I was so excited when I saw that The Craft Cotton Company were brining out a new Peter Advent Calendar Panel this Christmas! It has been a few years since I made an example tutorial for the blog so I thought I would share one again this year and hopefully inspire you to create your own.
When you purchase the panel you get the main part of the advent calendar which is around 60cm square. You also get the 24 pockets that need to be cut and sewn on. You will need to purchase fabric of the backing and any extra frills or just use some from your own stash. The main image is of Peter being handed a gift from his Mother under a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. The colours are red and sage with some white polka dots.
Peter rabbit is timeless, you know that if you sew this up for someone special that it will be treasured every year and maybe even handed down the family in years to come.
YOU WILL NEED
Peter Rabbit Panel
75cm Backing Fabric
Wadding
Coordinating Fabric FQ x 2
Bells x5 (optional)
All your usual sewing supplies
METHOD
Cut out your panel with scissors or a rotary cutter and ruler.
2. Cut out all the individual pockets.
3. Press a small 1/4" hem around all four sides, make the top hem the last one you press.
4. Stitch the top hem. I have used a straight stich on the white and a vine stitch on the red and sage. This is obviously optional but I was feeling fancy.
5. Pin your pockets to the corresponding patch on the main advent panel. I did this one colour at a time as I changed the thread for each colour. Top stitch the pockets down, as close to the edge as you can get away with.
6. Add any extra borders or details you want at this point. I have added some fun with bunting flags along the bottom. This was a trick I learnt during a workshop with Stuart Hillard.
7. Pin wadding to the wrong side of the panel and baste the edges.
8. Trim the edges and square it up.
9. For the backing, decide how you would like to hang your advent panel. I have added a channel for a rod to be thread through. The rod was saved from a plant. The fabric I used for the channel was left over from the bunting fabric. Cut your backing fabric slightly wider than your calendar but around 2" longer (to give you a little extra room to play with). Cut it in half (trust the process). I used two bits of white fabric that I had in my stash.
To make it the channel cut a strip of fabric 4" x 19" (or wider if you have added a border to your advent calendar).
Fold it in half long ways with right sides together, stitch.
Fold in the short edges and top stitch.
Place and pin it 1.5" (4cm) from the top edge of your backing fabric. Top stitch the top and bottom long edges.
10. Sew the backing fabric back together where you just cut it. Leave a 3-4" gap in the centre. This will be where you turn it out.
11. Pin it right sides together to the calendar, lining up the tip edge. The bottom edge will be longer but you can trim this down afterwards. Stich around all four edges.
12. Trim the edges and clip the corners, make sure you don't catch the stitching. Turn it out and give it a good press.
13. Add some top stitching however you feel is appropriate. I I have added some close to the red border and then again around the centre image.
14. The very final touch I added which is optional, was adding some cute jingly bells to the bottom of the bunting triangle.
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