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How to Sew a Fabric Advent Calendar with Pockets

Learn how to sew a fabric advent calendar with pockets to hang on a door or a wall.

This Christmas advent calendar can be used to countdown the days by moving an item down each day. It can also be used to place special ornaments, treats, and notes for each day leading up to Christmas.

Learn how to sew a fabric advent calendar with pockets. This DIY fabric Christmas countdown calendar makes a beautiful Christmas door decoration.

Deck the Home this Holiday Season

Remember the At Home DIY Challenges I did all year? Now the challenges are Deck the Home Challenges! Just in time for the Holidays!

We will have a new challenge every Sunday for the next 5 weeks! Woot Woot!

This week’s challenge: Door Decor!

At the bottom of this post you’ll find a collection of door decor to help inspire you to DIY this Holiday Season!

Advent Calendar Christmas Countdown

You know I have a thing for Christmas Countdowns, right? I would even say I have a Christmas Countdown collection! Every year I like to make one to add to my collection.

With this week’s challenge being door decor, I thought why not make an advent calendar to hang on a door!

And I knew exactly where I would put it! On Gabrielle’s door! Her bedroom door is at the end of the hallway. The perfect location to add some festive decor! hehe

This post also contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

How to sew a fabric advent calendar with pockets

Supplies:

  • 2 Tea towels (17.5″ x 27″)  in coordinating colors. (One will be the main piece and the other will be transformed into pockets.) Or 1 tea towel and a canvas drop cloth.
  • Dowel (48″ long and 5/8″ in diameter)
  • Small numbers (I used wooden numbers.)
  • Coordinating thread
  • Jute twine
  • Christmas item (something small that will fit into the pockets)
  • Popsicle stick or a small piece of wood.
  • Wax paper

Tools:

Supplies to make a fabric advent calendar.

Instructions:

Step 1: Fold back the top of the buffalo plaid tea towel 2″ and pin it.

Fold and pin fabric to sew.

Step 2: Sew the fold down with red thread. This will be where the dowel will slide into.

Sew the fold down.
Top fold sewn together.

Step 3: Using fabric scissors, cut 5 strips of 17″ x 4″ out of the natural tea towel. (In my case, I used an old natural curtain that is the same material as a canvas drop cloth.

Drop cloth canvas to make pockets.
5 strips of canvas to make pockets.

Step 4: Press a 1/4″ seam around each strip. The strips will measure approximately 16″ x 3.15″.

Use iron to press seams to sew.
Pressed seams before sewing.

Step 5: Cut the corner of the side flaps.

Cut corners before sewing.

Step 6: Use a sewing machine to top stitch the top seam in beige. Do not sew the sides nor the bottom yet.

Top stitch the top of the strips.
Strips with top sewn.
Top seam stitched.

Step 7: Position the 5 strips centered on the buffalo plaid fabric 1.5″ apart and pin into place. I placed the top strip at 3.5″ from the top and the bottom one at 1.25″ from the bottom.

Position strips to make pockets with sewing machine.

Step 8: Attach the strips to the buffalo plaid fabric by sewing the sides and bottom seams in beige. (Do not sew the top of the strips.)

Sew strips to tea towel to make pockets.
Sew strips onto main fabric.

When you come to sew the bottom, fold the rest of the fabric to give yourself some space.

Roll side of fabric to have more room while sewing.
Fabric strips before they become pockets.

Step 9: To make the pockets for the fabric advent calendar, at approximately every 3.2″, sew from bottom to top of each strip with beige thread. This will add 5 pockets per strip. To determine where to sew, use a ruler, make markings on it with a pencil, and transfer those markings onto the strips with a pencil.

Make pencil marking to know where to sew pockets.
How to sew pockets.
Sewn pockets.
Back of fabric advent calendar with pockets.
Fabric with pockets.

Step 10:  Take out the numbers.
13x 1, 9x 2, 3x 3, 3x 4, 3x 5, 2x 6, 2x 7, 2x 8, 2x 9, 2x 0

Adding numbers to advent calendar.

Step 11: Place a small piece of wax paper inside the pocket and hot glue the numbers onto the pockets. Remove the wax paper when the hot glue has dried.

Attach numbers with hot glue.
Pockets with numbers.

Step 12: Add a short popsicle stick or small piece of wood to the bottom of the small Christmas item, you have chosen to countdown the days until Christmas, with hot glue. (If you’d like to make your own reindeer, you can use a small wood slice to make a Rudolph like my daughter made.)

