Three Cheap and Easy Ways to Make a Seamless Christmas Tree Skirt
Picking up a tree for Christmas can be an interesting project. A tree skirt will help hide the stand and give the tree a finished look. A skirt can also help cut down on some of the cleanup if you have natural wood by catching some needles. But finding a wood skirt that’s right for you, at a good price, can be tricky. Luckily, there are some good ways to make and customize a tree skirt without sewing.
tablecloth method
The easiest of the no-sew methods is to find a round tablecloth you like and make a few modifications to it. Any round tablecloth of the right size for the base of your tree will do. To make a tree skirt out of the tablecloth, cut a slit in the center so it can wrap around the base of your tree. To make the cut, fold the fabric in half once and then again so that it is a quarter of the original size and shaped like a pie slice. Use fabric scissors to cut one crease from the edge of the fabric to the point of your cake. Once the gap is cut, your cloth will be wrapped around the base of your tree. If the fabric your tablecloth is made of is a woven material such as flannel or cotton, you may need to trim the edges of the cut to prevent fraying. Use some of the edges to seal the edges, or you can use fabric glue to attach the bias tape to the edge.
Felt method
For a skirt that needs a little more cutting and customization, you can use felt to cut out the layered skirt. Since felt is a pressed fabric, it won’t fray at the edges, so you don’t need to fold it. Start with a piece of felt wide enough to cover the base of your tree with two contrasting colors. Fold both squares of fabric in quarters and mark the inside of each fold with a safety pin. Unfold the fabric and lay it out to cut out the circles. Starting with a safety pin, keep the rope tied or taped to a fabric marker in the center of your felt on the safety pin, with the other end to the edge of the intended circle. Using the thread as a compass, mark the curved edge.
If you can’t reach because the fabric is too wide, you may need an assistant to hold the middle for you. Then cut out circles from both pieces. You can fold it in four and make a snowflake design with a fabric marker on top. Cut out the template and cut slits in each circle so they can wrap around your tree. If it is too difficult to cut out all four layers of the pattern at once, cut out one quarter, fold over and trace the pattern as needed to transfer it to each layer as you go.
Tulle method
Using tulle as a tree skirt can add a fluffy, magical base to your tree without requiring any sewing. You will need a piece of tape and about 8 times more tulle than the area under the tree. Eight or ten yards should be enough. You can use all the tulle of the same color or alternate stripes of different colors to your taste. Starting with 10-12 inch strips, fold each strip in half so the ends are even. Wrap each strip around the ribbon and pull the ends through the loop to secure it to the ribbon until you have a very full frill. Then tie a ribbon around the base of the tree and pull the tulle around the tree in a circle to make a tutu style skirt.