Finishing the Advent Calendar for the Big Pocket Calendar Along

Today, we are working on the finishing stages of the Big Pocket Advent Calendar! This is the fun bit as we get to personalise the top of the calendar (if you want to!), before quilting and binding the calendar, ready to hang up for Christmas!

Firstly, we need to finish piecing the calendar top by adding the side strips. This can be a little tricky, as you don’t want to catch the pocket folds whilst stitching the strips in place, so a little care is needed.

I’ve found the best way to do this is by using a zipper foot – so that you can stitch right alongside the pockets – and holding the pocket fold out of the way as you sew along.

Personalising the Calendar

I like to stitch the personalisation down, once the calendar has been basted so that I’m stitching through all the layers as I like the quilted look that it gives.

The decoration is fairly simple, as I felt this best complemented the patterned pocket fabric – but you could easily go all out! I used the tree template in the pattern for this version and cut a few in different coloured felt. Some were cut slightly smaller / bigger than the template just for a bit of fun.

I normally use Bondaweb to keep the fabric in place but couldn’t find any (I know it’s somewhere, just can’t quite remember where I tidied it!). As felt is quite stable, I decided to just pin it in place, and edge stitch around the outside to keep it in position, which worked well.

Finishing the Calendar

The calendar can be bound in the same way as a quilt (see my How to Bind tutorial here if you’re new to quilting or are looking for some hints and tips!) or, for a more modern twist, you could go for a faced binding as I did with this calendar.

To help tie the whole project together (and a bit of extra strength around the outside seam edge) I added a decorative row of red stitching around the edge of the calendar.

If you find that the pockets are not holding their shape as well as you like, lay something heavy on the calendar overnight, or use wonder-clips to hold the pockets in place and help to ‘set’ the shape.

To hang the calendar, I have used a small branch for a more rustic look, but you could use a piece of batten, dowel or just hook it straight onto the wall.

And you are all finished and ready to go – now it’s just a matter of finding little treats to go into each of the pockets!

Back soon,

S x

Today’s sky::: blue skies and the odd cloud

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