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Easy Knitted Mini Christmas Stocking (Free Pattern)

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Here’s a free easy knitting pattern for seamless mini Christmas stocking decorations. They’re quick to knit and look super cute.

They’re knit in the round, so there’s no fiddly sewing up needed. I also have a flat knit mini stocking pattern here if you prefer knitting with 2 straight needles.

You only need a small amount of yarn, so this is perfect for using up scraps of leftover wool or cotton. These little xmas stockings are a quick & easy knit, so ideal for some last minute Christmas knitting.

Materials & Notes

  • 3.5mm / size 4 US circular knitting needle or set of double pointed needles
  • Optional: small amount of white “teddy” fleece style yarn for a fluffy stocking cuff, ideally around dk weight but thicker will still work. For example: Rico Baby Teddy Aran (UK), Bernat Pipsqueak (US) or Sirdar Snowflake chunky.
  • Tapestry needle for gathering the end & weaving in ends.

If you want to knit hanging loops for your stockings, you will also need:

  • Small amount of Sport or DK yarn in 1-3 colours (see note below for using other yarn weights).
    I used Rico Creative Cotton Aran (which knits as DK for me) in shades Red (5), Light Green (40) and creamy off-white Nature (60).
  • Scraps of 4 ply or DK yarn. Heavier weight yarn will do but makes a chunkier loop.
  • 3mm needles (or 3.5mm will do) for a cast on & off loop, or 2 short DPNs (any thickness up to 4mm) to knit an i-cord loop.
Mini stocking knit with fluffy cuff and red and white cotton, with i-cord loop hanging on the tree
Mini stockings look so cute hanging on the tree. I knit this one with red & white cotton & knit i-cord as a hanging loop (see below)

Knit Mini Stockings with Any Yarn

Tension is not important here so you can use any weight yarn. I suggest using a needle a bit smaller than the standard size recommended so your stocking is nice & solid.

Finished mini stocking size with DK yarn: 4 inches (10cm) tall approx.

  • For a slightly bigger stocking: try worsted or aran yarn with size 4-4.5mm knitting needles.
  • For an extra wee stocking: try 4 ply/fingering yarn with around size 3mm knitting needles.

Abbreviations

  • R: row
  • k2tog: knit 2 stitches together (decrease 1 stitch)
  • kfb: knit into the front and back of the next stitch (increase 1 stitch)
  • kx: knit next x stitches
  • px: purl next x stitches

Mini Stocking Colors

Knit a plain stocking all in 1 color, a plain stocking with a different color cuff, or a striped stocking – the choice is yours. To knit a striped stocking, just change color every 2 rows after knitting the cuff.

In this example below, I used a creamy off white for main color to knit the cuff & every 2nd stripe. I then added alternate red and green stripes to give it a jolly festive look.

Tip: Knitting mini stockings in cotton gives a lovely soft & premium finish. I love Rico Creative Cotton Aran which knits as DK for me.

Knitted Mini Christmas Stocking Pattern

Close up of hand holding mini knitted striped Christmas stocking decoration

Knit a seamless mini Christmas stocking in the round with this quick and easy free pattern

Total time approx: 1 hour

Option 1: Fluffy novelty yarn cuff

Cast on 18-20 stitches depending on yarn thickness.
Knit 5 rows for cuff.

Option 2: Standard yarn cuff

Cast on 20 stitches for top of cuff.
Purl 6 rows in desired cuff color.

Step 2: Knit the stocking leg

Note: if knitting a striped stocking, change color every 2 rows.
i.e. R1&2 in color A, R3&4 in color B etc until the last row. Knit the final row as third row in final color.
R1: If you knit a fluffy cuff with 18 stitches, just knit 18. Otherwise, decrease by 2: (k1, k2tog, k7) x 2 [18 stitches]
R2-11: Knit 10 rows even.

Step 3: Increases for stocking foot

R12: k7, kfb x 4, k7 [22 stitches]
R13 & all odd rounds to R17: knit
R14: k9, kfb x 4, k9 [26 stitches]
R16: k11, kfb x 4, k11 [30 stitches]

Step 4: Decreases for bottom of foot

R18: k1, k2tog, k24, k2tog, k1 [28 stitches]
R19 & all odd rounds to R23: knit
R20: k1, k2tog, k22, k2tog, k1 [26 stitches]
R22: (k1, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k1) x 2 [22 stitches]
R24: (k1, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k1) x 2 [18 stitches]

Step 5: Finish stocking

R25: k2tog x 9 [9 stitches]
Leave a long length & cut yarn. Thread it through the 9 stitches & gather to close bottom of stocking & weave in ends. Or just hide them inside your little stocking.

Knit a Hanging Loop for your mini stocking

If you would like to hang your stockings on a Christmas tree or garland, here are 2 ways to knit a hanging loop. Alternatively, you could sew on some pretty ribbon or twine string.

Tip: If you also crochet, 24 chains makes a nice loop in a jiffy.

Option 1: Cast on & off loop

This is the quick way, but it makes a slightly chunkier loop, so fingering, 4ply or sport weight yarn works best.

  1. Cast on 30 stitches or double the length of hanging loop you want.
  2. Cast off all the stitches without knitting any rows and leave a long tail.
    Cast off in the usual way, by knitting the 1st 2 stitches and passing the 1st stitch over the 2nd etc.

Option 2: I-cord loop

If you have a couple of short double pointed needles (DPNs), knitting a length of 2 stitch i-cord makes a lovely neat hanging loop that is not too chunky.

Cast on 2 stitches and knit 5 inches of i-cord, or double your desired loop length, before casting off.

See my how to knit i-cord tutorial (including video demo) for a full step by step guide for knitting i-cord hanging loops for decorations.

Tip: You don’t have to use 3mm DPNs, any thickness up to 4mm approx works well.

The cast on and off loop on the left is a little chunkier than the neater i-cord loop on the right
The cast on and off loop on the left is a bit thicker than the i-cord loop on the right which gives a neater finish

Attach your Hanging Loop

Thread one of the tails of your hanging loop with a tapestry needle andstitch it to the inside of the top left of the stocking (with the foot pointing to the right).

Attach the other tail of the loop with a few stitches around the same spot. Weave in the ends on the inside of the stocking or just knot them and hide them inside it.

Attach your knitted i-cord loop to the inside of the stocking
I’ve knit i-cord here and attached it to the inside of the stocking with the tails to make a nice hanging loop

I hope you enjoy making some knitted mini Christmas stockings. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions on the pattern.

This free pattern is for personal, non-commercial use only. It may not be copied, sold, translated or distributed in any way, nor any finished items made using it sold, without permission.

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