Advent Calendar

 

A year or so ago I bought a container of Christmas fabric from the Guild trading table and made most of it into bags. Amongst the fabric was a panel for an Advent calendar, which I set aside. Brigid thought she might use an Advent calendar in her shared home this year, so I made it up. 

The panel (which I forgot to photograph before cutting!) consisted of a Father Christmas face and numbered squares on  the top half, and a series of numbered squares to be cut out on the bottom. The instructions were printed on the panel margin.

I began by getting out my bead tins and adding a bit of bling. 

I didn't go for broke - just added a few beads or sequins to each square, enough to sparkle a little. I worked from the bottom of the panel up, cutting each row out after I had added beads. 

                

I then folded and ironed all the hem margins inwards and ironed interfacing to the backs. I had some strong cotton interfacing, but the adhesive wouldn't take, so I moved to a gauzier one which ironed easily.

I  machine stitched each square across the top, then, one by one, pinned and stitched them the panel to form pockets.

  

 It took a while, and I did quite a bit of ironing. The numbering made placement easy, and the gold outlines on the squares helped.

I found an appropriate piece of backing fabric, and some soft polyester wadding. Lining it all up was a bit challenging, as the wadding was only just big enough. (Finished size is approx 60x65cm. )

It did, however, work well.   

For once I followed instructions, and bound the edge with bias binding before  I quilted around the pockets  and Santa's head.

I had a whole roll of 1/2" red bias binding. It would have been easier to work with wider tape, but I persevered to use what I had. The narrow edge looks good, I think, but it did take patience to apply.

I used the green fabric border strip from the bottom of the original panel to form the channel for a rod at the back of the top edge.               

I had in  mind to use a bamboo stake I had on my balcony as a rod. It proved to be about 18cm too long. My efforts to cut it with my Stanley knife came to nought, so I headed to Bunnings to look for shorter stakes - or a saw! A bundle of 60cm bamboo stakes proved to be just too short.     

I found my solution  in the blinds section of Bunnings - an expandable curtain rod. It was 60cm contracted, but expanding it about 10cm provided a perfect length for the calendar.

A ribbon loop, and voila!

It rolls up neatly and there was enough backing fabric to make a bag to keep it in. All it needs now is contents for the pockets - maybe a pack of Haigh's Advent Calendar chocolates?