Half Timbered Advent Calendar

I have always been a fan of half-timbered houses. The mixture of visible wooden beams and brick/stucco on the facade of these structures will forever feel like home - a part of Bavaria, Germany, called Franconia - to me. Some plain, some intricate, all enduring, and a testament of craftsmanship. There’s nothing quite like building something with your own two hands, is there?

The Half Timbered Advent Calendar features a mini half-timbered house on a fabric backdrop, along with tiny gift bags for little treats throughout advent. It was created in collaboration with my daughter-in-law who sewed the backdrop, as a gift to my 3-year-old granddaughter who picked the colours and will hopefully use the calendar throughout her childhood (I’ll be sure to fill it for her) and then pass it on to her own children one day.

I hope yours becomes a beloved family treasure for generations.

Construction

The advent house is knitted flat in one piece, then 24 small bags are knitted, and one larger bag (each in one piece, in the round); numbers from 1-25 are attached to the bags and drawstrings are added.
The backdrop is sewn with a stabilizer added between the fabric, and loops added to hang with a dowel. Then the advent house and d-rings are sewn onto it. Finally, the bags are tied to the d-rings; bags can be tied to the d-rings empty for storage or filled for use.
*This pattern does not include instructions for sewing the backdrop.*

Sizes

Advent House
17.5” / 44.5 cm width on the bottom and 19.5” / 49.5 cm height

Small Bag
2.25” / 5.75 cm width on the bottom and 2.25” / 5.75 cm height

Large Bag
3.25” / 8.25 cm width on the bottom and 3.25” / 8.25 cm height

Backdrop
24” / 61 cm width and 30” / 76 cm height (plus loops for hanging)

Yarn and Yardage

Advent House – MC (house)
Knit Picks Stroll [50 g (1.75 oz) / 231 yds (211 m); 75% fine superwash merino wool, 25% nylon; fingering weight] in Hollyberry; 1.5 skeins, 75g, 350 yds (320 m) used for sample Advent House – CC (roof)
Knit Picks Stroll [50 g (1.75 oz) / 231 yds (211 m); 75% fine superwash merino wool, 25% nylon; fingering weight] in Grizzly Heather; 0.5 skeins, 25g, 115 yds (105 m) used for sample
Bags
Knit Picks Hawthorne [100 g (3.5 oz) / 357 yds (326 m); 80% superwash fine highland wool, 20% polyamide; fingering weight] in Roaring Twenties; 1.3 skeins, 130g, 465 yds (425 m) used for 24 small bags and one large bag (5 g of yarn for a small bag and 10 g for the large bag).

Plus extra yarn from each colour to sew the house and d-rings onto the backdrop

Needles and Notions

US3 / 3.25 mm circular needles, 32” (81 cm) length recommended to be used for Advent House and bags (if bags are done with magic loop).
Alternatively, use a set of US3 / 3.25 mm DPN to knit the bags in the round.
Stitch markers (optional), to mark repeats.

Cable needle.
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.
D-Rings, 3⁄4” chrome.
Advent Calendar wooden number tags, 0.75” / 2 cm with one hole on top and one on the bottom (bought on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/730319963/advent-calendar- wooden-number-tags).
Ribbon, 3/8” / 9.5 mm, 25 pieces, each about 24” / 61 cm long
Dowel, 5/8” / 16 mm, 24” / 61 cm long.

Backdrop
2 metres (78.75”) Quilter’s Choice cotton, colour eggshell; width 44” / 112 cm
0.6 metres (24”) Flexi-Firm Double-Sided Fusible as stabilizer for fabric; width 29.5” / 75 cm (please note there are no instructions provided as how to sew the backdrop).

Gauge

Advent House
34 sts and 33 rows after gently blocking = 4” / 10cm.

Small Bag
8 sts and 10 rows after gently blocking = 1” / 2.5 cm.

Large Bag
7 sts and 10 rows after gently blocking = 1” / 2.5 cm