Nov 23

Giant Advent Calendar DIY

by Chiara Alberetti Milott

When I saw this giant printed Christmas tree fabric at Ikea, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it – a giant advent calendar. Despite being a little large and unwieldy, it was pretty easy to make, especially once I found an Etsy shop that sells felt numbers pre-cut specifically for advent calendars (who knew?!). The same seller has a wide variety of 3″ felt circles so you could make a rainbow version, an all blue and green version, or an traditional red, green and white version if the spirit moved you.
Click through for instructions and photos.
Materials needed: 1.25-inch white wool felt numbers, 3-inch wool felt circles (I used the colors salmon, cardinal, rose, red, light orange, daffodil yellow and honey gold), 2 yards printed Christmas tree fabric from Ikea, thread, sewing needle, scissors and two 62-inch wooden dowels.
Step 1: Sew a 1-inch pocket along both the top and bottom edges of the fabric.
Step 2: Lay out and stitch the felt numbers 1 – 25 on the felt circles.
Step 3: Place numbers randomly around tree (searching out of order is great for kids just learning their numbers). Stitch the circles to the fabric. Start from a 2 o’clock position to a 10 o’clock position, leaving a 2-inch opening at the top of the felt circle.
Step 4: Insert the dowels into the top pocket and the bottom pocket and smooth out the fabric. Hang it on your wall (pushpins should hold it).
Step 5: Fill up circles with treats, sweets, or coupons for fun things to do (on our list this year is to visit the tree in Rockefeller Center).
Happy Holidays, everyone!
P.S. Keep in mind this takes up a lot of wall space! Overall the calendar is 64″ x 72.”

Category: advent calendar, christmas, DIY projects

Posted by chiara on Nov 23, 2012

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