A William Morris Advent Calendar

10th November 2019

We absolutely love the advent calendar trend emerging, luxury brands bringing out mini and full sized products within elaborately decorated calendars. However, not only are they expensive, but it’s not always the case that you’d want every item. So – we couldn’t help but think, why not make our own?

So enter our latest craft project; a Strawberry Thief advent calendar made using our William Morris fabric. Creating them from fabric also means they’re more eco friendly, use them year after year for your advents or reuse them for a multitude of ideas. When you’re packing your suitcase – use them as packing bags to keep everything organised – separating your dirty socks from your clean dress! You could use them as dust bags for your shoes or your handbags. The list goes on!

Using 24 little bags, we bought lots of little gifts for a treat everyday in December. You can go as premium as you want with these, from what we’ve found, it’s hard to think of 24 gifts, so some are chocolate bars, some are more luxury gifts – but we won’t give spoilers incase the one that will be opening the gifts reads this!

You will need:

2.5m of Strawberry Thief Red fabric (or any other of our collection you like!)
2 packs of ribbon – around 9.14m reels
Frey check
1 reel of wire edge ribbon
Sewing kit
Sewing machine
Battery operated fairy lights – we used 5 sets but will depend on how many you like and how big your advent area is
24 gifts – all wrapped in tissue/ wrapping paper

How to make the advent calendar:

Let’s start with the bags themselves, we did three sizes. Start with a 2.5m length of fabric and from this, we cut 8 large bags. These were 56cm wide by 42cm high. We cut two across the width of the fabric. Save the waste down the side for the smaller bags.
Next, for the medium size bags, cut these 8 – 38cm wide x 30cm high – we got 4 across the width of the fabric
For the bows, there is excess fabric which measures- 14cm high x 146cm long
Next let’s cut the 8 small bags- 35cm wide by 21cm high. These were cut from the remaining fabric.
Once all the pieces are cut, we next turn a 1cm hem at the top of all the bags.
Cut the ribbon to tie – 24 pieces of 80cm each is what we did. Cut them to a point and then coat the ends with fray check so that they stay perfect and don’t fray, this ensures you can use it in years to come.
Place your piece of fabric flat on the table and lay your ribbon on top – pattern upwards. Then fold your fabric pattern to pattern to make a pocket shape and then, making sure to catch in the ribbon so that you can hang the bag. You can refer to the photo below to help you with this step. Double hem along the bottom for structure.

Repeat 23 times with all sizes of bags. We kept the same length of ribbon on each so that each could be attached to our stair banister.

Each bag should now be hemmed and stitched along the bottom and also inside out, so now you need to go back and turn them all the right way round so the pattern is visible.
To finish the bags, we stuck adhesive felt numbers onto the bottom right of the bags so that it’s clear which day of the advent each bag is. You could alternatively safety pin little twine tags onto each bag to make them slightly more twee! Ours were from Hobbycraft.

To make the bow – we used wire edged ribbon for inside the fabric (ours was 6.5cm wide.) Put this inside the length of the excess fabric we kept earlier – turn one edge and hem it so it’s hemmed along the edge and covers the ribbon. Make sure it’s pointed at both ends so that when you tie your bow, it looks nice and neat!

Wrap each present in tissue paper or wrapping paper and then pop them inside each bag so there’s a present in each.
To finish, simply dress the bannister or area you’re putting your advent calendar on – we used an M&S Christmas garland that has berries and lights and pine cones on it which really finishes it all off. We then added a couple of packets of battery operated lights to really finish the entire project off!

There you have it – your very own William Morris advent calendar! Whilst we made it with Strawberry Thief Red, you could make it with any of our Morris collection, or even use a few different designs! We’d say a few that stand out as more Christmas themed for us would be Strawberry Thief blue, Brother Rabbit, Golden Lily and Sweet Briar.

If you make an advent calendar of your own, we would absolutely love to see it! Please send us photos to our email: [email protected] or tag us on social media!

It’s coming home! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 To celebrate, take 15% off our website all weekend with code: HOME at checkout ⚽️ Hurry it ends Tuesday 🌿
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#williammorris #england #itscominghome⚽️ #britishbusiness #floralprint

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The latest project, a little quilted jacket! ✨ Our William Morris Merton Blue cotton fabric is looking gorgeous, we’ll show you it when it’s finished ☺️ Remember if you’re quilting, our cotton fabric is perfect for the projects and we have lots of complimenting designs and colour ways within our range! 🪡
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#merton #quiltedjacket #quiltingfabric #quiltingfabrics #fabricstack

