Table of Contents

Introduction 6
Materials & tools 8
Making the calendar 12
The Toys 20
Basic techniques 22
Glove 24
Poinsettia 26
Christmas tree 28
Candy cane 30
Rabbit 32
Brown bear 34
Robin 36
Elf 38
Squirrel 41
Teddy bear 42
Reindeer 44
Owl 46
Snowman 48
Gingerbread house 50
Fox 53
Gingerbread man 56
Elephant 58
Angel 60
Penguin 63
Cat in stocking 64
Holly wreath 66
Toy soldier 68
Santa’s girl 72
Santa 76

About the Author

Sachiyo Ishii was born and raised in Japan. She was a money broker on Wall Street and in London before discovering the joy of handicraft after her second son was born. She learned dressmaking and Waldorf doll making and has been designing and creating dolls and toys ever since. She teaches knitting, doll making, wet and dry felting, sewing, crochet and spinning, among other crafts. She has authored a number of titles for Search Press and her work regularly appears in knitting magazines. Sachiyo lives in Sussex with her husband and two sons. Visit her website at www.knitsbysachi.com.

Reviews

This is a soft plasticised backed book, with quality paper, that won't fall apart through use. The book is very thorough. everything is covered in depth, the tools required, the stitches to use and details of how to sew them. The material for each toy is itemised, along with templates, diagrams and photos are also shown step by step along with the instructions.
All the toys are hand sewn, and not difficult to make apart from a few small pieces. Children could make the toys with adult supervision for Christmas tree decorations, or stream similar to bunting.
The book recommends tracing paper to transfer the designs to make the templates. Freezer Paper is an alternative if you can get it.
A good Christmas Craft Book to make a Forever Advent Calendar and also Christmas Tree Decorations.
*Customer review*

Sew your own felt advent calendar, with 24 cute little felt toys to delight your family in the run up to Christmas
*Sew Magazine*

The author shows crafters how to create a basic calendar and provides easy step-by-step instructions and templates for tiny felt toys to place in its pockets. Each item, can be made using a few pieces of felt, stuffing, thread and ribbons. The calendar can be stored away and brought out year after year.
*Craft Focus Magazine Dec 2018/Jan 2019*

Make an advent calendar out of felt and fill the pockets with twenty-four cute felt toys. It will become a favorite Christmas decoration for years to come, and is simple and fun to make even for sewing novices and children. As each day of advent dawns you can add a toy into a numbered pocket until they are all full up and it is Christmas Day. The wee toys can also be made separately to hang on a tree, use as bunting or give as tiny gifts. Most of the items you need to make this are sewing basics, plus the felt and some foam board to back the calendar and make it sturdier. I like the way that this can be omitted if you want to roll it up, meaning that it is suitable for whatever storage method you use for your decorations. The calendar base is simple to make and well explained through words and diagrams plus a few photographs. Each toy has written instructions, templates, a list of what you need in metric and imperial plus a photograph of the finished item. The toys are quite fiddly being small but not difficult to construct, although I think that if you have never picked up a needle before it would be best to invest in a book for beginners first. One thing you won’t need is a sewing machine as it is all done by hand, making it the sort of project ideal for groups or families on long autumn nights. It is easy to select which toy you want to make as there is a handy selector at the front with thumbnail photographs. Choose from seasonal characters like Santa, elf or Rudolph, wildlife favorites owl, bear and robin or Christmas symbols like a gingerbread man, candy cane, wreath etc. Put together it all looks most impressive, and even the book will put you in a festive mood as every page has a snowflake pattern on it. A lovely book that is sure to appeal to a wide range of crafters.
*myshelf.com*

Sew your own advent calendar, with 24 cute little felt toys to delight your family in the run up to Christmas. Best-selling author Sachiyo Ishii starts by showing you how to make the basic calendar, and then provides easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions and templates for 24 tiny felt toys to place in the pockets. These cute little Christmas-themed projects are quick to make using just a few pieces of felt, stuffing, thread and ribbons, and make perfect little gifts for children and adults alike.
*The Collection 2018*

if you'd rather stick to smaller makes rather than diving into lots of big projects, why not create a custom advent calendar for someone you love? Not only is it a gift that'll be cherished this year, but it can be kept and reused as a festive heirloom in the future, too. Sachiyo Ishii's Sew Your Own Felt Advent Calendar not only show you how to make the basic hanging calendar, but also provides easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions and templates for 24 tiny felt toys to place in each pocket. 
*Sew Magazine*

Such a beautiful book. Tells you what materials you need, which is good, so you can gather all you need before you start. Clear step by step instructions as well as lovely colourful photographs. This is a project you can do with children and I am sure they would love it. You can make extras for , Christmas broaches for guests on Christmas day, also by adding some ribbon you can hang on your Christmas tree. You are making an heirloom that will come out year after year.    
*Customer review*

What a great book. This is something I'm going to make along with my grandchildren during the school summer holidays as most of the sewing is basic. The instructions are so easy to follow along with pictures in stages. All the templates are in the book which you trace . The figures are beautiful and the grandchildren will use the calendar every Christmas knowing they helped to make them.  
*Customer review*

Received this lovely book a couple of days ago and have already started to cut out the felt pieces for the different characters. The instructions are clear and concise with some photo instructions too. These are ideal to cut out, pop in a bag with needle and thread and take for those moments when you are twiddling your thumbs..hospital appointments, waiting to collect children etc. For those not keen on sewing the instructions suggest gluing some elements, however to make it a little more durable I intend to sew in order to secure better. Love it!  
*Customer review*

Lucky to be reviewing this book for search press.The book is a lovely introductory to felt craft easy to follow instructions and such small fun Christmas characters to fill your advent calendar,the templates for the Christmas characters are the size you need (so no need to photocopy just trace) very clear instructions, I’m sure when you’ve made one complete advent calendar it won’t be your last. Even if you have basic sewing skills you will fine this quite enjoyable and have it to treasure for years to come.  
*Customer review*

I knew Sachiyo Ishii designed knitting patterns but I didn't realise she also sews. The book first caught my attention because of the cute penguin in the top corner. The book is very clearly laid out with the advent calendar instructions first & then the toys to fill the pockets. The instructions are easy to follow, although the toys seem to be of varying levels but I think all are achievable. I have only made one so far (yes, it was a penguin!) but it came together quite quickly. I found some of the smaller pieces tricky, but not impossible, to cut out. All templates are full size, which is always a plus in my book.
I think you could easily make a beautiful family heirloom using these patterns, and the toy patterns would also make decorations with the addition of hanging loops.
*Customer review*

I love this book. Its full of patterns to make little characters for an advent calendar or you can make them bigger for tree decorations. You need to copy the pattern pieces out of the book but the instructions are clear and not over complicated. I can see me using them for gifts for many years.  
*Customer review*