create your own advent pocket calendar

for the past five years it has been a goal of mine to make an advent calendar. i wanted to make one with pockets that i could fill will little notes, ornaments, and treats. as you can see right now this calendar is being occupied by our house elf, ook. hopefully you'll have some down time this week to make your own!
you will need:
cut two 24x24 inch pieces of fabric
cut four 6x25 inch pieces in an assortment of festive fabrics
dowel rods
baker's twine
felt
hot glue gun

sew 24" squares, right sides facing leaving a 3" inch hole for turning out. i used a heavy canvas for the front which i would recommend and i used the tree fabric for the backing. trim excess after sewing and snip ends for nice, sharp corners. turn inside out. poke out corners. press. topstitch all the way around catching the opening in the top stitch.

knot ribbon, string, or twill tape to hang calendar with. i used some baker's twine. place the knot under the fold in the middle. place dowel rod at top of calendar and roll the fabric just until it is covering the rod and the string. pin on edges. then sew closed the loop on both sides of the rod and across the calendar. repeat for the bottom of the calendar. (*note: you may want to sew the bottom dowel in last, having it in makes it difficult to sew the bottom row pockets, which i learned the hard way)

cut out four assorted strips of 6x25" pieces of fabric. fold and iron on all sides. sew down fold at top of fabric pocket, repeat for each piece of fabric. then place fabric and pin about an inch apart starting at the bottom and working your way up (make sure to account for bottom dowel). once fabric pockets are all in place, sew down sides and across the bottom so that the pocket is attached to the calendar. then mark pocket divisions with pins leaving equal space for six pockets, or you can vary the sizes to allow for different sized goodies in your calendar. then simply sew down to make each pocket.

for the dates, i hand-cut the numbers out of felt and then hot glued them on. for finishing touches i glued some vintage buttons on various pockets for a little sparkle.

have a lovely time with your favorite people, stuffing yourself with your favorite holiday treats. i for one am very thankful for YOU!