| Advent, or Countdown to Christmas, Calendars are very popular for about
150 years. We offer our version of the calendar to you. The traditional
Advent Calendar has 24 days to count down. In the United States the 25th
day also appears for small kids to count it on the Christmas morning. That
is why we prepared 25 stars, though we used only 24. |
| To make this lovely Countdown Calendar, we used the designs Angel
with Stars, Countdown
Stars Set (we used 24, you can use all 25), and Snowy
Village. You will also need two pieces of white felt 12 " x 34" and
about 14" x 36", bias tape 110" long, a rod 13" long and 1/4" in
diameter, 24 (25) small chocolates and 24(25) pins (or hooks). |
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| Step One: Take the larger piece of felt -- this is where we're
going to embroider. With a removable marker mark the layout for the
calendar. Start embroidering the Snow Village at the bottom. |
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| Step Two: Then re-hoop and embroidery the Angels. There is only
one design, but it has three color cards. Flip the angel that goes in the
middle to make it seem that they're going in different directions. |
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| Step Three: After the village and the angels are done, embroider
the stars. If you do not like the idea of rehooping multiple times, you
can embroider the stars in neat rows on a separate piece of felt, cut them
out and glue them to your working piece. In the latter case it is easier
to fiddle with the position of the stars and find the configuration that
you like best. |
| Step Four: After you finished with the embroidery, place your
embroidered piece on a flat surface such as a table and trim it to a size
of 12" x 34". Place it on top of the second piece of felt and pin both
layers together. |
| Step Five: Use your bias tape and finish the raw edges. |
| Step Six: Out of scraps of felt, cut out 6 strips measuring
1 1/2" x 4" and stitch them as loops to the upper edge of the hanging. |
| Step Seven: If you're making the calendar for small children,
take hooks and attach one under every star. If the calendar is for older
kids and grown-ups you can use either safety pins or pins with decorative
heads. |
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| Step Eight: Slip the rod through the loops at the top and hang
the calendar on a wall. Pin or hook small chocolates under every star. |
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The Countdown Calendar is ready. Enjoy!
Here are some more close-ups of the wall-hanging:
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