How to Glue the 40 Day Pocketed Calendar

Very easy craft project to make a 40-day countdown calendar for Advent and/or Lent. Cut-out-and-GLUE fabric can be ordered from St. Tabitha's Workshop (link below). Finished product will help your family track progress through the major fasts of the liturgical year, and is made with a super soft, durable polyester velvet! Each pocket has the countdown number on the outside, and the date or the day on the inside so you don't have to constantly count the days on your paper calendar to figure out where you left off. Pockets are big enough for the "Welcoming the Christ Child" ornament set for Advent, and strong enough to collect change while doing the Food For Hungry People Lenten fundraising calendar. The fabric also allows for using the stickers from the Pascha Passport, with easy removal after Pascha. Photos below show the Lent calendar, but instructions work for both Lent and Advent calendars since they have the same parts.

 

Materials

Equipment

Sewing Instructions

First: Prepare the fabric

1. Machine wash the fabric on gentle with cool water. Fabric does not fray, but some pile from the edges of the fabric will come off in the wash.

2. Machine dry on low or permanent press; remove promptly to prevent wrinkles.

Second: Cut out the fabric

1. Cut out the backing (solid red/purple with dates/days and horizontal lines) along the edge of the solid color.

2. Cut out the 8 strips of five squares along the black lines surrounding the patterned squares so that you cut off the 1/4" border of solid red/purple.

3. Cut out the blue square with the star, or the blue Annunciation tile and the candle (leave some white fabric around the candle).

4. Cut out the banner pennants.

 

Third: Make the Calendar

1. Lay the top strip (40-39-38-37-36) face down, and apply thin lines of glue to the back of the vertical lines, left/right of the strip, and bottom of the strip. Do not apply glue to the top of the strip.

 

2. Place the strip onto the backing so the bottom just barely covers the top horizontal line. Gently press the strip onto the backing where the glue is.

 

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 until all eight strips are attached.

4. Hanging sheath: turn the calendar so it is face down, then fold the top toward the back so that it is flush with the top row of pockets. You can try to iron it with a polyester setting, or pin it flat. Apply a thin line of glue to the edge (so that it makes a sheath) and gently press and hold so that the fabric adheres. It may take some work to get it straight and stuck. 

 

 

Fourth: Make the Placeholder

1. Trim around the star/candle so that it will glue nicely to the popsicle stick.

2. Glue the star/candle to a popsicle stick. 

Fifth: Make the Banner

1. Set out the pennants in order with the corners touching. Lay the ribbon down along the top of the pennants to decide how much you need to attach all the pennants and to hang it where you want to (icon corner, door, Christmas tree, mantle, etc). About 6" of ribbon extending from each end is a good amount to tie a simple knot on a nail. Cut the ribbon.

2. Adults only: very slightly singe the end of the ribbon if it is made of synthetic material to prevent it from fraying. Otherwise, try to glue the edge back to itself.

3. Fold the ribbon in half and crease it to mark your middle point, then lay it down with the nice side facing down.

4. Lay your pennants down so that they are backwards ("AHCSAP") and facing down.

5. Starting in the middle, put a line of glue on the ribbon, then attach the top of a pennant to the ribbon. Move from the center out to the ends, being careful not to put glue past your pennants.


Annunciation Tile (Lent Calendar)

"Stick" the tile to the Lent Calendar pocket where March 25th/April 7th falls during Lent for the current season. Use a sewing pin, a small clip, two magnets, etc, if you need added security.

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