to make the stockings.

3 complete and 2 incomplete stockings

Printable Instructions

If you want a simple printable pattern, use this PDF for the instructions (Steps A-H) and this PDF for the image grid pattern (Steps A-B). 

Find the 2-page PDF for the image pattern grid here

Find the 1-page PDF of the instructions here

Sarah digitized the pattern based on the 1940s grid pattern and notes that Grandma had hand written, and the new PDF pattern is at least 10 times easier to follow than the original pattern. Sarah added numbers that make it easier to follow. You can either print it in color or shade it in after printing it in greyscale to help remember which color to use. Message me if you would like a copy of the editable spreadsheet.

The 1940s pattern with grandma's handwritten instructions

More detailed instructions

Skills required: 

• Knit stitch, purl stitch to make stockinette stitch
• Knit two together
• Mattress stitch
• Duplicate stitch 
• Crochet daisy chain for hanging loop

Materials:

-4 ply yarn (worsted weight = ordinary yarn)

I used Red Heart Super Saver. Get enough of each color to finish your stocking.

• 2 ½ oz. Red (boy)/ White (girl)
• ½ oz Green
• ½ oz. White
• ½ oz. Red 
• Beige (Santa face, hands)
• Black (belt- boots- face)

-Size #3 Needles

• I like 2 sets of aluminum circular needles. 29 inches long.
• If you like straight needles instead, you'll need 2 straight needles, 15 inches long, and 4-5 double pointed needles- 7 inches long

-Thread that matches to sew bias tape at top of stocking: Red (boy)/White (girl)

-Matching bias tape to keep the top from curling

• I got Wrights white Bias Tape Hem Facing (1.875" wide x 2.5 yd long) from JoAnn Fabrics and Wrights scarlet Double Fold Bias Tape Quilt Binding (0.875" wide x 3.0 yd long)

-Small crochet hook for repairs, darning needle, 2-3 stitch holders, stitch marker
-Print pattern and image, add name to pattern, Draw 3" and 8" marks on your paper for the heel flap length and foot length, respectively.

Instructions:

A. Body:

• Cast on 90 stitches (Gauge: 8 sts=1 inch from the pattern. I actually knit 6 sts = 1 inch). For this long-tail cast on I think I've been using about 5 feet of tail.

Instructions for long-tail cast on

A basic idea of what each step looks like on the stocking

• Follow image pattern until row 64. Each row in the pattern image is a double row: a knit row + a purl row.

Progress of the stocking body worked with straight needles. January 2017.

Notes on switching colors in the middle of rows:

• Leave at least a 6 inch tail, you can weave ends in later (optional). The Kitchener/ toe Stitch video at the end of this post has a good demonstration of weaving in at the end of the video.

There are lots of ways to manage the tails of the many colors on the stocking. The clothes pins in the photo above are one method, as well as yarn bobbins, for tails shorter than 3 feet, I recommend pulling them out ever couple of rows to keep them from tangling too much. I'm about to try yarn bobbins for longer strands though.
Note about how much yarn is needed for each section: for my gauge (about 6 stitches per inch), I use about a foot of yarn for every 10 stitches in the pattern (double rows). For example, to do the red for Santa's left shoulder, there are 25 stitches, so I would need a minimum of 2.5 feet of working yarn, plus a foot for 6 inches of tail on either side. I would need at least 3.5 feet of red yarn for that section. Another example: The black belt has less than 64 stitches, so I would need a minimum of 6.5 feet + 1 foot tail = 7.5 feet of yarn. I would want a bobbin for this since it is more than 3 feet.

Grandma Kathleen recommends only stranding (carrying a piece of yarn across the back of your work between colors) when you have 3 or fewer stitches in between. For example, most of the letters, there's less than a 3 stitch gap between colors, but on the middle of the belt, there's a 6-stitch gap. On two of my stockings, stranding between those colors caused the middle of the belt to be raised, not flat.

The video below shows examples of stranding and how you can carry more than 3 stitches across the back of the work without too many problems. Sometimes I have floats that are 10 stitches long, but they are twisted in, as the video shows from 10:40-the end.

This video below shows how to twist new colors together so that they don't leave gaping holes, especially when there's a straight up/down color change.

B. Instep: (start with 72 stitches total)

• 18 Stitches off each end to start the heel. You can place these on stitch holders or on a string of contrasting yarn, 36 stitches in the middle 
• Stop pattern with 36 center stitches on one needle (row 73). You can put this on a long stitch holder if you'd like.

C. Heel:

• Combine both 18 heel stitches on one needle for a total of 36 and K&P for 3” from bottom of tree
• On last row of the 3 inches, P back for 20 stitches, P2 together, P 1,  and turn
• K 6, K2 together, K 1, and turn
• P 7, P2 together, P 1, and turn
• K 8, K2 together, K 1, and turn
• Continue until all of the stitches are used, about 15-20 rows, and 15-20 stitches across(?).

