Supplies
Tools
Materials
- Plywood board (or frame or equivalent), in this case the back of a picture frame 40 x 50 cm (16 x 20 inches)
- Means of affixing the calendar (drill and nail)
- Sheet of fabric the same size as your board + an extra 3 cm (1.2 inches) in length and in width (or different for each day)
- Fabric for the strips/pockets, the same width as the fabric for your board but twice the height
- For the numbers, whatever you can think of: beads, buttons, thread, fabrics to attach (with glue or to iron on), felt…
- Matching thread
Directions
Drill a hole in your board in order to hang it up with a nail..
Strips of the Advent calendar
- Cut out 4 strips the same length as your board x 20 cm (8 inches) in height to eventually obtain 4 strips comprising 24 pockets each 10 cm (4 inches) in height.
- Mark out the position of the seam of each pocket.
Note: the pockets can be the same or different sizes!.
- Open out your fabric and number the pockets as you wish.
- Fold each strip and oversew the sides.
- Position the strips on the background fabric, starting with the last one.
- Start at 3cm (1.2 inches) from the edge of the fabric (which will be stapled to the back of the wooden board).
- Position the strips, joining the front sides of the fabric together, with the fold facing upwards.
- Pin along the bottom length of the fabric.
- Repeat the process for the remaining strips, moving upwards.
- Fold the strips upwards to check the distance between each strip.
- You should have in front of you 4 strips folded in half, the top of the strip at the bottom and the reverse side of the fabric facing upwards.
Pockets of the Advent calendar
- Oversew the length of the 4 strips, sewing the strip and the background material simultaneously, and thus creating the bottom of the pockets.
- Fold the strips upwards so as to display the numbers.
- Pin together to prepare the stitching of the individual pockets.
Note: there is no point sewing the ends as they will be sealed when you staple the fabric to the wooden support!
- If you have chosen to produce pockets that are all the same size, sew five seams straight through from top to bottom.
- Otherwise, sew each side individually.
- Fold the fabric and the ends of the strips under the wooden board.
- Staple it all together.
Number the Advent calendar
- Embroider, sew, add beads…have fun with it!
- To achieve the two-colored embroidery effect:
- thread two strands of thread through separate needles and tie them together underneath the work,
- sew the first stitch, changing the needle for each one.
