Make a Fabric Christmas Countdown Chain Before December 1st

Hello, my quilty friends!

December 1st is coming up fast, which means it's almost time to hang up our Countdown Chain! 🎄

I released my Pre-cuts Countdown Chain pattern back in 2018, and we've pulled out the same chain every Christmas since. It's modeled after those paper chains we made as kids, where you tear off a link every day until Christmas. But mine is fabric, and the links close with Velcro. So instead of tearing one off, the kids pull a link off each day and we save it. After Christmas the whole thing packs away small, and it's ready to go again next year.

Even after all these years my girls still get SO excited to take off that first link. 😍 (One year I was in such denial about how close Christmas was that I stopped reminding them to take their links off. 😂)

If you want a chain of your own up by December 1st, here's what I'd do:

Grab a pre-cut. One Jelly Roll or one Layer Cake makes up to 80 links, and 7 fat quarters make up to 42. That's way more than you need for December, so you'll have plenty left for a second chain.

Or dig into your Christmas scraps. Each link only takes a little strip of fabric, so this is a great way to use up the bits left over from your Christmas quilts.

Pick up fleece and Velcro. You'll need Pellon 987F fusible fleece (one package makes up to 36 links) and 3/4" sew-on Velcro (1.5 yards makes up to 36 links).

Hang it on the tree. If you make extra links, it makes the cutest Christmas tree garland too!

Make one to give. Make a chain for your grandkids this year and you'll be the favorite grandma for sure. 😉

And it doesn't have to be just for Christmas. You can make 31 links for October and count down to Halloween, or make one for a birthday.

Back when the pattern first came out, Jen (@heritage.threads) hosted a sew-along for it and made TEN sets of 25 links! 🙌 You can read more about how this pattern got started in my original Countdown Chain post.

Get the Pre-cuts Countdown Chain pattern here. Download the PDF and get started today, and you'll have it hanging by December 1st!

If you make one, tag me @makervalley so I can see it!

Happy sewing, my quilty friends!
🩵 Holly