Moda Fabrics Advent Calendar & Ornament Quilt - Downloadable PDF

Moda Fabrics Advent Calendar & Ornament Quilt Pattern Summary

This free downloadable PDF pattern from Moda Fabrics, designed by Alexia Marcelle Abegg and Melody Miller, guides quilters through creating a charming fabric Advent calendar complete with numbered pockets and coordinating ornaments. Ideal for the holiday season, this project combines traditional quilting construction with appliqué techniques to produce a functional and decorative piece that can be reused year after year.

What Is Being Made

The pattern covers two related holiday projects:

• An Advent Calendar: A wall-hanging style fabric calendar featuring 24 individual pockets, each numbered and sized to hold small gifts or treats. The pockets are arranged in rows across a calendar front, creating a festive countdown display.
• Ornaments: Coordinating fabric ornaments designed to complement the Advent calendar, making the set a cohesive holiday decoration.

Project Details and Construction Overview

The Advent calendar is built around a structured front panel onto which the numbered pockets are carefully positioned and attached. Each pocket is cut from assorted pocket fabrics and constructed as a pair of rectangles before being topstitched into place. The numbered appliqués give the calendar its functional countdown character and are created using a fusible web appliqué method.

Pocket Construction

• From assorted pocket fabrics, cut 24 pairs of rectangles, each measuring 3½" wide by 4" tall, for a total of 48 rectangles.
• Each pair of rectangles is sewn together to form a pocket unit, with a turning hole left for finishing.
• Pockets are laid out beginning with the top row, positioned 2¼" from the top edge of the calendar front, with the left-most pocket placed 2¾" in from the left edge.
• Within each row, pockets are spaced 1¼" apart.
• Each pocket is topstitched around three edges, stitching ⅛" inside the edge, leaving the top edge open to receive gifts or notes. Topstitching is secured with backstitching at the beginning and end of each seam.

Number Appliqués

• Number templates are provided on pages 4 and 7 of the PDF. When printing, the pattern specifies that the print scale must be set to 100% to ensure accurate sizing.
• Fusible web is placed over the number templates paper-side up. Because of the fusible web transfer process, the traced numbers will appear backwards on the paper — this is intentional and correct for the method.
• Each color section of the numbers is cut apart as one chunk before being fused onto the wrong side of the corresponding fabric, following the fusible web manufacturer's instructions.
• This technique — often called reverse appliqué tracing with fusible web — is a reliable intermediate-level skill that produces clean, precise fabric number shapes without fraying edges.

Techniques Used

• Fusible web appliqué for attaching numbered fabric pieces to pocket fronts
• Topstitching to secure pockets to the calendar front and close turning holes
• Backstitching at seam starts and ends for durability
• Template tracing and cutting using printed pattern pieces at 100% scale
• General quilting construction techniques including cutting, piecing, and pressing

Stitches Used

• Topstitch — used to attach pockets to the calendar front and finish edges cleanly
• Backstitch — used at the beginning and end of pocket topstitching for reinforcement
• Standard straight stitch construction seams for assembling pocket rectangles

Materials

This is a quilting and fabric craft project, so the primary materials are quilting cotton fabrics. The pattern calls for