Christmas stocking anyone?

[Elowen]

Ok, I've finished all four of them (will make my grand-nieces if I have time to after I've done the rest of my Christmas crafting).  I haven't felted them yet.  I'm kind of nervous to, I haven't felted anything yet.  I'm not sure if I should embroider or duplicate stitch the names on them, also not sure if I should do it before or after felting.
From left to right they are for Claire, Luke, Cedric and me.

My stocking with my pretty 360 controller to give you an idea how big they are.

[juliesnider]

I'd love a felted stocking, but keep in mind how much they'll shrink (I also like good-sized stockings).  I don't know how much you'd be able to fit in them after felting.  They'll especially shrink in height.

[Elowen]

Thank you.  The  pattern said "lightly felt", I don't really know what that means.  I think I might just go for it.  I don't own a washer(at least not a working one) so I'll probably hand felt them.  My biggest concern with that is that they won't all be the same.  Like if I felt one for a couple minutes longer it will be noticeably smaller. Somebody here on craftsters mentioned using a "plunger and pail" method for felting, that kind of intrigues me.