Sew Advent Calendar Gift Bag - Free Tutorial

My Advent pouches are sewn as a single layer—meaning they are unlined—and closed with a simple drawstring. Finished size: approx. 9 x 13 cm. 

Let’s get started! 

For 24 pouches, 1 meter of fabric (with a fabric width of 1.10 meters) will be plenty. For my calendars, I bought 25 cm each of four different fabrics, and I even had a few scraps left over for myself at the end :) Of course, you can also sew the pouches to your own preferred dimensions.

First, take the strip of fabric for the drawstring casing and press the short edges 1 cm toward the inside; then, secure them in place with a line of stitching.

Fold the strip lengthwise with the left sides together:

Place it centrally onto the main piece with the raw edge facing upward, and sew it on using a zigzag stitch. This prevents the seam from fraying later.

Fold back the casing and press the seam. It will then look like this:

The pouch is now folded with the right sides together, and the open bottom and side edges are sewn shut. To prevent the pouch from coming apart with repeated use, the seam allowance can be trimmed using pinking shears or finished with a zigzag stitch.

Now turn the pouch inside out and, using a safety pin, thread a ribbon (35–40 cm worked best for me) through the opening.

The bags are finished. A quick tip: to speed up the sewing process, try working in a small assembly-line fashion. For the drawstring casing, you can easily press the edges, topstitch them, and then cut the fabric into strips. 

Before you start sewing, decide how you want to number your bags—perhaps using paper tags, buttons, or stamps? 

The final calendar design features small, sewn-on pieces of cork that can be labeled. Just be sure to stitch these on before you sew the bags themselves together.