UPDATE: I created a new no-sew DIY version of this Christmas stocking for dogs!

Decorating for Christmas with dogs in the house can be a challenge. I’m always careful what ornaments I place on the tree at “tail height”, and I don’t usually put out presents until Christmas day unless I want them unwrapped early!

With so many tempting but off-limits things around the house, it’s nice to make the dogs their own decorations like a personalized Christmas stocking.

I love to share this free DIY dog bone Christmas tutorial! This easy sewing project can be customized to match your own holiday decor and your dog’s personality. In this post, I show you how you make your very own pattern, sew the stocking and add personalized finishing touches. 

I love how these dog bone stockings look hanging on my mantle because they give an extra dog-obsessed touch to the rest of the decorations in my dog-friendly home!

Making this bone-shaped pet Christmas stocking is a pretty easy sewing DIY. I encourage you to try out this free pattern and sewing tutorial! Photos, step-by-step instructions and a video can all be found below. If you want a no-sew version, click here.

How to Make a Dog Bone Christmas Stocking

One of the reasons I love to DIY is because I can make things exactly how I want them. My holiday style is a little whimsical and vintage-inspired.

For this DIY dog bone-shaped Christmas stocking, I picked out fabrics that perfectly coordinate with the rest of my holiday decor style.

Living in a cold climate, I always enjoy the lights, decorations, and joy that the holidays bring. The dogs and I spend many nights cuddled up on the couch with the Christmas tree lit and a few candles on the mantle.

One of my favorite nights of the year is when we get the first big snow. I love to walk the dogs around my neighborhood when it’s peaceful and covered in a fresh layer of snowy shimmer.

Walking in the snow and admiring my neighbors’ holiday decorations one of my favorite memories with my dogs every winter!

That memory is the inspiration for the fabric I chose to use for this DIY stocking tutorial.

DIY Dog Christmas Stocking Tutorial

I’m going to show you exactly how easy it is to make this bone-shaped dog stocking from scratch. I made my own sewing pattern and will show you how you can do it, too!

Here’s the supplies I used to make 1 dog bone stocking:

• 2 coordinating fabrics (a quarter yard of each is plenty)
• Blank paper
• Ruller and a small bowl or large cup
• Pen
• Scissors
• Sewing Machine (this is a good basic one for small projects)
• Ribbon
• Needle and thread
• Fabric Paint (optional for name)

First, find great fabric! Making your own Christmas stockings for you and your dogs is so great because you can use fabric that coordinates with your other decorations.

At Joann, I found a snow-covered tree print for the outside of my stocking and red and black buffalo plaid for the inside. (BONUS: I sewed this so it’s reversible! It’s a fun way to just sew once and get 2 Christmas stocking looks!)

Next, pick up ribbon and notions I also found a fabulous ribbon at Joann! Skip the regular ribbon aisle, and look for the special Christmas ribbon aisle.

I found this extra-wide burlap ribbon with red whipstitching. I like how it looks wrapped around the bone it’s a great place to customize the finished stockings with my dogs’ names.

You can order fun supplies online from Joann, Michaels (I love this snowflake ribbon!) or get really cool fabrics from Spoonflower!

How to make our own dog bone stocking pattern

I made this stocking 16 inches long and 9 inches wide at the widest point.

To make the Christmas stocking pattern myself, I use scrap paper (or the backside of wrapping paper!) to trace out the shape. I use a ruler to draw the straight edges and a small snack bowl or large mug to trace the ends of the bone to make them round.

Keep in mind that when you sew it, there will be about 1/4″ lost on all the edges for your seam allowance. You’ll want to allocate for that in the pattern or when you cut out your fabric.

You can make this DIY Christmas stocking pattern yourself!

I see a lot of people searching for free printable stocking patterns, but I recommend that you just trace and draw it yourself exactly how I did. I even show a more hands-on tutorial in the YouTube video a bit further down in this post.

