{"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.","quickAnswer":"Sew a fabric pocket advent calendar from a printed panel. A medium project: about 2 hours 30 minutes. Materials cost about $25 to $45. You need 14 things, including printed advent calendar fabric panel, wadding and calico backing fabric. The 14 steps start with cut Out the Pocket Strips, hem the Top of Each Pocket, press the Gusset Folds, press the Bottom Edge Last, pin the Strip to the Panel, sew Between the Pockets, layer and Spray-Baste and fit a Walking Foot.","totalDurationSeconds":433,"videoDurationSeconds":433,"difficulty":"medium","project":{"difficulty":"medium","projectMinutes":150,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":150,"estimatedCost":{"currency":"USD","min":25,"max":45},"yield":"1 advent calendar"},"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."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-15T15:54:54.032Z","published":"2026-08-31T16:47:49.670Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step 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. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}