DIY Countdown to Christmas Pillow Tutorial

I have a thing for counting down to any event. This time I bring you this DIY Countdown to Christmas Pillow. A full tutorial.

We already own a Dollar Tree Bucket Advent Calendar, and a billion Hershey Kiss Boards and now I am making a knock-off version of a retired Ballard Designs Advent Calendar Pillow?

I know! I know! Sounds like I have a countdown sickness. There is just something thrilling about making the days special to me I guess.

Back in 2011 Ballard Designs had this adorable pillow that I fell in love with.

Source: Ballard Designs

At $69 I thought I would try to give it a whirl myself.

Supplies you need:

• 20″ of black ticking fabric 
• Sewing machine
• Black thread
• Ecru colored thread
• Pins
• Burlap (Jo-Ann)
• Martha Stewart Crafts Fabric Medium 
• Martha Stewart Craft Beetle Black Paint 
• Red Ticking Fabric
• Stamps or stencil for numbers
• ruler
• foam brush
• needle
• poly-fill

How To Make the DIY Countdown to Christmas Pillow

Step 1

Cut one 19″ x 19″ piece, and two 19″ x 13″ pieces from the black ticking fabric. 

Also cut five 2 1/2″ x 19″ pieces of natural colored burlap.

Step 2

Ballards serged the edges of the burlap. Since I didn’t own a serger at the time I just used a satin stitch on the long edges of my burlap.

Step 3

I used a pencil and a ruler and marked where the numbers would be stamped.

It is easiest to find the middle of your burlap first and then measure out.  I stamped evenly spaced every 3″.

Step 4

Then I mixed some fabric medium with some black paint. 

Using a foam brush I painted the backs of my foam stamps and then stamped.

Step 5

Using a ruler I evenly spaced out my burlap strips leaving 1 1/2″ on the top and bottom and about 1″ between the other strips and pinned it all in place. 

Then I sewed the bottoms of the burlap onto the 19″ square ticking fabric.

Step 6

Then I sewed the pockets between the numbers using those pencil marks I made before as my guide.

Step 7

After I sewed them all and cut all the loose threads I made the back of my pillow envelope style. 

I pressed the 19″ edge under 1″ and then 1″ again and pressed it flat.

Then I sewed it down. I did that with both pieces.

Step 8

With right sides together I pinned the pillow front and the back in place overlapping the two pieces in the back.

Step 9

Then I sewed it up and clipped the corners when I was done. Last I added an 18″ pillow form.

Step 10

Then I needed to make the little stuffed candy cane. I just cut two candy cane shaped pieces of red ticking fabric on the bias to create the look of a peppermint candy cane. 

Then I sewed them together right sides together leaving an opening at the bottom of the candy cane. 

Turn right side out, stuff with polyfill and hand stich the bottom closed.

I love it and my kids think it is so fun to move the candy cane from day to day.

Here is another Advent Calendar idea from pails from the Dollar Tree …

The Anti-Treat Advent Calendar