Making your pattern yourself will allow you to make it the exact shape and size that you want! If you have a small dog, you might want to make a smaller bone. For larger dogs, like my labrador, I like to make a larger bone stocking.

To make a stocking exactly like mine, follow my measurements! Here they are again:

My dog bone stocking pattern is 16 inches long and 9 inches wide at the widest point. I use a ruler for the straight edges and a small snack bowl to make the round parts of the bone. 

Once you have your DIY pattern ready, it’s time to cut out your fabric. To make this stocking reversible and fully lined as I did, you will cut out 2 pieces of both fabrics that you’re using. When it’s cut out, place them with right sides together, pin the edges and get ready to sew the stocking together!

Sew Your Dog Bone Stocking Together

With right sides facing, sew your bone pieces together along the sides and bottom curves.

I stitched about halfway up the curve of the top rounded edges of the bone. *Do not sew the top edge completely together because that’s where you’ll sew the outside fabric to the lining fabric.

When the outside fabric and the lining fabric have been sewn together along the sides and the bottom, it’s time to sew them to each other. Once again, you’ll want right sides together as you stitch one fabric’s top bone edge to the other fabric’s top bone edge.

Take your time and make sure it’s going to line up correctly when you flip the lining inside.

As you’re lining it all up, remember that this is for a reversible dog bone stocking. So if you do it correctly, all the seams and raw edges should be on the inside.

Stitch the other top bone edges together but leave a 2-inch hole to flip it all through. You’ll also use that hole to attach the ribbon to hang your stocking from.

>> Please watch the YouTube video I created below for a more hands-on look at this sewing tutorial. 

Add the finishing touches to your Christmas Dog Stocking

Once the bone and lining are complete, I cut a strip of the buffalo plaid fabric to use as the strip to hang our stocking. This way it perfectly coordinates with the lining and has a nice finished look.

To make the hanging ribbon strip, fold the long sides of your strip into the center, so you have a finished folded edge on both sides. Then fold it in half and insert it into the hole you left in the top of the bone.

Hand-stitch it into place and close the hole that you left to flip everything through.

Watch the Video Tutorial of this Dog Bone Christmas Stocking

Due to the popularity of this DIY tutorial I created a video showing you exactly how I make this project! Check it out below.

Remember that when you DIY, you can customize things to be exactly how you want. I hope you use my sewing tutorial as a starting point, but make it your own to suit your style and your dog’s personality!

Personalize Your Dog’s Christmas Stocking with their Name

I personalized this bone stocking with my dog’s name using a simple black market on the burlap ribbon. The fabric marker I used bled, so pardon the blurriness!

*This year I re-did the Ribbon with black acrylic paint and a very small paintbrush! That did not bleed at all and looks much better! 

For a more professional-looking name, I could also take the ribbon up to a local embroidery shop and have my dog’s name stitched on. Or if you havea sewing machine that can do embroidery, you can program it to do that for you. It’s really up to you how you choose to add your dog’s name or initial.

Drawing or painting it on will look more homemade, while embroidery will give it a professional finishing touch.

Sidenote: If you have a Cricut that would also be a great way to add your dog’s name, initial or a dog paw outline to their custom Christmas stocking!

Christmas Stocking Stuffers for your Dog

Once you finish your dog’s Christmas stocking, you have to fill it up with some excellent stocking stuffers! My dogs love treats and I love cute accessories, so we’ll probably do a mix of both.

I have lots of Amazon lists of our favorite products. But I recommend that you SHOP SMALL!

Like this post? Check out more dog mom DIY projects:
DIY Metal Stamped Dog Tags
Goat Milk Pupsicle Recipe
DIY Dog Mom Message Bracelet
Santa DIY for Your Dog Art
Make a Concrete Dog Bowl Holder
DIY Holiday Snuffle Mat for Dogs
No-Sew DIY Version of this Dog Bone Stocking

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