Your Christmas tree is the focal point of your holiday decor, right? Everything else pales in comparison to your large, tall, lit, ornamented tree that (literally) lights up your room.
Whether you go with a real tree or an artificial tree, you’ll need something to decorate the bottom. I usually go with a theme of neutral and pretty Christmas decor. Along with a few rustic touches thrown in for good measure – to make sure we don’t take ourselves too seriously. So when I saw this pretty, simple ruffled Christmas tree skirt, I was SOLD. But at $85 for the 5 foot version, I thought I could try my hand at making it myself for a big savings.
The tree skirt details.
This is a very easy craft that has a big impact. It’s pretty and feminine while still being neutral and classy. It requires no sewing. Only a hot glue gun. Easy. Peasy. All said and done, it took me a couple hours. Plus it’s relatively mindless, so go ahead and throw on your favorite show on Netflix or Prime video in the background and go to town. This pretty addition to our Christmas decor is a win all around. Try it yourself.
How to make a stupid-pretty Christmas tree skirt.
Materials.
- 5 ft diameter circle (you should be safe with ~2 yards) of a neutral-colored, sturdy fabric. White felt or a thick cream-colored canvas will work.
- ~7 yards linen fabric (any color you want) but I used a natural / off-white color muslin.
- Hot glue gun.
- Lots of sticks of glue (you’ll want to buy a new pack for this. I think it took me about 20 sticks of glue).
- Sharp scissors.
Step 1.
- Cut your sturdy fabric (felt or thick canvas) into a circle 5 feet in diameter. Here’s a trick: fold your fabric in half.
- Tie one end of string / twine / yarn to a marker. Measure the string to 2 ½ feet and cut the string.
- On a flat surface, place the non-marker end of your string in the middle of the folded edge of your fabric.
- Holding the string in place with one hand and the marker upright in your other hand, Arc the marker from one edge of the folded end to the other, marking the fabric as you go.
- When you unfold the fabric, you should have a perfect circle drawn, so just cut it out. Your cutting doesn’t need to be precise. This is only a template that the ruffled fabric will be glued to.
Step 2.
- When your 5 foot diameter circle is cut out, cut a slit in the circle from one side to the middle so you can slide it around the base of your Christmas tree.
Step 3.
- Cut fabric into 3” strips.
- Place the fabric on top of the felt and pinch the fabric into desired ruffles, allowing an inch or two to overhang the felt.
Step 4.
- Working in 8-12 in sections, run a bead of hot glue along the felt where the fabric will be.
- Push the fabric down the ruffled fabric onto the hot glue.
Step 5.
- Once the first strip is glued down, move on to the next.
- Repeat the process, moving on to the next layer and overlapping the first layer by 1-½ inches.
- Continue until you have pretty, ruffled layers slightly overlapping all the way to the center of the circle.
