A tree skirt wrapped around the base of your Christmas tree not only covers the tree stand, but also provides a decorative mat to place gifts on. Department and craft stores carry a wide variety of tree skirts around Christmas time that come with a wide variety of price tags. Make your own tree skirt this year for a fraction of the cost of a store-bought skirt. Does this Spark an idea?
Cutting Tree Skirts
When you purchase fabric from a fabric store it generally comes in one of two widths: either 45 inches or 60 inches. You can look at the sticker on the top of the piece of cardboard the fabric is wrapped around to find the width. Purchase a square piece of fabric in either width. So, if your fabric is 45 inches wide, then purchase a 45-inch cut of it. If it is 60 inches wide, purchase a 60-inch cut.
Fold your fabric into quarters with the wrong side facing out. Trim the folded fabric from open edge to open edge in an arch. Unfold the fabric to reveal a circle. Trace the top of a drinking glass onto the center of the circle with tailor's chalk. Cut from the outside edge of the circle into the small circle. Cut the small circle out. You now have a basic tree skirt.
Fleece
Purchase two squares of fleece. Solid-color fleece is usually on sale around Christmas because many people like to make fleece throws to give as gifts. Cut the basic tree skirt from both pieces of fleece. Cut a 1-inch wide, 4-inch-deep fringe along the outer edge of both pieces. Tie the corresponding pieces of fringe together. Repeat the process along the inside edge. You now have a homemade tree skirt that costs less than the fancy ones in the store, and about the same as the cheapest versions that leave much to be desired.
Felt
Felt is one of the least expensive fabric options for a tree skirt. Felt will offer a thickness somewhere between the fleece tree skirt and the quilting cotton tree skirt at a price that is less than either. Cut your basic tree skirt from your felt. You can stop there or you can go on to dress it up a bit. Add the family's handprints to the felt with some inexpensive fabric paint. Sew a decorative fabric strip along the outer edge of the felt tree skirt to make it look more expensive. You may even glue on rhinestone embellishments. You can make your own felt tree skirt, even with some inexpensive embellishments, for less than most of the cheapest store-bought skirt options.
Quilting Cotton
If you have ever wandered through a fabric store and admired all the playful, adorable or sophisticated prints on quilting cotton fabric and wished you had a project for them, now is your chance. Quilting cotton is inexpensive, easy to work with and comes in a wide variety of prints and colors. Purchase two square pieces of the cotton fabric --- get at least one in a solid to save money. Cut your basic tree skirt from the two pieces; stack the pieces before you cut them so they line up when you are done. Place the two pieces together, right sides facing each other, and sew along all the edges, leaving only a 6-inch opening somewhere. Turn the piece right side out and slip stitch the 6-inch opening closed. You now have an inexpensive tree skirt that is a true reflection of your personality. You can, of course, add decorative trim in the seams, such as rickrack, when you are putting the skirt together. Embellish the fabric's print with fabric paint or rhinestones. You might even add some buttons along the edge. This basic tree skirt will cost you about the same as the fleece skirt.
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