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We’re often asked what the different weights of our fabrics are and what projects they’d be good for. These are our three different types of fabrics in our Brother Rabbit red colourway - cotton on the right, heavyweight in the middle and pvc on the left ✨ As you can see on the second photo, and as the name suggests, our heavyweight fabric has a thicker, heavier weave which makes it good for projects such as curtains and light upholstery 🪡 Our cotton fabric is perfect for quilting and projects such as dress making but honestly the amount of crafts that can be made out of them both are endless! 🫶🏻 Our pvc fabric is great to put straight on the table as it won’t fray so doesn’t need a hem and is easy to maintain as it’s wipe clean! All our fabrics are sold by the half metre and if you’d like a sample of any of our fabrics in any weight just let us know and we’ll get a free sample sent to you! 💌
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#williammorris #cottonfabric #quiltingfabric #curtainfabric #ukfabric

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Our William Morris range is a gorgeous mix of colours and florals, which is your favourite? In some designs such as Strawberry Thief, Brother Rabbit, Willow Bough and Mallow we have different colour ways that we digitally print in the UK so check our website for the full range! 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #preraphaelite #quiltingfabric #fatquarters #britishbusiness

Perhaps the most famous Morris design, Strawberry Thief was registered in 1883, inspired by Morris watching the thrushes stealing strawberries from under his fruit nets at the beautiful @kelmscottmanor 🍓 It was printed using the indigo dye technique, which was labour intensive and first attempted in 1875 but not perfected for 8 years 🎨 We also print Strawberry Thief in a beautiful red 🫶🏻
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#strawberrythief #historicdesigns #britishdesign #kelmscottmanor

Gorgeous Golden Lily, designed in 1897, it’s been a timelessly popular design ever since but did you know that it really increased in popularity in the 1960s when the Beatles George Harrison wore a Golden Lily shirt? ✨
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#goldenlily #wmorris #georgeharrison #englishsummer #englishdesign

Daisy is a special one to many as it was the second ever design Morris created, in 1864, made up of repeating drawn Meadow Daisies 🌼
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#morrisandco #preraphaelite #preraphaelites #daisy #daisydesign

We print Willow Bough in this beautiful blue and also in green 🌿 First designed in 1887, it was first produced as a wallpaper design which May Morris, Williams daughter, used to decorate her bedroom before being adapted for fabric in 1895 when it was block printed in Merton Abbey 🌿
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#maymorris #mertonabbey #mertonabbeymills #willowbough

Trellis is a special design as it was the first wallpaper he designed for his company, Morris & Co. In 1864 🌿 It was inspired by the rose trellis in the garden of his stunning home @redhousent that he co designed with his friend and architect, Philip Webb
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#philipwebb #redhouse #trellis #rosetrellis

We print Mallow in a wine colourway and this beautiful forest green colour ✨ It was first printed in 1879 and used to hang in the wonderful Arts & Crafts home, @standennt in the Croxley bedroom 🫶🏻
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#a

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you’ve got to make everything an event, including breakfast! 🥐
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On the table;
Willow Bough blue placemats- £38.99
Willow Bough blue napkins- £20.99 ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #willowbough #preraphaelites #floralhome

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Have you seen our forest green colourways of Mallow and Brother Rabbit? 🌿 We brought them out last year and were so happy that they’re ever so popular with everyone 💚 This week we’ve also got a 10% discount running on our website with code: floralsummer 🌅
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #wmorris #williammorrisdesign #preraphaelite

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Did you know all our fabrics are printed and all our products manufactured in the UK? 🤍 It’s important to us that our William Morris fabrics are all high quality and the printed colours all beautiful to ensure all his designs live on timelessly to a high standard 🇬🇧
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Products featured; our Daisy William Morris tea towel - £10.99 ✨
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#williammorris #wmorris #morris #floralteatowel #floralhome

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A moment for the greens! 💚 Can you name all these beautiful green William Morris designs? 🌿 All digitally printed here in the UK 🇬🇧 The good thing seeing them all together is you can see which work together for a sewing project or quilt, or layered together for your next tablescape! 🫧
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #preraphaelites #floralfabrics

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Did you know we do bundles of our fabric offcuts? 🌿 Perfect for sewer and quilters, they’re various sizes and designs and available on our Etsy and website - this is our latest “almost fat quarter” bundle that all are almost 50cm pieces, you could even make double sided cushions or anything! What would you create? 🪡🧵 (message us if you’d like a link to our bundles!🫧)
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#williammorris #fatquarters #fatquarterbundle #preraphaelite #quiltingcotton

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With this hot weather upon us, if you’re like us and using it to get all your washing out and dry, we thought we’d tell you our washing guidelines! 🫧 We’d recommend folding your fabric face to face when in the wash (so pattern side to pattern side!) to protect the print and then wash at 30 degrees, hang on the line to dry! 🧺 All our fabrics are digitally printed in the UK and products manufactured in the UK 🇬🇧
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#williammorris #goldenlily #flowerscape #wmorris #preraphaelite