D. Gusset:

• Pick up 23 - 30 stitches along the heel for the gusset on each side, depending on how much you want it to gather. More stitches will give more gathering. Fewer stitches will give a flatter appearance.
• Divide all Heel & Gusset stitches on 2 needles (either straight or circular needles)
• K&P, decreasing 1 stitch each side at next to last stitch of every row until even with front panel

E. Foot:

• Put onto 3 double ended needles (1 each back side, 1 for front panel) (or 2 sets of circular needles)
• Continue K around in a circle w/4th needle
• Dec 1 st on each side of the foot every row until 18 sts on each underside needle
• Then Knit stripe
• 4 White (boy) / Red (girl)
• 4 Green
• 4 White  (boy) / Red (girl)
• Continue to K red (or white for girl) until foot is 8” long from the back of the heel

F. Toe:

Dec4=K2tog at each end of front & sides of back

(1) Dec 4 st in row

(4-5) K 4 rows plain

(6) Dec 4 “”

(7-9) K3 rows

(10) Dec 4

(11-13) K3 rows

(14) Dec 4

COLOR CHANGE

Boy: *WHITE toe*
Girl: *RED toe*
(1-2) K2 rows plain

(3) Dec 4

(4-5) K2 rows plain

(6) Dec 4

(7) K1 plain

Lastly, Dec 4 every row at sides of toe until you have 16 stitches total (8 stitches/4 stitches/4 st’s)

G. Weave Toe: (using yarn needle. K&P indicate how to insert needle- Kitchener Stitch. Not normal K&P)

• Front (instep) K – slide off
• Front P – Keep on
• Back P – Slide off
• Back K – Keep on

Sometimes when I do this it looks fantastic. Other times it turns out like purl on the outside. Not sure what went wrong there.

• Continue until the last stitch is on the needle. Then thread onto a sewing needle and push inside of the stocking and tie off. 

Here's an example of this:

H. Finishing:

• Stitch eyes, nose, mouth onto Santa using the duplicate stitch, demonstrated in the video below

• Darn together back halves of top & gusset sides with mattress stitch. The video below has the best demonstration of the mattress stitch I've seen from 2:20-9:25

• Crochet the top loop
• Sew matching bias tape to top of stocking to keep top from curling

The end!!! Congratulations. That's all.

Complete stocking except for bias tape at top

White Family Stockings: Origins

Christmas 2018. 2 generations of stockings.

In the 1950s, Grandma Kathleen started knitting Christmas stockings for her three children. She had no idea that it would become such a beloved tradition.

She already knitted some of Granddad Jerry’s socks, so it wasn’t anything new for her to do this too. When Aunt Peggy was about 13, she learned to make them too, and made stockings for Granny Jo, Grandma Kathleen, and Granddad Jerry, making three generations with the stockings.

Grandma Kathleen and Granddad Jerry's
stockings, made by teenage Aunt Peggy

Next, Aunt Peggy made stockings for her own children, Roger, Russ, Chris, and Jan. Uncle Brent liked the tradition, and learned to knit too. He made stockings for his kids too. Sarah was the first of those of my generation to start making the stockings, followed by Jan. They made stockings for their children too, making 5 generations of family with the stockings.

While teaching high school science during the 2008-2009 school year, I learned how to knit while attending a knitting group that a friend started. While visiting Aunt Peggy and Uncle Brent at Christmas 2009, I got introduced to the stocking. Aunt Peggy gave me knitting needles and yarn. I got off to a great start. After a while, I forgot what I was doing, and had to watch a few YouTube videos to get started again.

The record for fastest of the stockings was Cyrus': done in 4 days!

I really got stuck on the heel, but Aunt Peggy came down to help me mid-December 2018, and got me back on track. Right before Christmas 2018, nine years after beginning, I finally finished my own stocking. I finished Paul’s stocking a month later (1/22/19), and Ada’s stocking three weeks after that (2/10/19). It’s amazing what experience and dedication can do for a stocking.

Isn't that a fantastic stocking hanger?!

Working on the stocking makes me feel closer to the White/ Wallace side of the family. Thanks to the dedication of Aunt Peggy and Uncle Brent, what began as a craft of love by Grandma has blossomed into a dear tradition for five generations.

Bryan has started his own on the left.
Jo's on the right is the last Gentry stocking.

This post shows the background of the stocking. To see the pattern and instructions on how to make the stockings, see the next post.

Young Cliff, Jo, and boys

Jerry, Jo, and Jock (Roger)

Cliff White - sometimes called "June" for Junior

Another of Cliff "June" White

Jerry and Jock

Jock and Jerry

Jerry and Jock

Jerry

Recipes from Our Grandparents

So my sister Rachel has a food blog, and on it she has a lot of recipes from our grandparents. Here I'll make it nice and easy for you to access their recipes!

Tuna Cheese Swirls from Grandma Izzy. I remember my mom making these sometimes when I was little. I loved them! I tried a recipe I found in a cookbook, and it was disgusting. This recipe looks like it will be much more delicious.

