Pocket Bunting Advent Calendar Tutorial

Can you believe it is November? You know what that means--it's almost Christmas!

I have had this Advent calendar idea on my mind for over a year now. I knew I wanted an Advent calendar that was a bunting, but with pockets to fill with treats, activities & nativity scene characters (I recently won an awesome set of Nativity people from Simple Simon & Co).

I did a search online for one like what I wanted, but surprisingly, nothing exists! Obviously this was a sign that I needed to make a tutorial. Enjoy!

This supply list is actually enough for two three (holy cow!) advent calendars, so if you only want to make one, half (or third) the quantities.

Supplies:

wool felt bundle (I bought the Holiday pack here), or approximately 1/2 yard wool felt in color of choice

1/2 yard wool felt in contrasting color for the backs/top edge (I bought gold from Joann's)

advent calendar numbers, 1-25 (got mine here)

cardstock to make two triangle templates

sewing machine + thread

1. Make your triangle templates. I made mine in Powerpoint. I simple drew a straight line, 4.5" long, then made a horizontal line 4" across, to make a "T." Then, I connected the ends into a triangle and printed 2 copies. I then cut them out and cut 1" off one of the triangle tops to make it smaller than the other. (does this make any sense at all? lol) If that is too confusing, you could just print my PDFs. front & back

2. Once you have your templates, start cutting your wool felt. I first cut my fronts. I cut the felt into 3.5" strips, then cut my triangles, to maximize felt use. I then did the same with the backing, cutting 4.5" strips, then into triangles. You will now have lots and lots of triangles (25 fronts and 25 backs for each calendar).

3. Cut your back felt "leftovers" into .5" strips (make them as long as possible) for hanging your bunting. Sew together to make a really long strip. I very slightly overlapped the edges and sewed a straight stitch to connect them. At this point, you might decide to break your calendar into two smaller buntings - for example two buntings, the upper bunting made up of 12 triangles, the lower of 13 triangles. Layout your back triangles along the strip to see how long you want it. Make sure to include extra strip at the ends to hang it up.

4. Lay out your front triangles in the color pattern you want.

Attach the numbers to the fronts. I sewed mine on, but you could certainly glue them on. To be honest, sewing them was a pain in the rear! Sticky back numbers are sounding pretty smart to me right now...

5. Sew your front triangles to the back triangles. Don't sew the top, only the sides! You want it to be a pocket, remember.

6. Making sure to go in numerical order, sew your back triangles to the top strip, lining up the top edges.

7. Hang, fill, and enjoy your countdown to Christmas!

I would love to see your finished calendars if you decide to use my tutorial. If you like mine but don't feel crafty, you are in luck! I am selling an extra one in my Etsy shop.

Linked to Skip to My Lou and Sugar Bee Crafts.