Dunelm Exclusive - Nordic Gnome Advent Calendar Sewing Tutorial

Bring Nordic Nomad into your home this winter, with this advent calendar panel. Crafted from 100% cotton, he is bound to bring a festive feel into any room of the house, helping you countdown the days to Christmas. Whether bought as a gift for yourself or a loved one, it is bound to make you smile.

Dunelm panel available here

To craft your advent calendar, as well as this panel you'll also need:

• Approx. 55cm x 82cm of 200g wadding

• Approx. 55cm x 82cm of backing fabric

• 50cm of Ribbon or Twine to hang

• Thread to sew, either by hand and with a sewing machine

• Optional - pom-poms or other trimmings to decorate

Tools used:

Iron

Pins

1. Cut out the main gnome panel round the dotted line.

2. Using the gnome panel as a template, cut out backing fabric and wadding to the same size.

3. Cut out the numbered squares at the bottom of the panel, these will be the pockets.

4. On each individual number square, fold the seam allowance back by 1cm on all sides and press.

5. Edge stitch across the top of each number square using 0.5cm seam allowance.

TIP – ‘chain stitch’ the number pieces to save time!

6. Line up each number pocket square with the matching number on the main panel. Sew both sides and bottom edge to the panel, leaving the top edge open.

7. Adhere the wadding to the backing fabric. Place right sides together onto the front panel. Pin in place.

8. Stitch with a 1cm seam allowance around the entire edge leaving a small 10cm gap on one side of the gnome’s hat for turning through.

9. Taking care not to cut through the stitching, trim back the seam allowance and slip into the points to give a neater finish.

10. Turn the panel through the gap and press. Fold the seams of the gap in and press.

11. Hand sew the opening closed using a blind hem stitch.

12. Decorate the gnome if you wish! I’ve added white pompoms to the sleeve cuffs, trousers and beard.

13. Sew or glue a piece of ribbon or twine to the back of the advent calendar to hang.

14. Now you can fill with treats and get ready to countdown to Christmas!

Fabric commission from The Bee Fabric Co and Dunelm to create this project