Handmade Holidays: Tree Skirt

You've probably seen the easy, no-sew tree skirt all over Pinterest.  I had too.  And considering our former tree skirt was a red/white hideous creation that I had picked up at Target our first Christmas, I have been planning since the end of last Christmas to try my hand at the handmade version (I may have even thrown ours out last year so that I would have to make a new one...shhh, don't tell Josh).  Now, I know this is all over Pinterest, but I'm going to share with you my version because 1. it's slightly different than the others I saw and 2. I always hate clicking on a post that just sends you to another link.  So, here's my version of how to make a no-sew ruffled tree skirt.

First, round up your supplies.  You'll need:

• painter's drop cloth(mine was 5ftx5ft, but I wish it had been 4ft)
• crap load of glue sticks...I went through about 3 bags
• scissors
• ribbon
• 4 yards of fabric...you can't really tell from the picture, but mine has a bit of sparkle in the white.  Here's a close up

Once you have done that, set aside a few hours, maybe even spread out over a few days, cause this is going to take awhile (but it's totally worth it!).  And when you're ready to get to work, fold your canvas into a triangle.  Cut off the edges to make it rounded, cut out a portion in the middle for what will be the opening in the center for the tree.  I would show you a picture, but I totally botched mine and ended up with holes in the middle (that I later covered with fabric) so we'll just assume you all are smarter than I am and can figure it out on your own.  You will also need to make one final cut where the skirt will open up (we'll add ties there later).

With your base all ready, get started cutting your fabric into strips, approximately 2 inches wide each.  The good news here is that your strips hardly have to be exact, so don't worry too much about making them straight or anything.

Once you have the strips, you can get started on the real tedious fun part: gluing your strips.  Just run some glue along the fabric, and as you place it on the tarp make sure you pinch it together in parts to create the ruffles.  Start at the bottom of what will be your skirt, and then slightly overlap the layers as you work your way up.  Here's mine in progress to give you an idea.

After repeating that a bajillion times, you'll have a tree skirt...well, almost anyway!  As the last step, you'll need to create ties, so glue ribbon (about 3 inch long strips) on either side of the opening...I did three of those.  And then you'll have a tree skirt...

As much as I love my white one, I think this would be really great in a fun color or pattern...the possibilities are endless!  Oh, and in case you're curious, I spent about $40 making my tree skirt ($30 for fabric, $5 for the drop cloth, and $5 in glue sticks), but if you had a coupon for the fabric (which they offer all the time!), it could easily be way less.  Plus considering a nice tree skirt can cost you beuacoup bucks, either option is a win if you ask me.