Christmas embellishment.
Christmas day counter.

Step 13: Cut the dowel to 22″ using a hand saw.

Wood dowel.

Step 14: Insert the dowel into the top of the buffalo plaid fabric.

Insert wood dowel inside advent.

Step 15: Cut a piece of jute twine 32″ and attach it to each end of the dowel with knots.

Cut twine.
Add twine knots on each end.

Step 16: Hang the fabric advent calendar onto an over the door hook.

Hang fabric advent calendar on a door hook.

Fabric Christmas Countdown with pockets

How to sew a fabric advent calendar with pockets.
DIY hanging fabric advent calendar with pockets.
DIY Fabric Christmas Countdown with pockets.
Fabric advent calendar Christmas door decoration.

Christmas Door Decor

Learn how to sew a fabric advent calendar with pockets. This DIY fabric Christmas countdown calendar makes a beautiful Christmas door decoration.

I hope you enjoyed the fabric advent calendar project as much as I did making it!

If ever you are looking for an advent calendar that fits bigger treats, my wall mounted advent calendar would be the perfect solution.

Have a great day my friends!

Christine

How to sew a fabric advent calendar with pockets.

How to Sew a Fabric Advent Calendar with Pockets

Yield: 1 Fabric Advent Calendar
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 2 hours
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Estimated Cost: Less than $20

Learn how to sew a fabric advent calendar with pockets. This DIY fabric Christmas countdown calendar makes a beautiful Holiday decoration.

Materials

  • 2 tea towels
  • Wood dowel
  • Small numbers
  • Thread
  • Jute twine
  • Small Christmas item
  • Popsicle stick
  • Wax paper

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Iron
  • Sewing machine
  • Pins
  • Glue gun
  • Hand saw

Instructions

  1. Fold main fabric back 2″ and pin it. Fold and pin fabric to sew.
  2. Sew the bottom of the fold. This is where the dowel will go. Sew the fold down.
  3. Cut 5 strips of 17″ x 4″ out of the natural tea towel. 5 strips of canvas to make pockets.
  4. Press a 1/4″ seam around each strip. Strips will measure about 16″ x 3.15″ once completed. Pressed seams before sewing.
  5. Cut the corner of the side flaps. Cut corners before sewing.
  6. Top stitch the top seam in beige with a sewing machine. Do not sew the sides and the bottom. Top stitch the top of the strips.
  7. Place the 5 strips centered on the main fabric. The top strip at 3.5″ from the top and the bottom one at 1.25″ from the bottom and 1.5″ apart. Pin into place. Position strips to make pockets with sewing machine.
  8. Sew the sides and bottoms of the strips onto the main fabric. Sew strips to tea towel to make pockets.
  9. To make the pockets at every 3.2″ sew from bottom to top of each strip with beige thread. How to sew pockets.
  10. Attach the numbers onto the pockets with hot glue. TIP: Insert a piece of wax paper into the pockets to prevent the hot glue from going through the fabric. Attach numbers with hot glue.
  11. Hot glue a popsicle stick onto the bottom of the small Christmas item you will be using to count the days until Christmas. Christmas day counter.
  12. Use a hand saw to cut the dowel to 22″. Wood dowel.
  13. Insert the dowel into the top fold. Insert wood dowel inside advent.
  14. Add piece of jute twine measuring 32″ to the dowel by making a knot on each end. Add twine knots on each end.
  15. Hang the fabric advent calendar and enjoy. DIY hanging fabric advent calendar with pockets.

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12 Comments

  1. I love all of this! The wooden numbers are the perfect touch. I don’t know how to sew, but this tutorial is so easy to follow. I wish I had this in my home.

    1. Thanks so much Jenny! I’m happy you like it! Originally I had planned to use red fabric for the pockets and paint the numbers black. But once I put the natural fabric and the unpainted numbers over the plaid.. I fell in love with the combo. hehe

  2. Oh Christine! Your advent calendar is just so perfect. From the detailed tutorial to the fun fabric-it is an easy project for anyone. Thanks so much for inspiring me. I wanted to make my grand-kids a unique Christmas gift and I think I found it here!

  3. What a great advent calendar tutorial Christine!
    Thank you for sharing this project at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week. I’m delighted to be featuring it at tonight’s party and pinning too.
    Hugs,
    Kerryanne

Comments are closed.