Ruffle Tree Skirt from a Fleece Blanket

I have been wanting a new tree skirt for a while. My husband and I got all our Christmas decorations on clearance the month before we got married so that we would have a tree and decorations the following year for our first Christmas. Now, although that was a good idea (we got a 7ft pre lit tree for $25!) it was slim pickings when it came to tree skirts...and for some reason I never got around to replacing it over the last five years!

So, this was the year to upgrade! I wanted something simple to make, but classic and that would last for years to come.

I started with a fleece blanket that I found at Walmart for $3. They also had a lot of other colors to choose from if red isn't your favorite:)

The blanket was 50"x60".

1. First I measured how wide I wanted the skirt to be. I wanted it to be the same width as the bottom of the tree, which was 36".

2. I cut out a 36" square from my blanket.

3. I folded the square in half one direction and then in half the other direction so I had a smaller square. This is so I just had to cut one corner once instead of cutting each corner.

4. I fashioned a ghetto compass by using a piece of yarn and tying it to the end of a marker and then holding the other end to the bottom left corner (center of fold) and marking from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. You want to make the mark on the sides with the raw edges.

(The compass line is the bottom one)

5. I cut on that line.

6. Then I unfolded the circle and trimmed any places that needed to be evened up.

7. Next, I cut a slit halfway up the middle so that I could try it on the tree to make sure it was the right dimensions.

8. Next, I took the remaining long side of the blanket and cut strips that were about 1 and 1/2" wide.

9. I started sewing the strips around the bottom edge, ruffling the strip as I went. One strip was not long enough for the entire edge, so I just added strips as I went along, folding under the beginning of the next strip so it just looked like another ruffle in the same strip.

This is how I ruffle on the machine. I work in about 3" increments, gathering about three ruffles, sewing them down, stopping the machine (with the needle still in the fabric) and then grabbing more of the strip to ruffle.

I just free handed the strip all the way around, but if that worries you, then while your tree skirt circle is smoothed out, draw on lines for your ruffles and use that as a guide as you are sewing.

10. I added another ruffle strip a couple of inches in from the bottom one.

(And yes...that is a pile of clean laundry on my bed)

11. I added a third row of ruffles a couple more inches in and decided to be done there.

Super easy right? I love the weight and feel of the fleece...and that I didn't have to finish any of the edges. That made it a lot quicker to make.

You could do this with any design, not just ruffles. You could use the rest of the blanket to make little layered flowers for the skirt, or any other shapes and designs you want:)

Total Price: $3.00

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Sew Much Ado