Striped Crochet Mini Stocking Ornament

A crochet mini stocking ornament is the most personal decoration on a tree. It looks just like the big stocking on the mantelpiece, only small enough to hold a candy cane, a gift card or a tiny chocolate. In bold red and green stripes with a fluffy white cuff, it is pure classic Christmas.

This striped stocking is the third ornament in the Festive Christmas Tree Ornament Set. It is made from two flat pieces worked in rows, with stripes changed every two rows on the leg, a solid red foot, a soft white cuff and a hanging loop. Every row is counted, so both pieces come out the same shape every time.

You need single crochet, a decrease and working into the back loop. The foot is shaped with a short chain and two decreases, all written out row by row.

Step-by-step photos: how to crochet a striped crochet mini stocking ornament — The main steps at a glance.

Why this mini stocking works

Instead of working a stocking in the round with a heel, this one is made flat, in two pieces. The leg is a simple rectangle. At the end of the leg, a short chain is added at one side to start the foot, and a few rows later two decreases round off the heel and the toe.

The stripes are changed every two rows, so each new colour always starts at the same side. That means you can carry the unused colour loosely up that side instead of cutting it, and the joining round hides the carried strands completely. A whole striped leg leaves almost no ends to weave in.

Single crochet looks the same on both sides, so you do not need to make a left and a right piece. Make two identical pieces, stack them, and they line up perfectly.

Materials you will need

Red yarn: about 15 yards of worsted weight cotton
Green yarn: about 8 yards
White yarn: about 10 yards for the cuff — a brushed or fluffy white looks like fur trim
Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6)
Notions: tapestry needle, scissors
Optional: embroidery thread for a name or initial

Finished size

About 4″ tall and 3″ across the foot, big enough for a mini candy cane or a folded gift card.

Abbreviations

MR = magic ring: a loop of yarn you work the first round into, then pull tight to close the centre.
ch = chain: yarn over and pull through the loop on your hook.
sl st = slip stitch: insert hook, pull a loop through the stitch and the loop on your hook together.
sc = single crochet: insert hook, yarn over and pull up a loop (2 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both.
hdc = half double crochet: yarn over, insert hook, pull up a loop (3 loops), yarn over and pull through all 3.
dc = double crochet: yarn over, insert hook, pull up a loop (3 loops), yarn over and pull through 2, yarn over and pull through the last 2.
inc = increase: 2 sc in the same stitch.
dec / sc2tog = decrease: pull up a loop in each of the next two stitches (3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all 3. In amigurumi, work it through the front loops only for an invisible decrease.
BLO / FLO = back loop only / front loop only.

Pattern notes

Worked flat in rows, turning at the end of each.
The ch 1 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
The pattern is worked from the top of the leg down to the toe.
Change colour on the last yarn-over of the final stitch of every second row, and carry the unused colour up the side.
Make two identical pieces.

Step by step

Part 1: The striped leg (make 2 pieces)

With green:

Row 1: Ch 9. Sc in the 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn. (8)

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in each st across. Change to red on the last stitch. Turn. (8)

Rows 3 and 4: In red: ch 1, sc in each st across. Change to green at the end of Row 4. Turn. (8)

Rows 5 to 10: Continue the same way, changing colour every two rows: green, red, green. (8)

You now have five stripes, starting and ending in green. Fasten off green.

Part 2: The foot

Change to red for the whole foot.

Row 11: Ch 1, sc in each st across, then ch 6 to extend the row. Turn. (8 sc + 6 ch)

Row 12: Sc in the 2nd ch from hook and the next 4 ch, then sc in each of the 8 sts. Turn. (13)

Rows 13 to 16: Ch 1, sc in each st across. Turn. (13)

Row 17: Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in the next 9 sts, sc2tog. Turn. (11)

Row 18: Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in the next 7 sts, sc2tog. Fasten off. (9)

Check: the piece looks like a little boot, with a striped leg and a red foot to one side, rounded at both the heel and the toe.

