LITTLE ROCK — “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.”
- from A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore
The very image seems quaint, but at this time of year stockings are a fixture of many a fireplace mantel, from Dickensian scenes to more modern settings in the home.
For many families, the hanging of Christmas stockings is an annual ritual. And the stockings often are a special part of a family’s DNA.
“It’s a bit of history,” says Terry DeSonia of Chicago. “My son is 22, and he still has the same stocking he had when he was a baby. It’s a tradition to hang it on our mantel.”
Most stockings with such longevity have an old-fashioned look. Simple, sometimes handmade, needlepoint or solid red or green cloth with names stitched or applied with cutout fabric letters. Some bear images of Santa or angels or snowmen.
But in recent years, Christmas stockings have assumed a fashion status that has transformed them to veritable home furnishing accessories. Besides humble cottons, felts and knits, luxe fabrics such as brocades, satin, taffeta and velvet are sewn up into the familiar stocking shapes. And embellishment has transformed them from anything but plain into elegant or cool accents.
Even fabrics with pattern or sheen, such as damasks, may get embellished with embroidery, ruffles, ruching, fringe, sequins and other beads, shells, tassels, lavish trims, buttons and appliques.
Patchwork styles bring together a mix of fabrics, which also lends a layered look that may be lively in color and pattern. Plush velvets and metallic-laced brocades sometimes are combined in a patchwork, further trimmed with cords, fringe or tassels.
Colors echo palettes currently popular in home decor. Celadon, kiwi or lime greens seem fresher than more traditional evergreens. Regal purples as well as grays with a hint of amethyst are available, and animal prints or black and white can also be found.
Jesterlike stockings with balls on upturned toes combine stripes and polka dots with glass beads and velvet leaf trims in a design that commands attention. The stockings, from MacKenzie-Childs, are sewn from silk and are available at Neiman Marcus.
There are even stockings to suit the popular decorating style of whitewashed furnishings with linen upholstery. At Crate and Barrel, a crisp flaxhued stocking stitched with metallic thread has a deep ivory border in a dressed up fabric with a sheen that’s edged in faux pearls.
As part of Atlanta-based designer Suzanne Kasler’s home collection for Ballard Designs, there’s a simple natural burlap stocking accented deftly with two rows (top and bottom) of decorative red stitching. Another design is sewn of 14-ounce flax linen and is available with a choice of a paprika or taupe velvet cuff to complete the haute couture touch and add a little pop.
More than one place to hang up a stocking
Besides the obviously classic way to hang stockings on mantels, other sites lend themselves well to single or multiple displays.
Special stocking hooks, often decorative in themselves, have shapes that can work equally well on ledges and floating shelves.
A hall tree is a natural nesting spot for holiday stockings. At Ballard Designs, there are wrought iron stands that can showcase Christmas stockings.
Drape a stocking over a newel-post or fasten several along a stair rail to make a festive statement. Or adorn a doorknob with a gussied-up stocking, an especially inviting way to set the tone for decking the halls throughout the house.
The hook on a double hung window offers a catch for the loop of a statement stocking. So do hooks on mudroom furniture. Stockings may decorate bedposts or bookcase shelves or catch the top of crown molding on a cupboard.
With all the possibilities for placement, it might be hard to resist some of the glamorous or cheerfully jovial designs. And for those just starting out with a first apartment or home, as a single person, a couple or new parents, these stockings may well be the basis for a whole new colorful set of traditions.
- Elaine Markoutsas
HomeStyle, Pages 35 on 12/18/2010