Advent calendar, a squirrel with a wardrobe

This year I thought lets do an Advent calendar that is a bit different, something a lot of fun but also gave me a lot of work :) A soft toy with its own wardrobe!

This summer I borrowed a book from the library that had a pattern of a squirrel in, Kiki asked if I could make it for her. I traced the pattern, cut out the fabric and it then disappeared in a basket until a few weeks ago when I was looking for something to do on a long train journey. I made the squirrel and while I was hand stitching it thought wouldn’t this make a nice Advent calendar? Instead of small presents or a chocolate, every day could be an item of clothing or an accessory. So I started making clothing, so much fun! Have a look at the video

We are 5 days into the calendar now and Kiki is absolutely loving it! So far her favourite outfit is the furry coat but I can’t wait for her to open the parcel with the little trolley and the shoes.

I still need to make 3 outfits so box 22, 23 and 24 aren’t filled yet. Any ideas on what to make?

I found these lovely craft paper houses at Tiger, they are perfect to hold all of Eki’s presents. Eki is what Kiki called the squirrel, Eki is short for eekhoorn, the Dutch word for squirrel.

This might be a nice idea for a handmade Christmas or birthday present too. A soft toy in one parcel and lots of other little gift with items of clothing. If you don’t fancy making your own toy there are lots of beautiful fabric dollies out there, I saw some lovely ones at Zara home, or check out Vinted, Ebay or your local charity/thrift shop.

What kind of soft toy animal would you make?