DIY Advent Calendar Pillow Cover

The DIY Advent Calendar Pillow Case is great for kids and adults alike. Little ones will love moving the ornament from the top of the pillow to the bottom as Christmas is approaching.

Fabric (at least a half yard)

Ribbon (1" or smaller)

Ribbon (1/2" or smaller)

Stamps

Rotary Cutter or Scissors

Sewing Machine

First you are going to want to measure the pillow that the cover will go over. I just used one of my couch pillows that was 20" x 20". Once you have your pillow measurements, you can measure out the fabric to fit.

You will need one full square that is about 1" bigger than your pillow form. So in my case, I cut one 21" x 21" fabric.

You will then need two pieces that will become the evenlope your pillow will slip in on the backside of the cover. You want these to overlap some. In my case I needed 21" to cover the full pillow (just like the front), but want the two halfs to overlap, so half of 21" is 10.5" and then if I add about 5" for the overlap, I will have 16.5". I will cut two pieces that are 21" x 16.5".

Next, cut four pieces of the 1" ribbon that is a little more than the length of the pillow. So my pillow form is 21", so I will cut each ribbon about 23". You can always cut off the extra length later.

Place the ribbon evenly across the pillow horizontally, and then sew on the bottom of the ribbon. This sewn line will be the bottom pockets.

Next, mark five straight lines going down vertically. Sew these straight lines to create the pockets.

Next we will create the ornament that will go in the pockets. You can choose to make any shape: Christmas Bell, Santa Clause Hat, Gingerbread Man. I choose a tree since it was the easiest.

Cut two simple triangles that resemble a tree and cut the 1/2" ribbon about 23" long or about 2" longer than your pillow form.

Place the two triangles right side to right side (or patterns facing one another), and then put the ribbon in the middle of the two triangles with the shorter side at the top of the tree and most of hte ribbon hanging out the bottom (like pictured).

Sew a straight line down both sides of the tree, but NOT the bottom.

Flip the tree so that the pattern is now on the outside and the ribbon is at the top. The bottom will still be unstitched.

Stuff your tree with either cotton or fabric scraps. Then fold the bottom into it self, like pictured. Sew a straight line across the bottom.

We will now start constructing the full pillow cover.

Start by hemming the two shorter pieces of fabric. You want to hem it on the sides that will meet. Fold the fabric down about a 1/2" to 1" and sew a straight stitch down that side. You will do that for both short pieces.

Now we can start putting the pillow together. Place the full square right side up or pattern side up. Next, lay one back flap right side down with the hemmed side in the middle and the raw side even with the front. Then, lay the other back flap right side down with the hemmed side in the middle and the raw side even with the other side of the front cover. It should look similar to the photo.

Once you have the pillow laid out, place the ribbon end from the ornament in between the front cover and the back flaps. You just want a little bit peaking from the top of the pillow. Your ornament should be laid inside the covers. Once sewn we will flip out and the ornament will be right side out.

Pin all four sides of the pillow. Next, sew a straight line around the entire pillow on all four sides. Be careful around the flaps meeting as your want to get all pieces sewn together. Also be careful around the ornament ribbon, as you want that secured with the pillow.

Once you have all sides sewn you can trim the edges and flip it rightside out.

Next we are going to stamp the letters onto the ribbon. I have seen some people glue felt letters on or use iron on letters as well.

Start at the top left pocket and start stamping in order 1 to 24. You will have six numbers on each row, each on the six pockets.

That's it! You now have your very own Advent Calendar Pillow Cover. To use you will simply take your pillow form and place it in the pillow cover from the back flaps.