A Little Happy Sew Along ~ Advent Calendar ~ Finishing Touches

Welcome back to the final instalment of the A Little Happy Sew Along to make the Advent Calendar I designed.  You can read the introduction post HERE.  Here's a recap of what we have done so far.....in week 1, we cut out all the different fabrics and trims required, we then embroidered the 'Christmas Countdown' panel and the little numbers for the pockets and prepared them for adding to the calendar.  In week 2, we added all the trims to the individual pockets and sewed them together.  In week 3 we pieced the front of the Advent Calendar.  This week we'll be adding all the finishing touches!

BEFORE STARTING Always Remember to:

1. Read all instructions before you begin.

2. RST means right sides together.

3. All seam allowances are 1/4”.

4. FWOF means width of fabric.

5. If you need any help, please do get in touch!

Lets Get Stitching

This week, you will need:

Fabric F -  Backing Fabric

Fabric A - Binding

Wadding

Ribbon Ties

First off you will need to layer up your backing fabric / wadding / Advent Calendar.  The wadding and backing fabric, should be slightly larger, about an inch all round, than the Calendar front.  For convenience, I normally use a basting spray.  For more information on making a quilt sandwich, take a peek at THIS BLOG POST.

Next you need to add some quilting to hold the layers together.  I chose to hand quilt using Aurifil 12wt in a complimentary colour.

I added a line of quilting around the edge of the Christmas Countdown panel and then added a large button to the corner, which I hand tied.....I love doing this on items that are decorative!

I then added a line of stitches below each of the rows of pockets....

Once you've finished hand quilting, trim away the excess wadding and backing fabric.

I chose to hang the calendar using ribbon ties.  For these, you need two pieces of ribbon approx 40cm (15 1/2") each.  Fold the ribbon in half, then place the folded edge against the top edge on the back of the calendar.  I lined these up with my quilting stitches around the 'Christmas Countdown' panel.  Just a little note for the observant ones...you will see that I didn't bury my finishing knot at the end of my hand quilting stitches.....I must admit that I don't tend too do so on items like this, that are going to be hung against something....obviously I would on a quilt or if the back side was going to be on display!!!  

For added strength, add a couple rows of machine stitches to hold the ribbons in place, approx 1/8" from the edge, for neatness, you want these 'holding' stitches to be concealed under the binding.

Finally all that is left to do is to add the binding.  I always machine my bindings on to the front and then hand sew the back.  For a detailed 'a little happy tutorial' for how I do this, take a peek HERE.

That's it....you should now have a very special homemade Advent Calendar ready for use this Christmas and I hope that it becomes part of your family tradition for many years to come.

Please remember, so that mum and I can follow your progress, if you're sewing along and sharing on social media please use the hashtags:

#alittlehappysewalong or/and #prettyfabricsandtrims

Thank you so much for sewing along!

Happy Stitches!