Cheesecake from Granny Jo

Six recipes from Grandma Kathleen, some of which probably came from Grandma Lucy (her mother):

1. Pistachio Salad - one of my favorite fruit salads growing up
2. Pecan Surprise Bars - this looks delicious. I think I've been deprived all my life.
3. Amish Broccoli - I heard this one came from Grandma Lucy. 
4. Chicken Enchiladas - This one also looks really delicious.
5. Lemon Jello Cake - This cake is DIVINE. It's also dairy free!
6. Pasta Salad - also dairy free

Granny Jo and the Catnappers

Once upon a time in the land of Ohio, there lived a cat. This cat's name was Snowball, and she was very happy at her farm home with the family that cared for her. She was a beautiful fluffy white cat that charmed all those who saw her. Many people were envious of Snowball's owners because they wished they had a cat just like her.

One day as Snowball was taking a walk in the yard, a sinister-looking car pulled up beside her. Before she knew it, a hand reached out of the car and pulled her within. Snowball was the unwilling captive of a strange family!

Unbeknownst to the catnappers, Jo--the mother of the family that owed Snowball--had seen the car that drove off with her pet from the kitchen window. She was pretty upset that they had taken her cat, and she planned on getting Snowball back!

Every day, Jo watched the cars that drove by her house, looking for the car that had taken poor Snowball away. She was pretty sure that the car belonged to someone that drove by her house often, as she lived in a small town. Sure enough, the car came driving by a few days later.

Jo was ready for them.

As soon as she saw the car drive by, she rushed to her car and began the chase! After winding through country roads and bumping over potholes, the sinister car turned in to a driveway. Jo waited for the driver and passengers to enter the house, then pulled in the driveway, got out of her car, and knocked on the door. A woman answered.

Jo got straight to the point. "Where is my cat?" she demanded. The woman pretended ignorance. "Your cat? We don't have your cat." At that point, Snowball entered the room. Jo said, "That's my cat! Come here, Snowball." Snowball came, Jo picked her up and stalked out the door.

They never had a problem with catnappers again.

Josephine Agnes "Jo" Grupenhoff

Josephine Agnes Grupenhoff, known to family and friends as "Jo" or "Granny Jo," depending on when you were born and how you're related to her.

Granny Jo had flaming red hair and was an excellent horsewoman. She was a single mother in an era when mothers didn't often have to be single. She raised one of the best men I know and I am proud to be related to her. She was full of spunk her entire life: when she was eighty-six, she dared to water ski, and at another point in her eighties, she broke her wrist while jumping over a bar stool for a game of leap frog that she was playing. She also chased down some cat-nappers in her younger years. What a woman!

Birth date: March 13, 1910 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Marriages:

1. July 27, 1929 to Clifford Winspear "Cliff" White; Jo was 19 years old.
2. October 17, 1986 Edwin C. "Ed" Sutton; Jo was 76 years old.

Death date: October 14, 2009 in Columbia, Maryland. Granny Jo lived to be 99 years old.

Her children were my grandfather, Gerald Lee "Jerry" White and Roger Thomas White, who passed away when he was only 16.

Records of Josephine A. Grupenhoff:

1910 Census

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1920 Census

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There are several interesting similarities and differences found between these two censuses. The similarities are that Frank worked as a trunkmaker in both. You can also see that he owned his house, but was paying back a mortgage at the time of both censuses.

The differences are what are really interesting, though. The most striking difference is that in the 1910 census, it shows that Frank's mother was born in Germany, but the 1920 census says she was born in Ohio. There are several sad differences, too. As you can see, the family is considerably smaller for the 1920 census. Jo's mother and her two sisters Rosella and Clara are missing from the 1920 census. It looks like Frank's mother, Mary, came to help with the house and children after Jo's mother passed away.

Censuses after Jo's marriage to Cliff White:

1930:

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As you can see, the 1930 census was taken soon after Jo and Cliff's marriage. They were renting their place for $35.00/month. One thing that you don't see here is that their neighbors (the rest of the census page) were mostly all renters and small families, as well. Several of the other small families are also newlyweds. Cliff worked as a book keeper and I think Jo was working as a sales lady at a department store. I'm not sure, though, because the image is really hard to read.

Interestingly, one of the questions asked by the census taker was if they had a radio set. This modern couple sure did!


1940:

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In the 1940 census, you see that Jo is no longer working outside the home, but is a home maker (that's what that long line of "no's" followed by an "H" means). They have two fine boys, aged 5 and 3 years old. Cliff is still working at the brokerage, but now is working as a margin clerk (whatever that is). I included the next family on the census, because I happened to know that that is the family that Cliff came from. How awesome is that?

One thing that I didn't see to make note of in the picture of the census is that Cliff and Jo were renting at $25/month and were living on a farm (this information is in the columns preceding their names). G-G-Granddad Cliff (Cliff, Sr.) was also living on a farm, but he owned his house. I'm guessing that this is White Acres. His house was valued the highest of all the owned houses on this census page.