Part 3: Joining

Stack the two pieces so they line up exactly, feet pointing the same way. Join red at the top of one side. Work sc through both layers down the side, around the heel and toe and up the other side, about one sc per row end, working over the carried yarns so they disappear. Work 2 sc at the corners of the heel and toe so they stay rounded. Leave the top open. Fasten off.

Part 4: The fluffy cuff

Join white at the back seam at the top. Work sc evenly around the opening, through one layer at a time so it stays open. (about 16 sts) Join with a sl st.

Cuff rounds 2 to 4: Ch 1, working in BLO, sc in each st around. Join.

For a really fluffy cuff, use a brushed white yarn, then gently brush the finished cuff with a clean toothbrush to raise the fibres — it looks just like the fur trim on a real stocking.

Part 5: The hanging loop

At the back seam on the heel side of the cuff, ch 12 in red and sl st back into the same stitch. Fasten off and weave in the ends.

Personalising it

Embroider a name or initial on the cuff in red or green backstitch. Draw the letters lightly with a washable pen first. A family set with one stocking for each person is one of the loveliest things you can hang on a tree.

Choosing yarn for Christmas ornaments

Ornaments hang in warm rooms near lights for weeks, get packed away and unpacked year after year, and are handled by small hands. That makes yarn choice more important than it looks. Worsted weight cotton or a cotton blend is the best all-rounder: it holds a firm shape, shows every stitch clearly, does not fuzz or pill with handling, and is not affected by the warmth of tree lights.

Acrylic is softer and cheaper and comes in every Christmas colour, but it can look slightly fuzzy after a few seasons. Wool looks beautiful and traditional but can attract moths in storage, so pack wool ornaments with a cedar block. For sparkle, use a gold metallic yarn or hold a fine metallic thread together with your main yarn for halos, trims and hanging loops — it catches the tree lights without making the whole ornament look busy.

Stripe and colour ideas

Classic: red and green stripes, red foot, white cuff — like the photo.
Candy: red and white stripes with a green cuff.
Nordic: grey and white stripes with a red cuff.
Solid: skip the stripes for a plain red stocking with a white cuff.

Using mini stockings

Advent calendar: make 24 and fill each with a sweet or a note.
Gift card holder: far more fun to open than an envelope.
Place settings: a named stocking on each plate at Christmas dinner.
Party favours: fill with chocolate coins for children to take home.

A note on safety

Hand-crocheted ornaments are decorations. If young children or pets will be near the tree, embroider the faces instead of using safety eyes, sew every part on very firmly, skip any wire or beads, and hang the ornaments on higher branches. Never hang yarn ornaments where they touch bulbs that get hot, and use LED tree lights where you can.

Storing ornaments so they last

At the end of the season, make sure each ornament is completely dry and dust-free. Wrap each one in tissue paper and pack them in a shoebox or an egg box, which stops rounded ornaments getting squashed and keeps halos and wings in shape. Store the box somewhere cool and dry, with a cedar block or a lavender sachet if any are wool. Packed this way, crochet ornaments come out looking new every December.

Making the whole set in one go

The five ornaments in this set share their techniques, so it is quickest to make them together in stages rather than one at a time. Make all the spheres first — the snowman’s two balls, the angel’s head and the bauble — then all the flat pieces: the stars, the stocking pieces and the angel’s wings. Do all the stuffing and closing in one sitting, then all the embroidery, and finally all the hanging loops. Working this way you change hooks and colours far less often, and every ornament comes out the same scale as the others.

The Festive Christmas Tree Ornament Set

This pattern is one of five matching ornaments designed to hang together on the same tree: a snowman, an angel, a striped stocking, an embroidered bauble and a gold-edged star. They all use the same yarn weight, the same hook and the same palette of red, forest green, white, cream and gold, so a mix of all five looks like a planned collection rather than a handful of odds and ends.

Frequently asked

My stripes are different widths.

Each stripe must be exactly two rows. Count them on both pieces before joining.

My pieces do not line up when I stack them.

One of them is upside down. Turn it so both feet point the same way.

Free pattern pin: striped crochet mini stocking ornament — Save this pattern to Pinterest for later.

Before you start

Make one piece and check it looks like a boot before making the second. More festive makes are in Christmas & Winter.