Advent Calendar part 3

The last stage in making the advent calendar is assembling all of the component parts.
Before adding the pockets to the pieced background, I made a quilt sandwich with the background, batting and some backing fabric and quilted it with basic diagonal lines. Once the pockets are in place the quilting options are restricted and not doing any beforehand would leave quite large un-quilted areas - as a general rule I like to have a maximum gap of 3in between quilting lines. My pre-pocket quilting was just basic diagonal lines running opposite to the pieced stripes, I had to keep it basic as my walking foot broke as I was fitting it to my machine (aargh) and so all of the sewing was done with a regular presser foot (aargh).

Once the background was quilted the pockets were arranged on it centrally, 1in apart. I arranged my numbers randomly despite my 7 year old son's insistence that they should be in order - but surely half of the fun with an advent calendar is spending 10 minutes hunting for each number in turn, so he was over-ruled.

I pinned the pockets in place and then stitched 2 lines of running stitch along the sides and bottom, closing the opening in the bottom of the pocket as a result. The double line of running stitch was for strength, to ensure the pockets were firmly fixed (my two sons aren't renowned for their delicate touch, especially where chocolate is concerned).

The last job before binding the calendar was to add channels, top and bottom, to the back which would house pieces of (12mm diameter) dowel enabling it to hold its shape as it hangs. Each channel comprised of three sections, to make one complete channel I cut 3 pieces of fabric, two measuring 4in x 2 1/4in and one measuring 12 1/2in x 2 1/4in. Each of the shorter sides on the longer piece were hemmed by folding the ends over twice, a 1/4in each time. The two shorter pieces had the inward facing ends hemmed but the outer ends need to be sealed to fix the dowel inside, one was sewn shut but the other folded in to be closed by hand once the dowel was inside.

All 3 channel pieces were then folded lengthways and then pinned and stitched along the top/bottom of the back of the calendar starting 1in in from either side.
All that was left then was to bind the edges, slide the dowel into the channels and sew the ends closed once it was in.

That's it, done. I love the numbers on it, they're so crisp and consistent having been cut with the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die and the pockets are a good size, allowing more options of what little treats that could fit inside. It will be easy for Santa to slip the note into pocket 24 that tells my boys where he's hidden their new pyjamas for Christmas Eve...

Advent Calendar part 2

The next stage of the advent calendar I started last week is the numbered pockets. First of all, using my Square, 4in Finished die I cut out 24 pocket fronts and 24 pocket linings with my Big Shot. I used the same fabric (Essex linen) for both but the lining could be made from any of the fabrics used in the calendar. Half a yard of fabric should be enough for 24 squares.

Next up were the numbers and I can't even guess at how much time (and hand-cramp) was saved by using the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die rather than drawing out and cutting by hand - hours though! Plus every number was consistent and perfectly cut out. By applying a piece of iron-on adhesive to the reverse of the fabric before the numbers were cut meant all that was left was to peel the backing paper off and iron them on. So, so quick and easy! How much fabric is required for the numbers depends on how efficiently they are cut out but a fat quarter should be plenty (I used approximately two thirds of a fat quarter).

To make the best, most efficient use of the fabric (and adhesive) scraps can be cut from between the holes in previously used sections and used again. Thirteen number 1's need to be cut out but being a narrow number quite a few can be cut from scrap pieces (others will have to be cut from measured out pieces of fabric though).

Here's a list of how many of each of the numbers are required:

Number 0 - 2
Number 1 - 13
Number 2 - 8
Number 3 - 3
Number 4 - 3
Number 5 - 2
Number 6 - 2
Number 7 - 2
Number 8 - 2
Number 9 - 2

Once all of the numbers were ironed in place in the centre of a pocket front, I sewed around the edges to make absolutely sure they can't go anywhere.

Before sewing a front and lining together a 1/4in fold was pressed to the wrong side along the bottom edge of them all. Then, with right sides together, a front was pinned to a lining and sewn together leaving an opening along the bottom. The corners were snipped off and each pocket turned the right way out and pressed flat.

The final part for me to get on with this week is to fix the pockets to the background and finish the advent calendar, I'll blog about that next time.

Advent Calendar part

This is my first ever blog post for Sizzix, it's about an advent calendar project and I'm a bit worried that posting a Christmas-related project in October is a risky move, I know it's still a long way off so please keep reading! The head start is only to ensure that there's plenty of calm making time before the hectic Christmas season with all of its other commitments starts up in a month or two.

The first stage is the background that the pockets will be sewn onto.

I used the Half-Square Triangles, 4 1/2in Finished Square die to cut 48 white triangles (approximately half a yard) and 48 red printed ones to arrange in diagonal stripes to look like candy-cane stripes.

I used a selection of 6 red printed fabrics, 8 of each different print works out perfectly (approximately a third of a fat quarter for each print) but I just chopped away with my Big Shot as the mood took me (it's easy to carried away) so have more of some than others. Also, a fabric that has a print with a clear 'right way up' like the deer one can't be folded over for cutting but needs to be laid the right way up on the die with the diagonal line dividing the triangles on the die running in the same direction as the pieced stripes will. Otherwise some of the triangles will be cut the wrong way round (I *might* have some leftover wrong-way-round triangles lurking on my cutting table).

Next each red triangle was sewn to a white one, pressed and then laid out in a 6 squares by 8 squares rectangle.

After much tinkering with the layout they were finally sewn into 2 x 2 blocks and then into rows before being joined fully (finished size approximately 24" x 32").

It was so quick to make and I'm so pleased with the result that I think a festive cushion in the same candy stripe pattern may have to be added to my to-do list for later.

Next up is the Square, 4in Finished die and Lollipop Shadow Numbers to make the pockets - which I'll post about next time.