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All our wonderful William Morris fabrics are digitally printed here in the UK, creating high quality print in incredible colour ways, if you’re quilting and crafting from our cotton and heavyweight cotton fabrics, we thought it’d be handy to have all the pattern repeats in an easy to save post ☺️
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#williammorris #craftingfabric #quiltingfabric #floralfabrics #patternfabric

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Merton in blue is one of the most beautiful William Morris designs, a timeless blue and white, it was first designed in 1888!
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#williammorris #wmorris #morrisdesign #merton #preraphaelite

If you’d like a sample of Merton, just send us a message and we’ll get one sorted out for you!
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#williammorris #floralfabric #blueandwhite #blueandwhitefabric #tablescape

Have you seen Merton before? It’s so underrated as a Morris design we think! It was actually the first design that he printed on rotary screens under the name “Morris & Co.” After their rebrand from “Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.’” 🌿 We’re just appreciating it during peony season!
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#peony #peonyseason #morris #morrisandco #preraphaelites

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Taking a closer look at beautiful Lily design, a timeless design Morris designed in 1874, if you’d like a sample of Lily, just let us know! 💌
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The table details;
Lily napkins- £16.99 for 4
Lily tablecloths- starting from £29.99 depending on size
Also mentioned;
Lily cotton by the half metre- £9.25
Lily heavyweight cotton by the half metre- £10.25
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#williammorris #wmorris #preraphaelites #lily #quiltingcotton

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When cutting fabric stacks, we always wonder what is being made from them, we often get messages about quilts being stitched together with various tonal colours, curtains ready to be part of daily life or dresses being sewn to be worn to the next big event, so if you ever make anything from our fabrics- whether it be a huge project or a tiny one made of our scrap bundles, do let us know what you make! 🪡🧵
Can you name the designs within the photo? All sold by the half meter, £18.50 per metre of cotton, £20.50 per metre of heavyweight cotton 🫶🏻
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#williammorris #wmorris #morrisfabric #floralfabric #quiltingcotton

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Putting the spotlight on Mallow Forest Green, we love this design so much it’s so effortlessly beautiful, it’s been admired in homes for more than 147 years since William Morris designed it ✨
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The table details;
Mallow napkins- £16.99
Mallow tablecloths- starting at £29.99 depending on size
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#williammorris #weddingtablescape #weddingtableflowers #preraphaelites #artsandcraftsmovement

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Mid week tables require; a vase of gorgeous fresh flowers, as many sweet treats as you can get your hands on, and of course, a gorgeous tablecloth set- this Willow Bough blue is one of our all time favourite William Morris designs, it’s utterly timeless and so beautiful 🌿
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The table details;
Willow Bough blue napkins- £16.99
Willow Bough tablecloths- starting at £29.99 depending on size
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #willowbough #englishdesign #myfloralhome

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A little update from us 🇬🇧
From 1st July, our product prices will be increasing due to continued rises in manufacturing and material costs.
We’ve worked hard to absorb these increases for as long as possible, but to continue providing the quality you expect from us, a small price adjustment is now necessary.
Every product we create is proudly printed and manufactured here in the UK, using high-quality materials and processes that ensure a finish we’re proud of. Our fabrics are all digitally printed to give a crisp finish.
If you’ve been thinking about placing an order, now is the perfect time — all orders placed before 1st July will be at our current prices.
To thank you for your support, we’re offering an exclusive discount before the new prices take effect.
Use code: thankyou
Enjoy 10% off your order until 14th June
This is the perfect opportunity to place your order at current prices and enjoy an additional saving before the increase.
Thank you for supporting a UK small business and for choosing quality. We truly appreciate every order ❤️
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#uksmallbiz #madeintheuk #williammorris #fabricstore #floralfabric

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Aren’t these the most gorgeous blooms!! 🫶🏻 This is our William Morris Compton design and it’s so underrated as a design, it’s beautiful year round because all the different details can be brought out of it, pair it with springtime greens to pop the green tones or autumnal burnt oranges during the colder months, it’s so versatile! ✨ Swipe to see my little photoshoot gatecrasher 😂
All our products are digitally printed and manufactured in the UK 🇬🇧
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #compton #artsandcraftsmovement #cottagecorekitchen

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Bringing nature indoors, we our gorgeous oven gloves thrown over the cooker- a chic way to make something practical beautiful too! 🫶🏻
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#williammorrisfabric #williammorris #wmorris #floralkitchen #pimpernel

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Gorgeous postbox 📮 If you’d like a free sample of any of our fabrics just send us a message and we’ll get them sent out to you 💌 If you’re ordering from abroad, we will always take the parcel to the post office to make sure we’re comparing different postage methods to get the best postage prices for you- we’re wanting to spread the floral goodness global! Today I pottered to the post office to send a lovely pvc apron to Australia which is amazing that Morris is well known world wide! 🐨🦘🇦🇺
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #smallukbusiness #fabricdesign #postboxesofinstagram

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A William Morris Advent Calendar

You will need:

How to make the advent calendar:

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