{"title":"How to Make an Advent Calendar","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/crafts/how-to-make-an-advent-calendar","category":{"slug":"crafts","name":"Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Lauren Guthrie","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7bzLhPxy6YsiC19P9kMnCw","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hM0IZ_DB0Y"},"tldr":"Sew a fabric pocket advent calendar from a printed panel. Hemming, gussets, quilting with a walking foot, and mitered binding, step by step.","totalDurationSeconds":433,"difficulty":"medium","tools":["sewing machine","walking foot","iron","rotary cutter or fabric scissors","quilting ruler","pins","hand sewing needle"],"materials":["printed advent calendar fabric panel","wadding","calico backing fabric","red ribbon","bias binding","temporary spray adhesive","wooden dowel"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Cut Out the Pocket Strips","text":"Cut the horizontal pocket strips out of the printed fabric panel. The panel arrives as one large piece with everything marked on it."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Hem the Top of Each Pocket","text":"Press the top edge of each pocket strip back with an iron, then sew along it to hem it."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Press the Gusset Folds","text":"Press the side edges back, then fold each pocket edge over to the dashed black line to form the gusset and press that in place too."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Press the Bottom Edge Last","text":"Press the bottom edge back last, holding the gusset folds in position as you go."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Pin the Strip to the Panel","text":"Line the strip up on the panel and pin it down. The numbers sit in random order, which is half the fun of finding yours each morning."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Sew Between the Pockets","text":"Sew down the dashed lines between the pockets first, then along the sides and bottom. Repeat for every column."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Layer and Spray-Baste","text":"Layer calico backing, wadding and the panel, holding them together with temporary spray adhesive. Smooth out every wrinkle before it sets."},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: Fit a Walking Foot","text":"Fit a walking foot to the machine. Its top feed dogs pull all three layers through evenly instead of shifting the top one."},{"number":9,"title":"Step 9: Quilt Between the Pockets","text":"Quilt between the pockets and around the outer edge of the design to lock the layers together."},{"number":10,"title":"Step 10: Trim the Layers Even","text":"Trim all three layers back to the same size so the edges are even and ready to bind."},{"number":11,"title":"Step 11: Pin the Hanging Loops","text":"Pin 10cm loops of red ribbon along the top back edge - two at the sides and a few spread across the middle - to carry the hanging dowel."},{"number":12,"title":"Step 12: Sew On the Binding","text":"Sew the binding on, stopping just short of each corner and folding it back on itself to form a mitered corner."},{"number":13,"title":"Step 13: Hand-Stitch the Binding Down","text":"Press the binding round to the back and catch-stitch it down by hand, flipping each ribbon loop upward as you reach it."},{"number":14,"title":"Step 14: Add the Dowel and Fill It","text":"Feed a wooden dowel through the loops, pin the label on, and fill the pockets."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-08-31T16:47:54.269Z","published":"2026-08-31T16:47:49.670Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}