How to Make an Organic-Theme Christmas Tree Skirt

If you're committed enough to make a public statement with an organic tree, why not follow through with a skirt to match?

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Choose the Fabric

1. Choose a fabric - unbleached muslin, burlap, linen or canvas for an all-natural skirt you can decorate yourself, or sturdy 100 percent cotton in a garden or floral motif.
2. Buy 5 yards of fabric - and for simplicity, try to get fabric that is 45 inches wide. This will give you a tree skirt that is just under 90 inches in diameter, after hemming - big enough for just about any tree. If you want a contrasting trim, buy 15 yards. (It sounds like a lot, but trims vary significantly in price.)

Cut the Fabric Into Four Quarter-Circles

3. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, and then in half again to make four layers. You'll have a perfect square - each side 45 inches - that's four layers thick. Cut along the folds to create four equal squares; leave them stacked.
4. Hold a tape measure at the bottom left corner of the stack with your left hand. Pull it out with your right hand to measure 45 inches to the bottom right corner, and make an arc by moving your right hand gradually to the top left corner of the fabric (stop and mark every few inches with a fabric pencil); this will define a quarter-circle. (If you're left-handed, reverse these directions.)
5. Cut along the curve you've just marked to create the outside edge of your tree skirt.
6. Measure 3 1/2 inches in from the bottom left corner, and repeat the arcing and marking step to create a much smaller quarter-circle.
7. Cut along the smaller arc to create the cutout for the tree trunk.

Sew and Narrow-Hem the Skirt

8. Take two quarter-circle pieces and place them together with right sides in, matching small and large arcs.
9. Pin along one straight edge and sew, using a sewing machine.
10. Open out - you'll have a half-circle.
11. Pin one straight edge of each remaining quarter-circle to either side of the half-circle, right sides together, and sew, using a sewing machine.
12. Open out - you'll have a full circle with a circle-shaped opening in the middle and a slit all the way through it - like a cape.
13. Narrow-hem the inner hole, the two long edges that form the opening of the skirt, and the outer edge. To do this, turn over 1/4 inch of fabric along the area you are hemming and press; turn over another 1/4 and press again; then machine-stitch.

Tips & Warnings

• Add a creative touch to your tree skirt fabric by dyeing or tie-dyeing it with organic dyes. Or stencil it (or paint freehand) with vines, leaves, flowers, vegetables and birds.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle. Give these words new meaning by making your tree skirt out of recycled fabric. Buy old bedspreads or curtains at Goodwill, or grab that sheet your sister tore a hole in at Thanksgiving.
• When you're drawing the arc of the quarter-circle on the fabric, think of a clock and imagine you're holding the tape measure at the center. 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock are already marked - they're defined by the width of the fabric. Use the tape measure to mark in between - about every 3 minutes on a clock face, so that the marks define a clear curve that you can cut on.

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