CHRISTMAS IN JULY--A BEARY MERRY CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR WITH TUTORLIAL AND SPECIALTY LINKS

STORY OF THIS PROJECT

I just recently completed another Christmas sewing project. I have shared our Beary Merry Christmas advent calendar that my friend, Sheri Renae, made for us in the 80s when my boys were young. It is such a fun tradition, and it has been through all of our Christmases since then. When we received it, I had four little boys. To keep the peace, I started on December 1st with the youngest boy to move "Beary" to the area he was looking for Christmas at that day. On December 2nd, the next youngest moved it and so on till December 24th, when Beary found Christmas in the living room! Beary has a Velcro patch on his back and there are 24 Velcro patches on the calendar. 

We still have the panel hung up by November 30th so the grandkids can start moving little Beary thru the month on December 1st.

My youngest son, Aaron, sent me a link to purchase the panel last year; he had found it on Etsy. I hadn't seen the panel for sale EVER so I was quite excited. I did make that purchase, bought some backing fabric and some embellishments, then had the advent calendar ready for him and his family in early December (he didn't send me the link till sometime around Thanksgiving). 

Since I was able to purchase the fabric panel, I decided to order more and make them for Christmas-giving! I will add links at the end of this post so you can find the panel if you like.

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SUPPLIES NEEDED

One Beary Merry Christmas Fabric Panel

Backing fabric (as below)

Batting to fit panel/backing fabric (this is optional if you don't want to make the finished product "fluffy")

Sewing thread to match

Embellishments to add to finished product (optional)

A wooden dowel or curtain rod to display the panel

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SEWING THE PANEL, BATTING, AND BACKING FABRIC

The panel measures 36" x 42".  You will need to order a backing fabric to match/coordinate with the panel. Since my choices of fabrics are limited in my area, I ordered 2 yards of 

44" wide cotton fabric. 2 yards are more than enough but when I order from Michael's, you can only order full yards, no 1/2, etc. I also tend to wash my fabric beforehand. I have never had to wash our Beary Merry Christmas panel or bear but one never knows!

Cut off the part of the panel that has the bear pattern and instructions (this isn't included in the size of the advent calendar panel). Cut out the Bear and follow instructions to sew together.

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I added small plastic black eyes to my Beary but you don't have to. I also used Velcro to attach the bear to the various areas on the calendar.

The above instructions are for just the panel, with no batting or backing. Totally up to you if you want to go further.

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS

I do add the batting in between the panel and backing fabric for a more finished look. I could explain it to you further but this YouTube video LINK. from the Sewing Room channel demonstrates how to place your fabrics together, cut them, sew them and then turn them right-side out. Very helpful! **To add hanging loops on your advent calendar, you will need to add the loops on before you sew the entire thing together. Here is a link to a HANGING LOOP tutorial from Chatterbox Quilts on YouTube that is quite helpful. **Don't worry--if you forget to sew the loops on as you sew the fabrics together, you can always hand sew loops on to the backing fabric (I have been there, done that). You can also add a hanging sleeve if you prefer that to loops--watch HERE at My Sewing Room.

Here are the loops that I made:

I added three loops across the width of the panel. 

OPTIONAL TRIM OR EMBELLISHMENTS

Once the sewing is completed, I chose to add embellishments to the front scene of the calendar. You don't have to and you can add as much or as little as you like. Some are easily sewn on or you can use fabric glue to attach them.

This is my backing and loop fabric.

The above embellishments aren't attached-- I would hope I have a better eye for such things, lol.

I added small white fuzzy balls to the winter beanies and a small resin Gingerbread Boy to the kitchen hutch.

I used these small red gems and fabric glue to attach as tree ornaments. You can also see the Velcro where Beary will be attached when the appropriate day comes! The little present was part of a bag of Christmas embellishments that I ordered from Amazon.

I love the added stocking on the staircase 💖

The small wreath adds a nice touch, too!

The finished product, except I see I forgot to add Beary--oops!

Links for the Beary Merry Christmas Panel:

AMAZON

AMAZON 2

ETSY

There are other sellers and if you do a search online, I am sure that you can find more sources. I am just so glad that my son found these panels available again. 

If you have any questions that I can assist you with, please comment or you can email me at momandchicks@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by!