DIY Pocket Advent Calendar (No-Sew)

Today we’re going to make a DIY advent calendar using fabric and felt just in time for Christmas.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is already almost here. The months of November and December seem to fly by. So I have to remember to soak in all the Christmas carols, cozy lights, scents and joy of this season.

I’ve been wanting to make an advent calendar for the kids for a while now. It just seemed like time would get away from me and before I knew it, it would already be December 1st.

So, this year I wanted to create the calendar and get this post out at least a week before December rolled around again. I’m coming in just under the wire here and it is exactly 7 days until December 1st. Lol.

I’ve had the supplies for this fabric advent calendar for a good while too. And by a good while I mean 2 years because I looked at the receipt for the tan felt and it was dated 2022, what in the world?

So don’t feel bad if you have a craft project that you bought supplies for and haven’t completed yet. Because my goodness, 2 years?!?

Anyway, I’m pretty excited to share this DIY with you all. This advent calendar is a no-sew fabric and felt tutorial and should last for many Christmases.

I hope you love it!

Supplies for Fabric Advent Calendar

• Fabric Better Homes and Gardens Precut 2 yards
• Felt – I used the color Sandstone
• Large Paint Stirrers Pack of 3 (5 gallon)
• Green Paint – Holly Branch
• Mini Clothespins
• Scissors
• Glue Gun
• Gorilla Mini Hot Glue Sticks
• Gold Safety Pins
• Gold Tack Pins
• Black Plastic Numbers
• Jute Twine
• Stencils – mine were OOS so I found a few other designs for you to check out. Design 1 – Design 2 – Design 3

I found the Better Homes and Gardens pre-cut fabric at Walmart, as well as the large paint stirrers, mini-clothespins, gold safety pins and green craft paint.

The sandstone colored felt was purchased at Michael’s, however I think Hobby Lobby has this color too, and is from the brand Creatology.

The remaining supplies I purchased on Amazon.

Stencil “Christmas Countdown” in Green onto the Felt

First things first, I used my stencils to paint the words “Christmas Countdown” onto my felt.

This initial felt I purchased that I stenciled the words onto was larger at the size of 12 x 18 inches.

I went back and purchased additional felt in smaller size of 9 x 12 inches for my pockets. You’ll need 4 for this advent calendar.

To stencil the words, I lined up the plastic letters and used a tape measure to make sure they were the same distance from either side.

As you can see, since there was only one of each letter, I had to use a prop letter to stand in for the S at the end.

Apply the green paint onto the stencil carefully using a craft paintbrush for the first 8 letters of “Christmas” and then move the S to the end to paint the last letter.

You’ll need to do the same thing with the word “Countdown” as shown in the pictures below.

Fold the Fabric Over Twice

Next, fold the fabric over twice. This will give you the dimensions of about 35 inches long by 22 inches wide.

When you fold it, make sure that the fabric is folded over at the top so you can insert the paint stirrers. I have two of them positioned in there that we’ll be gluing together to make the hanger later in the post.

You may have to iron out the creases before continuing. I also washed my fabric before using it for this DIY advent calendar.

Pin the Longer Edge of the Fabric

Use the mini clothespins to hold down the edges of both sides of the fabric. I folded it over to the first red line so that the words wouldn’t show.

Now get out your gold pins.

I have the paint stirrer stuck in there because you want to start pinning below this stirrer and make your way down to the bottom. This way you can use the stirrers for hanging the advent calendar.

I placed one pin about every 5 inches starting just below the paint stirrer until I got to the bottom and used 7 pins. You may have to poke the pin through one fabric overlap first since it can be difficult to stick the pin through 4 layers.

Pin the Long Edge on the Opposite Side

Next, place your pins on the opposite side of the fabric advent calendar.

I measured to see where to start the first pin so that it was the same as the other side and then placed them every 5 inches again.

This side is much easier since you don’t have to hold the ends down!

