19 Festive DIY Projects for a Handmade Holiday | Spoonflower Blog

We’re kicking off this festive time of year with a Handmade Holiday blog hop featuring some of our favorite makers and designers to see how they celebrate the season across the globe. It might be snowing at our Berlin, Germany factory, but our friends in Australia are hitting the beaches for the holidays — and they’ve got DIY projects to prove it!

Each day we’ll update this post so you can see what everyone is making and find out how to recreate the projects at home. You can even join the fun by following #sfholidayhop and tagging your handmade holiday projects on your favorite social channel!

Today we’re starting things off right here with a DIY project from community favorite and a familiar face to the blog, Ceri Staziker, aka CeriGwen. Keep reading to see how Ceri is celebrating Christmas with her family using a customized advent calendar printed on Kona® Cotton Ultra. She may have even left a little gift so you can customize your own calendar! (Note: Kona® Cotton Ultra has been sunset, but this project will work great with either Petal Signature Cotton® or Cotton Poplin!

HANDMADE HOLIDAY BLOG HOP SCHEDULE

Friday, November 17 | Ceri Staziker | Ceri Gwen

DIY Advent Calendar | Spoonflower Blog

Saturday, November 18 | Emily Tan | Self Assembly Required

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Monday, November 20 | Ellie Whitaker + Holly Elson | Top Knot Girl

16 Festive DIY Projects for a Handmade Holiday | Spoonflower Blog

Tuesday, November 21 | Heidi Kenney | My Paper Crane

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Friday, November 24 | Katie Weychardt | Katie Makes a Dress

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Sunday, November 26 | Kara Whitten | Kailo Chic

A Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Monday, November 27 | Erin Williams | Printable Crush

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Tuesday, November 28 | Rachel Burke | I Make You Wear It 

16 Festive DIY Projects for a Handmade Holiday | Spoonflower Blog

 Thursday, November 30 | Caley Hicks | therewillbecute

Handmade Holiday How-To: DIY Christmas Tree Skirt | Spoonflower Blog

Saturday, December 2 | Kate Underdown | The Fold Line

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Tuesday, December 5 | Anda Corrie | Anda

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Wednesday, December 6 | Cintia Gonzalez-Pell | My Poppet

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Friday, December 8 | Cheree Lawrence | Oh So Busy Mum 

Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Tuesday, December 12 | Maria Neidhold | Spoonflower

Finished DIY Stollen tea towel | Spoonflower Blog  

Wednesday, December 13 | Katie Matthews and Joanne Griffin | Tilly and the Buttons

Tilly and the Buttons - Handmade Holiday Blog Hop | Spoonflower Blog

Join the fun by following #sfholidayhop and be sure tag your handmade holiday projects to share your projects!

 DIY Advent Calendar

DIY Advent Calendar | Spoonflower Blog

Ceri: This is an easy tutorial to sew a pocket-a-day advent calendar. You can either use the one I have designed which is available here in my Spoonflower shop or you can download this Illustrator template and design your own. The pattern pieces fit onto a yard of Spoonflower’s 42″ wide fabrics: Petal Signature Cotton® and Cotton Poplin.

MATERIALS

DIY Advent Calendar - Materials | Spoonflower Blog
The countdown to Christmas is on!
  • Sewing machine
  • Iron and ironing board
  • 1 yard advent calendar design on Kona® Cotton Ultra
  • 8 inches of narrow ribbon (for hanging loop)
  • 12.5 inches narrow dowel rod (to create a rigid hanging bar at the top of the calendar)
  • 25 x small gifts (e.g. treats, toys or notes)

INSTRUCTIONS

DIY Advent Calendar - Materials | Spoonflower Blog

1. Cut out the pattern pieces — FRONT, BACK and five POCKETS.

DIY Advent Calendar - Hem the edges | Spoonflower Blog

2. Along the top edge of each POCKET, machine sew a hem. The hem allowance is 1/2 inch.

3. There is a pre-printed blue guideline running parallel with the bottom of each POCKET. Using an iron, press a hem along this guideline (so that wrong sides are touching). Complete this stage for all five POCKETS.

DIY Advent Calendar - Attach pockets | Spoonflower Blog

4. Place the five POCKETS onto the FRONT panel. The horizontal pre-printed guidelines on the FRONT panel align with the pressed bottom edge of each POCKET.

DIY Advent Calendar - Baste the Pockets | Spoonflower Blog

5. Baste the POCKETS to the FRONT panel.

DIY Advent Calendar - Attach the Pockets | Spoonflower Blog

6. Machine sew the POCKETS to the FRONT panel, close to the pressed bottom edges.

DIY Advent Calendar - Pin the Panels | Spoonflower Blog

7. With right sides together, pin the FRONT panel to the BACK panel.

DIY Advent Calendar - stitch the panel | Spoonflower Blog

8. Machine sew all along the edges, leaving three gaps where indicated on the pattern. The seam allowance is 3/8 inch.

DIY Advent Calendar - clip the panel corners | Spoonflower Blog

9. Clip the edges and turn out.

10. Press. Do not remove the basting stitches which hold the pockets in place. By hand, sew up the gap at the bottom of the calendar.

DIY Advent Calendar -topstitch the calendar | Spoonflower Blog

11. Machine topstitch 1/8 inch around the sides and bottom of the calendar, but at the top edge, sew along the horizontal printed guideline. This will leave a channel along the top for the dowel rod.

12. Each numbered pocket is separated by a vertical printed guideline. Machine sew along each vertical guideline. Remove all basting stitches. Press.

DIY Advent Calendar - Attach the ribbon hook | Spoonflower Blog

13. Sew a short length of narrow ribbon (about 8 inches will do) onto the top edge of the BACK of the calendar to form a hanging loop. Make sure you only sew through one layer of fabric or you will be unable to insert your dowel rod.

DIY Advent Calendar - insert the dowel rod | Spoonflower Blog

14. Cut a 12.5 inch length of narrow dowel rod and feed it into the channel at the top of the calendar.

DIY Advent Calendar | Spoonflower Blog

15. You’ve finished! I added pom-poms, sequins, jewels and miniature tree baubles to my advent calendar for extra festive decoration. Why not do something similar? Next fill the individual pockets with fun gifts such as sweet treats, tiny toys or thoughtful messages. Then count down the days til the big man in red comes to visit!

DIY Advent Calendar | Spoonflower Blog
Trinkets and treats make the countdown to Christmas a little bit easier!

DIY Advent Calendar | Spoonflower Blog

DIY Advent Calendar | Spoonflower Blog

DIY Advent Calendar | Spoonflower Blog
Snowman jokes are always a must!

Are you so excited about the Handmade Holiday Blog Hop that you want to start crafting this very minute? Find even more festive DIY projects here!


Ceri Staziker is a freelance graphic designer, working from home in an old cottage in the countryside on the outskirts of Cardiff (the capital city of Wales). She loves to photograph my morning walks and sewing projects which she documents on Instagram (@cerigwen). Nothing gives her more pleasure than working with fabrics she’s designed herself.