Pin the Bottom of the Advent Calendar

Now we’ll pin the bottom of the fabric advent calendar.

I used the mini clothespins to hold the front and back folds of the fabric. You probably could get by without the mini clothespins however they do make the job a little bit easier.

Place a pin at the bottom right corner of the advent calendar.

Next, place a pin about every 5 inches along the bottom. It won’t be totally exact since the width now measures about 21 inches.

Here’s where I hit the first snag. The little pin’s stick wasn’t long enough to go through all the layers of fabric at that left corner.

Cut out some of the fabric so you’re able to pin it. It leaves a little bit of fraying at the bottom, so if you guys come up with another idea for this left corner let me know! 😉

Hot Glue the Paint Stirrers and Place Them at the Top

Next hot glue the paint stirrers to make the Advent calendar hanger.

Make it as long as you want, for reference I measured out about 29.5 inches.

It makes it a bit easier if you place a pencil mark where you’ll line up the 2 paint stirrers when you hot glue them.

Hot glue the paint stirrers together and then insert them back into the top of the advent calendar.

Place 3 pins under the paint stirrer hanger to hold it in place.

Pin “Christmas Countdown” onto the Advent Calendar

Cut the fabric in half that has the words “Christmas Countdown” painted onto it.

Place it just below the paint stirrers and pin the four corners.

In the end, I ended up moving the 3 pins that I had placed under the paint stirrer hanger so that they would also help to hold the felt on. And I added more pins to the bottom and to the sides.

Cut the Smaller Felt into Pockets

I did a trial run just to evenly space the felt that I would be using for my pockets. You don’t need this much felt for yours, I had extra so I used it to figure out the spacing.

Place a dot using a sharpie every 4 inches. Then you can trace a light line between the dots (so the sharpie doesn’t bleed through) so that you know where to cut.

Cut the fabric into 3 four-inch-wide pieces.

Then cut each of the 3 pieces in half, which will give you 6 pockets.

Space the Felt Pockets Out onto the Calendar

Next, you’ll space the felt pockets out onto the advent calendar. There should be 6 rows of 4 pockets to make a total of 24.

Mine were about 3/4 of an inch from the sides and also between each pocket. Between the bottom of one pocket and the top of the other pocket was about 1/2 inch.

Pin the Four Corners of Each of the Felt Pockets

Once you have the pockets evenly spaced then pin them at each corner.

This is definitely the part that takes the longest! Once you’re done with this it’s easy sailing!

Hot Glue the Sides and Bottom of the Pockets

Glue the sides and bottom of each pocket using lines of hot glue.

Attach Numbers to Each Pocket with Safety Pin

Now it’s time to attach the numbers 1-24 to each of your pockets using the little gold safety pins.

Attach Jute Twine to the Paint Stirrer Hanger

Attach the jute twine to one side of the paint stirrer. I wrapped it around quite a few times before knotting it.

Then attach it to the other side of the pocket advent calendar in the same fashion. I ended up doubling the twine to hold it, since it’s a pretty large calendar.

Here’s a pic of the finished DIY pocket advent calendar.

Final Thoughts on this No-Sew Pocket Advent Calendar

So, who’s up for making a fabric and felt DIY advent calendar this year?

I think this calendar gives off a rustic and handmade vibe. The hardest part was putting all those pins in the pockets!

Now, I just have to get a heavy-duty command hook to hang it up. And of course, fill each pocket with surprises for the kiddos.

I have seen pocket calendars for sale online, but what fun would that be when you can make your own? And this is a pretty large calendar measuring about 34 inches long by 21 inches wide.

There are a variety of different patterns of fabric in the Better Homes and Gardens collection, so you can tailor this advent calendar to whatever patterns and colors you like.

Any questions, please drop them down in the comment section. And, as always, thanks so much for reading!

So, now who’s ready to make a homemade rustic advent calendar using felt and fabric just in time for December?

Pin me on Pinterest⬇️